Hydrogen storage with gravel and pipes in lakes and reservoirs

Julian David Hunt*, Andreas Nascimento, Oldrich Joel Romero, Behnam Zakeri, Jakub Jurasz, Paweł B. Dąbek, Tomasz Strzyżewski, Bojan Đurin, Walter Leal Filho, Marcos Aurélio Vasconcelos Freitas, Yoshihide Wada

*Corresponding author for this work

Publication: Scientific journalJournal articlepeer-review

Abstract

Climate change is projected to have substantial economic, social, and environmental impacts worldwide. Currently, the leading solutions for hydrogen storage are in salt caverns, and depleted natural gas reservoirs. However, the required geological formations are limited to certain regions. To increase alternatives for hydrogen storage, this paper proposes storing hydrogen in pipes filled with gravel in lakes, hydropower, and pumped hydro storage reservoirs. Hydrogen is insoluble in water, non-toxic, and does not threaten aquatic life. Results show the levelized cost of hydrogen storage to be 0.17 USD kg−1 at 200 m depth, which is competitive with other large scale hydrogen storage options. Storing hydrogen in lakes, hydropower, and pumped hydro storage reservoirs increases the alternatives for storing hydrogen and might support the development of a hydrogen economy in the future. The global potential for hydrogen storage in reservoirs and lakes is 3 and 12 PWh, respectively. Hydrogen storage in lakes and reservoirs can support the development of a hydrogen economy in the future by providing abundant and cheap hydrogen storage.

Original languageEnglish
Article number7723
JournalNature Communications
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Cite this