The hydrogen storage projects, the newly opened HPC Krummhörn in Lower Saxony and HyStorage in Bavaria, where a gas mixture of natural gas and hydrogen is stored in a pore storage facility, serve to prepare commercial storage projects for hydrogen, the company said in a media release.
The Krummhörn facility has a volume of approximately 3,000 cubic meters (105,940 cubic feet) and was completed using solution mining at an existing borehole. With a storage volume of almost 500,000 norm cubic meters (17.6 million cubic feet) of green hydrogen, the facility is among the first of its kind, according to Uniper.
Following a gas tightness test scheduled for September 24, the facility will begin trial operations, it said.
“Energy storage has always been a key element of a stable and efficient energy system, especially when it comes to balancing out seasonal fluctuations in demand. As the share of renewables in our energy supply increases, this aspect becomes even more crucial: only efficient storage solutions can ensure that energy is available when it is needed, especially in the context of decarbonization”, Michael Lewis, CEO of Uniper, said.
“Hydrogen will play a key role in this: It combines security of supply and decarbonization. In addition to transport networks, the successful introduction of hydrogen will above all require large-scale storage options. HPC Krummhörn is taking on a pioneering role here and fits seamlessly into our strategy. However, to ensure that it does not stop at the pilot plant stage, the industry needs a reliable long-term regulatory framework based on market-based mechanisms and accompanying investment incentives”, added Lewis.
Speaking of the project, Olaf Lies, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Construction and Digitalization, said that essential experience can now be gathered from the site, paving the way for large-scale and commercial hydrogen projects.
“In the future, the Krummhörn storage site is to be expanded to provide the market with a storage capacity of 250 GWh of hydrogen in a first step. In total, Uniper Energy Storage plans to develop salt caverns for the underground storage of hydrogen with a planned capacity of up to 600 GWh by 2030. To this end, existing and new sites along the hydrogen core network in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia are being investigated”, Doug Waters, Managing Director of Uniper Energy Storage, said.
Next, Uniper said it plans to commence initial gas filling and the operation of the demonstration plant once approved. The company aims to go through various injection and withdrawal cycles in the coming year. This will allow for real environment testing for hydrogen compatibility of equipment and materials.
Uniper said it will invest a low double-digit million euro amount in the green future project. Within the framework of the hydrogen directive, the Lower Saxony Ministry for the Environment, Energy, and Climate Protection is funding the project as a pilot and demonstration project of the hydrogen economy with close to EUR 2.4 million ($2.6 million).
