Hydrogen

Alternatives to conventional energy resources play a decisive role in achieving climate goals. Hydrogen as a versatile energy carrier is suitable for supporting an energy supply based on renewable energy resources, as an energy carrier for mobility and industry, and as a feedstock for chemical processes. Since hydrogen can be produced via renewables, it may become a central building block on the way to a climate-neutral energy supply.

Hydrogen collage Source: PIXABAY; BMWi; BGR

BGR is currently contributing to the implementation of the national hydrogen strategy with the following geoscientific studies:

Survey of regional underground storage potential in Germany

Regional underground storage possibilities will foreseeably be part of the hydrogen infrastructure. Besides caverns in salt rock, pore storage facilities are an optional storage for hydrogen. In addition to assessing the potential of hydrogen storage facilities, BGR is also investigating competing uses and synergies for underground storage. An overview of the status of underground hydrogen storage can be found here.

Criteria for determining the suitability of underground storage facilities for hydrogen

Within the framework of third-party funded projects (H2_ReacT) and BGR projects (BiMiAb_H2), research is being carried out for various possible underground storage formations to determine which microbial or geochemical processes might adversely affect their use as hydrogen storage facilities and which special requirements should be placed on cover layers (seals) to minimise gas losses through migration. Using this information, criteria for the evaluation and selection of possible new storage structures will be refined.

Natural occurrence of hydrogen and estimation of natural hydrogen fluxes

In addition to the technical production of hydrogen, it also occurs naturally. It forms by a variety of processes in diverse geological environments (Commodity TopNews 63) and mines. Knowledge of naturally occurring concentrations and material flows is still limited, but is crucial both for possible use as a hydrogen source and for an improved understanding of the global hydrogen cycle before large-scale industrial use, with the release of small proportions to be expected in the process. Therefore, BGR is conducting research on this topic in cooperation with university partners (BiMiAb_H2). In addition, BGR is developing approaches for the exploration of particularly promising geological structures for the extraction of natural hydrogen (GeWa).

Market availability of hydrogen

In the future, BGR will analyse and evaluate information and developments on the subject of hydrogen for the purpose of advising the Federal Government and the German economy on natural resource management. BGR has included hydrogen as an energy carrier in the energy resources database and in the BGR energy study, particularly with regard to domestic hydrogen production and other producing countries.

Raw materials for hydrogen technology

As part of the raw materials monitoring and the project "Raw materials for emerging technologies", DERA, in cooperation with partners from the field of future and innovative research, analyses natural resource requirements of key and future technologies in a time horizon of about 20 years. Relevant raw materials for water electrolysis are rare earth elements (SEE) and platinum group metals (PGM). The amount of global demand for mineral resources is determined by means of extrapolation. Contact DERA

Publications (selection):

• Commodity TopNews 69 (2022): Klimabilanzierung der Wasserstoffherstellung (PDF, 615 KB)
• BGR Energy Study 2021 - Data and Developments Concerning German and Global Energy Supplies (PDF, 4 MB)
• Commodity TopNews 63 (2020): Wasserstoffvorkommen im geologischen Untergrund (PDF, 2 MB)