Project to identify salt caverns suitable for storing hydrogen launched by the ETI
Energy Technologies Institute
A new project is being launched today by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) to examine in further detail the potential for storing hydrogen and hydrogen gas mixtures in salt caverns which can then be used in gas turbines when demand for electricity is high.
-
ETI issues Request for Proposals seeking partners for Salt Cavern Appraisal for Hydrogen and Gas Storage project
-
The project builds on earlier ETI work which showed that storing hydrogen in salt caverns could provide a significant contribution to decarbonising the UK’s future electricity grid
-
The request for proposals will close on 2 June 2016; the deadline for notification of intention to submit a proposal is 11 May 2016
An ETI report published last year highlighted the potential role hydrogen storage could play in a clean, responsive power system.
It detailed how using salt caverns to store hydrogen to be used for power generation reduces the level of investment required at a system level to build new clean power station capacity. The report showed how a single H2 cavern could cater for the peak energy demands and fluctuations of a whole city.
There are over 30 large salt caverns in use in the UK today storing natural gas for the power and heating market.
This latest ETI project will identify and examine three existing salt caverns in Cheshire, Teesside and East Yorkshire that could be used to store hydrogen to be used in power generation.
ETI Project manager Paul Winstanley said:
“The end goal of the project is to understand the challenges, opportunities and costs of creating and operating these stores.
“Storing and using hydrogen can be a low cost way of providing clean power for peak and load following demand.
“Large amounts of energy can be stored, with one cavern providing enough storage capacity to satisfy the peak demands of a single UK city.
“This project will provide more detail on the suitability of individual caverns and the costs associated with using them, increasing the evidence base needed if they are to be developed further.”
The request for proposals will close on 2 June 2016; the deadline for notification of intention to submit a proposal is 11 May 2016.
The Request for Proposals can be found at http://www.eti.co.uk/category/proposals/
The ETI’s Insight on the potential role of hydrogen storage can be found at http://www.eti.co.uk/carbon-capture-and-storage-the-role-of-hydrogen-storage-in-a-clean-responsive-power-system/
