Project „Generation, Migration and Degradation of Hydrogen – BiMiAb-H2"
Country / Region: Germany
Begin of project: September 1, 2021
End of project: August 31, 2026
Status of project: October 25, 2022
Schematic representation of underground hydrogen storage and potential reaction processes
Source: BGR
The project "Generation, Migration and Degradation of Hydrogen – BiMiAb-H2" was developed within the framework of the BGR concept "Geoscientific contributions to the implementation of the national hydrogen strategy". Typical rock formations and relevant rock-fluid combinations for German underground storage options are investigated with regard to hydrogen storage. The project is technically divided into three subprojects:
Subproject 1: "Microbial degradation of H2 and biomethanation"
In this subproject, the effects of possible microbial reactions with hydrogen in geological underground storage facilities will be investigated in order to quickly provide sound information on the suitability of various geological formations to form a basis for consultation on pore storage facilities for hydrogen in Germany. These microbiological studies will be complemented by further experiments to clarify the possibilities and potential of "microbial engineering" in a storage facility to inhibit or intensify selected microbiological processes in a targeted manner (e.g. "biomethanation", methane formation from H2 and CO2). For this purpose, new low-pressure and high-pressure systems are being developed and deployed in collaboration across subprojects. From the results, recommendations for the assessments of formations and formation-waters regarding the risk of microbial H2 degradation will be formulated and the potential of underground "biomethanation" will be evaluated.
| Contact: Dr. Martin Krüger Phone: +49-(0)511-643-3102 Fax: +49-(0)511-643-2304 Mail: Martin.Krueger@bgr.de |
Incubation experiments with formation fluids in a high-pressure reactor (top) and in serum bottles at low pressures (bottom)
Source: BGR
Subproject 2: "Migration of hydrogen in reservoir rocks and through cap-rock layers"
In this subproject, the transport processes of hydrogen in reservoir rocks and in cap-rock layers will be investigated using newly established experimental setups. This will enable predictions of mixing processes of gases during the storage of hydrogen, e.g. in partially depleted natural gas reservoirs or using cushion gas in salt caverns. In addition, data on the permeability of cap-rocks (mudstone and salt) will provide an important new basis for pending legal requirements in the licensing process for underground hydrogen storage facilities - as well as for questions of gas transport in radioactive waste repositories. Furthermore, new setups for core-flooding experiments using formation water and gas-water mixtures will be established to determine the fluid transport in porous storage rocks. The focus will be on the comparison of the permeability of pore storage rock with and without microbial growth in order to describe the extent of the effects of possible microbial growth on pore storage performance.
| Contact: Dr. Philipp Weniger Phone: +49-(0)511-643-2343 Mail: Philipp.Weniger@bgr.de |
Subproject 3: "Formation and degradation of H2 at interfaces"
In this subproject, reactions of hydrogen at gas-liquid-solid interfaces will be investigated in order to improve predictions of reaction rates for the formation and decomposition of hydrogen in different systems. Thus, data on geochemical reaction rates at common mineral surfaces of selected porous storage rocks and overburden layers from Germany will be measured in order to provide insights for the assessment of the suitability of different geological formations as pore storage sites. In addition, the formation of hydrogen by the corrosion of metal in contact with formation water, an important process for the gas pressure build-up expected in the near field and for the evaluation of the origin of hydrogen-rich gases from deep wells, will be investigated. Furthermore, reactions at natural mineral surfaces under higher temperatures for abiotic formation and oxidation of hydrogen at greater depths as well as formation by radiolysis in the presence of mineral surfaces are investigated. This will reduce the uncertainties of natural hydrogen fluxes in the environment and in radioactive waste repositories. In addition to experimentally determined kinetic data, geochemical modeling will allow the transfer to reactions at higher temperatures or at longer times. Within the context of the project, an analytical capability of spatially resolved Raman spectroscopy of isotope labels at mineral-fluid-microbe interfaces will be established in the department "Geochemistry of Raw Materials".
| Contact: Dr. Christian Ostertag-Henning Phone: +49-(0)511-643-2884 Fax: +49-(0)511-643-3664 Mail: Dr. Christian Ostertag-Henning |
Supplementary Information:
Literature:
- Heinemann, N. et al. (2021): Enabling large-scale hydrogen storage in porous media – the scientific challenges: Energy & Environmental Science, v. 14, no. 2, p. 853–864. https://doi:10.1039/D0EE03536J
- Warnecke, M. & Röhling, S. (2021): Underground hydrogen storage – Status quo; Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1127/zdgg/2021/0295
- Hanson, Angela Goodman, Kutchko, Barbara, Lackey, Greg, Gulliver, Djuna, Strazisar, Brian R., Tinker, Kara A., Haeri, Foad, Wright, Ruishu, Huerta, Nicolas, Baek, Seunghwan, Bagwell, Christopher, Toledo Camargo, Julia de, Freeman, Gerad, Kuang, Wenbin, Torgeson, Joshua, White, Joshua, Buscheck, Thomas, Castelletto, Nicola, and Smith, Megan. Subsurface Hydrogen and Natural Gas Storage: State of Knowledge and Research Recommendations Report. United States: N. p., 2022. https://doi.org/10.2172/1846632
External information sources:
NEWS:
International Workshop
Geo-Hydrogen-Hannover (Geo-H2)
Geosciences - Enabling Underground Hydrogen Storage
2022-11-23, Online (Zoom)
https://bgr-hydrogen.ascrion.com