Microbial side effects of underground hydrogen storage - Knowledge gaps, risks and opportunities for successful implementation

Presenter

Nicole Dopffel, Ph.D.
Senior Researcher
Norwegian Research Institute - NORCE
Norway

Description

As the use of hydrogen gas (H2) as a renewable energy carrier experiences a major boost, one of the key challenges for a constant supply is safe and cost-efficient storage of surplus H2 to bridge periods with low energy demand. For this purpose, underground gas storage (UGS) in salt caverns, deep aquifers and oil-/gas reservoirs has been proposed, which are environments with potentially high microbial abundance and activity. Subsurface microorganisms can use H2 in their metabolism and thus may lead to a variety of undesired side effects such as H2 loss. In this talk, I will summarize the current knowledge on microbial related risks related to H2 UGS