Research Projects

The world needs to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources to reduce global warming. Hydrogen, a promising zero-carbon option, can store surplus energy on a large scale and reduce intermittency problems. However, due to its low density, large storage spaces are required. Underground porous formations like depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and saline aquifers can provide sufficient space for large quantities of hydrogen. storing in these formations presents technical challenges due to the high reactivity of hydrogen with the solid matrix. Geochemical and microbial reactions can change the permeability of the porous formation, causing instabilities at the interface between hydrogen and reservoir fluid. This can result in residual hydrogen trapping, making it unrecoverable during withdrawal. To quantify these changes, numerical simulations will be used to quantify the permeability change induced by hydrogen flow into porous media saturated with reservoir fluid. This relationship will be used to conduct hydrodynamic stability analysis at the hydrogen-reservoir fluid interface, identifying parameters that reduce residual hydrogen trapping. This will be beneficial in large-scale reservoir simulations to assess the feasibility of underground hydrogen storage locations.