Major Hydrogen Storage Potential In Bavaria

Geological formations in southern Bavaria offer a previously underestimated potential for storing large quantities of hydrogen. They could therefore be an alternative to salt caverns in northern Germany and thus contribute to a better geographical distribution of storage capacities. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in cooperation with the Technical University of Leoben (MUL) on behalf of the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs.

To make effective and sustainable use of renewable energy, it must be possible to store the energy generated. A key approach is conversion into hydrogen, which must then be stored in large volumes and made available in line with seasonal demand. Geological storage in suitable subsurface locations is particularly well suited to this purpose and can play a key role in the energy transition. The SpeicherCHeck study aims to find out whether there are potential geological formations in Bavaria that are suitable for safe storage. The focus is on former oil and gas reservoirs as well as active natural gas pore storage facilities. The interim report of the project, which runs until 2027, has now been published and presents initial findings.

According to the report, the existing natural gas pore storage facilities in the foothills of the Alps in Bavaria - such as those in Bierwang and Inzenham - are particularly well suited. Natural gas pore storage facilities are underground storage sites in natural, porous rock formations that have previously been used to store surplus natural gas and feed it back into the grid when needed. As a result, most of the required infrastructure is already in place at these locations. The researchers estimate the current storage potential across all sites examined to be between 12.6 and 25.2 terawatt hours (TWh). By comparison, the German National Hydrogen Council estimates the storage capacity of salt caverns in northern Germany at 33 TWh.

"Our results show that southern Germany also has very good conditions for geological hydrogen storage," says Michael Drews, Professor of Geothermal Technologies at TUM. "The pore storage facilities available here could therefore make a substantial contribution to diversifying the locations of necessary underground storage facilities and to ensuring energy supply security in a future hydrogen economy."

"The participation of the Technical University of Leoben in the project is extremely valuable in terms of cross-border efforts to further develop urgently needed storage capacities and also provides important basic knowledge for other possible applications of geological storage complexes," says Prof. David Misch, Head of the Chair of Energy Geosciences at the Technical University of Leoben.