Underground hydrogen storage in Australia: A review on the feasibility of geological sites

Hydrogen has attracted attention worldwide with its favourable inherent properties to contribute towards a carbon-free green energy future. Australia aims to make hydrogen as its next major export component to economize the growing global demand for hydrogen. Cost-effective and safe large-scale hydrogen storage in subsurface geology can assist Australia in meeting the projected domestic and export targets. This article discusses the available subsurface storage options in detail by first presenting the projected demand for hydrogen storage. Australia has many subsurface formations, such as depleted gas fields, salt caverns, aquifers, coal seams and abandoned underground mines, which can contribute to underground hydrogen storage. The article presents basin-wide geological information on the storage structures, the technical challenges, and the factors to consider during site selection. With the experience and knowledge Australia has in utilizing depleted reservoirs for gas storage and carbon capture and sequestration, Australia can benefit from the depleted gas reservoirs in developing hydrogen energy infrastructure. The lack of experience and knowledge associated with other geostructures favours the utili-zation of underground gas storage sites for the storage of hydrogen during the initial stages of the shift towards hydrogen energy. The article also provides future directions to address the identified important knowledge gaps to utilize the subsurface geology for hydrogen storage successfully.(c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Australia aims to export hydrogen as a key component of its green energy strategy to meet the increasing global demand. The country has various subsurface formations that can be utilized for underground hydrogen storage, such as depleted gas fields, salt caverns, aquifers, coal seams, and abandoned underground mines. This article discusses the available storage options in detail and provides future directions to address knowledge gaps for successful utilization of subsurface geology for hydrogen storage.