Underground hydrogen storage receives funding
UK's Ofgem awards £500,000 to a National Gas consortium to develop green hydrogen, with potential to link to the National Gas network.
Developed by Scottish energy storage specialists Gravitricity, the H2FlexiStore offers a potential 100t of green hydrogen in purpose-built underground lined shafts. These can be strategically located next to large industrial shafts or the current gas network.
This nodal storage can improve resilience and efficiency of a hydrogen gas network and Gravitricity claims their technology compensates for the loss of linepack – the amount of energy stored in a pipe network.
Kelvin Shillinglaw, Innovation Analyst at National Gas, says the funding is a ‘critical step forward’ to ensure a hydrogen-powered future.
‘By embedding resilience with operational hydrogen storage directly into the transmission system, we can maintain operational flexibility, reduce costs for consumers, and support the decarbonisation of heat and power.’
The technology means hydrogen storage is more accessible than using salt caverns existing in specific places, with regions in the UK and particularly Scotland potentially benefitting.
The Scottish Hydrogen Assessment’s Green Export Scenario stated Scotland could produce 3.3Mt of green hydrogen annually by 2045, with 2.5Mt for export.
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