HyLife

Developing Europe’s energy system towards net-zero in 2050 requires a variety of innovative energy system solutions in which H2 will play a vital role. To secure sufficient and stable green H₂ supply over time, storage of excess H₂ is crucial to help avoid further consumption of non-renewables in high-demand seasons. A technological challenge is to find and operate flexible, large-scale storage solutions for H₂. Underground/subsurface storage in caverns and reservoirs/aquifers has been proposed as a promising solution, but many questions on what will happen with H2 when injected into the living subsurface remain unanswered. In close cooperation with industry (energy companies and storage operators), we want to advance the understanding of subsurface energy storage sites by assessing the most critical identified risk: microbial conversion. Microbial activity can heavily influence storage viability, safety, and economics by consuming H₂ and producing the toxic gas H₂S. The possible microbial processes must be understood from a field-specific point of view and on an experimental level to properly estimate the risks, pinpoint favourable storage sites, and avoid or mitigate potential operational failures.
The main objective of HyLife is to “validate the suitability of European subsurface structures (caverns/reservoirs) as safe and economically viable H₂ storage sites by systematically investigating the potential microbial reactions and identifying key influencing parameters.”