X-H2 Research Project
To meet the increasing demand for green hydrogen (H₂) in the future, underground storage facilities capable of storing large volumes will be required. These so-called UHS (Underground Hydrogen Storage) can be implemented in various geological settings, with the storage of hydrogen in salt caverns being one of the most promising options. Currently, salt caverns are already used to store oil, gas, or waste.
The goal of the project is to develop geological siting criteria for the optimal positioning of UHS caverns in salt deposits. Insufficient knowledge of the deposit’s structure and internal lithological composition significantly increases the risk of potential instabilities, which, in the worst case, could lead to the loss of the storage facility or gas leaks. In addition to halite, representing the actual storage medium, salt deposits also contain other lithologies. For example, anhydrite is harder to leach, while magnesium sulfates, due to their high low viscosity, can lead to rapid cavity loss. Originally simply stratified evaporite sequences can, over geological time scale, be transformed into complex lithological distributions within a salt body due to salt deformation, known as halokinesis.
These present-day distributions of different evaporite lithologies in salt deposits complicate UHS exploration, as conventional geophysical methods for subsurface exploration (e.g. seismic surveys) are only of limited use in salt deposits, and coring is associated with very high costs. The ultimate challenge of UHS exploration in salt deposits is therefore to identify volumes with the highest possible halite concentration using a solid geological understanding.
As part of this project, the spatial distribution of different evaporite lithologies, as well as the shape of the entire salt body, will be modeled using three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations to better predict the volumes most suitable for UHS. To replicate the intense deformation characteristic of halokinesis, the so-called „Material Point Method“ (MPM) will be applied. These MPM numerical models can also simulate all rock mechanical properties and the stress field in the subsurface under realistic conditions. Such numerical modeling, which simulates the complex formation of salt bodies over geological time periods in three dimensions, has never been conducted before.
The key outcome of this project is the development of a flexible simulation tool that can realistically simulate the deformation processes and geometries of salt bodies. This „simulator“ can subsequently be used for forward modeling of different scenarios under realistic geomechanical conditions. In this way, risk assessment for site selection of UHS can be improved.
Potential users include all operators of cavern storage facilities, such as energy providers and oil and gas companies, which are increasingly developing green hydrogen and CCUS as additional business areas. Service providers, such as drilling companies that face particularly high risks when drilling in salt (e.g., due to borehole collapse), can also benefit from the project’s findings.
X-H2 is done in cooperation with the University of Vienna. This project is funded by the Climate and Energy Fund and is carried out under the program „Energieforschung 2025 FTI -Fokusinitiativen“; the funding is administrated by the Austrian Reasearch Promotion Agency (FFG).
Cooperation partner:
University of Vienna
Funded by:
Klima- und Energiefonds
Funding by:
Austrian Research Promotion Agency