Underground storage for hydrogen – Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

Underground storage for hydrogen – Springwise

Spotted: Increasingly, green hydrogen is touted as a crucial element in the world’s journey to carbon zero. UK startup and underground energy storage specialist, Gravitricity, is completing its design of purpose-built underground lined rock shafts which would enable efficient underground hydrogen storage. 

Gravitricity believes its storage technology, which it calls FlexiStore, is a ‘Goldilocks’ solution to the obstacles facing hydrogen storage. Unlike above-ground hydrogen storage alternatives, FlexiStore provides a much bigger and more secure system. It is also more flexible than subterranean salt caverns – another commonly suggested method of underground storage.  

One FlexiStore could store the green hydrogen generated by an offshore wind farm, but this would fill up daily and would need to be emptied regularly. To make the process more efficient, multiple stores could be constructed so that large amounts of wind energy that would otherwise go to waste could be soaked up. And unlike salt cavern storage, which naturally requires specific geological environments, Gravitricity’s stores can be built wherever they are needed.  

Gravitricity has already identified many sites for its UK pilot project and is discussing the project and future commercial schemes with site owners. The company recently completed a £300,000 (around €341,000) feasibility study, which showed it is technically and commercially viable to store large amounts of compressed hydrogen with the Flexistore technology.  

Springwise has spotted other innovations aimed at storing hydrogen. HydroSolid developed a way to store and transport large amounts of hydrogen at low pressures using a new nanomaterial, and EPRO found a way to transport green hydrogen in powder form.  

Written By: Anam Alam 

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Underground car parks used to heat buildings above
CategoriesSustainable News

Underground car parks used to heat buildings above

Spotted: Rather than drab grey walls, underground car parks can now feature stylish, colourful panels that are also sustainably heating the buildings above. Seeking to harness the power of shallow geothermal energy, Swiss startup Enerdrape has created modular, renewable energy panels that are customisable with any look, and easy to install and manage.

Currently being tested in an underground parking lot in Lausanne, the company expects to supply the apartment building above with around one-third of its energy needs. The metal panels are the same thickness as a painter’s canvas and can be retrofitted to any structure with a wall in direct contact with the surrounding soil.

The panels absorb heat from ground as well as ambient air from the underground structure. This is why car parks are an ideal location. Rather than waste the heat given off by vehicles after they have been driven, the panels absorb it, and the connected piping system sends it to the structure’s heating and cooling system.

The Enerdrape system can work for a single building or can connect to district heating and cooling lines. It can also be used alongside other heat and energy sources as part of a suite of power options.

Geothermal energy is becoming a more popular addition to renewable energy sources as technologies develop and storing and transfer systems become more efficient. Springwise recently spotted a new drilling technology that makes ultra-deep geothermal energy a possibility, along with plans to turn disused coal mines into zero-carbon heat sources for local communities.  

Written by: Keely Khoury

Email: margaux.peltier@epfl.ch

Website: enerdrape.com

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