Project Overview

Hydrogen (H₂) is an energy carrier for storing and utilizing renewable electricity. However, existing H₂ storage technologies cannot be used for grid-scale storage. The UofA team proposed large-scale H₂ storage in salt caverns. The lab-scale research was initially supported by NSERC, Alberta Innovates, and Mitacs. This phase of project aims at field-scale implementation in partnership with industry partners in a domal salt formation in Newfoundland and in a bedded salt formation in Alberta. The research team will work on preserved core samples, representing caprock, roof, and walls of the proposed caverns to evaluate their mineralogy, geomechanical properties, reactions with hydrogen, microbial content, and petrophysical properties such as hydrogen permeability. The core and pressure testing data will be used for designing a full-scale salt cavern for hydrogen storage.