Future hydrogen related infrastructure components need to store significant amounts of hydrogen and deliver it according to the specific amounts, frequencies, and rates of hydrogen demand:

• Heavy-duty Refuelling stations:
  • Trucks:
    • Expected H₂ turnover: 5-10 tons/day;
    • Expected H₂ capacity: 10-50 tons.
  • Trains:
    • Expected H₂ turnover: 10-50 tons/day;
    • Expected H₂ capacity: 20-250 tons.
  • Ships:
    • Expected H₂ turnover: 50-500 tons/day;
    • Expected H₂ capacity: 100-2500 tons.
  • Temporary Refuelling Stations (e.g. in road construction or mining):
    • Expected H₂ turnover: 1-10 tons/day;
    • Expected H₂ capacity: 1-10 tons.
• Residential quarters, off-grid communities, industrial processes (metals or glass processing), import terminals, on-shore buffer storages: large variations in daily, weekly or monthly hydrogen storage and delivery are to be expected.

Currently, mainly compressed and liquefied hydrogen storage are used as aboveground options. They have several shortcomings: operation conditions (pressure, temperature), volume and geometrical footprint, potential for sudden release of large amounts of hydrogen, limited perspectives for further lowering cost. Research on novel hydrogen storage solutions is expected to overcome these deficits.

Project results are expected to contribute to all following outcomes:

• Advancing the maturity of aboveground hydrogen storage solutions based on novel gaseous, on novel solid or liquid hydrogen carrier, or on novel hybrid storage solutions;
• Decrease cost and energy consumption for delivery of hydrogen and, thus, increase the competitiveness of hydrogen technologies;
• Minimising impacts on the environment and maximising the safety of large scale aboveground hydrogen storage to significantly strengthen the European value chain of hydrogen delivery;
• Foster the establishment of new business cases for manufacturers of hydrogen storage system solutions by contributing to the implementation of regulations, codes, and standards for large scale aboveground storage systems for the abovementioned applications;
• Promoting the role that hydrogen can play for reaching the climate goals by validating its safe and cost-effective large scale aboveground storage in an application relevant environment.

Project results are expected to contribute to the following objectives and KPIs of the Clean Hydrogen JU as reflected in the SRIA 2021-2027:

• Undertake research and develop novel solutions for lowering cost and improving efficiency of aboveground storage solutions in some or all of the applications mentioned above.
• Showcase in this RIA the potential to decrease the cost and energy demand of hydrogen delivery by validating installations of a novel storage technology at the hundred kg H₂ module scale at TRL5 by 2027, allowing for implementation above the 20 ton H₂ scale by 2030 (SRIA, KPI Table 11);
• Validate the requirements for distributed aboveground storage solutions at TRL5 with the target, to achieve by 2030 a CAPEX lower than 600 €/kg H₂ on the 20 ton H₂ scale (SRIA, KPI Table 11).
• Validate a density of at least 40 kg H₂/m³ on storage container level

Further expected outcomes under this topic:

• Novel safety solutions and features of the proposed storage technology, in order to reduce safety distances or store hydrogen at locations not being allowed at present for state-of-the-art compressed or liquid hydrogen storage, e.g. in buildings or shallow below surface;
• Reduction of the geometrical footprint and volume for relevant applications (e.g., hydrogen storage in HRS in inner urban areas or inside of buildings) and, thus, decrease the cost of ground in comparison to state-of-the-art compressed or liquid hydrogen storage;
• Progress in lowering the environmental impact and global warming potential of hydrogen storage, shown by a comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). Potentials for recycling of materials used for building and operation of the storage system should be included.

Research activities under this topic should focus on novel safe, low-cost bulk storage solutions with the potential to enable demand- and application-optimised supply of H_­2 on the (multi-) tons range for the various applications mentioned above.

Additionally, bulk hydrogen storage in urban industrial or residential environments faces special challenges: high cost for ground calls for an as low as possible geometrical footprint, and installation in the public domain should fulfil highest safety requirements. In contrast to mobile storage systems, requirements on weight and rate of H₂ loading are however more relaxed. Some applications would benefit from placing the storage system even inside of buildings or up to 10 metres underground (which is considered in this topic still as “aboveground” storage in contrast to storage in underground caverns or porous rock formations), which is currently not feasible due to safety regulations. Therefore, research activities should have a focus on minimising the geometrical footprint and volume of the storage system, as well as on safely preventing the accidental release of large amounts of H₂ by developing inherently safe storage solutions.

Furthermore, to reduce OPEX and contribute to Europe’s target on reducing total energy demand, the energy efficiency of the whole conversion chain from H₂ production, transport and storage up to its final use, has to be maximised while minimising the scope and frequency of maintenance activities. Consequently, research activities under this topic should also develop high efficiency storage systems, optimally integrated into the respective application with minimal energy requirements, e.g., profiting from waste energy (heat), and with minimised requirements for operational maintenance.

The proposed novel storage solution should be validated in line with the following requirements:

• Proposed storage technologies should internally operate in the temperature range between -40°C and +120°C. This requirement does not apply to any reactors for hydrogen loading or release that may be necessary, but only to the storage containers themselves. But ambient temperature solutions are preferred also for these reactors.
• Release of only hydrogen from the storage system. The physical state and degree of purity of the released hydrogen should fit to potential applications of the proposed novel storage technology and should be listed together with those applications.
• Proposed storage system may be single or modular. The validation system should have a capacity of at least 100 kg H₂ in total. It may consist of storage modules loaded off-site with hydrogen or a hydrogen carrier and transported to the validation site or modules loaded on-site. Proposals should elaborate on the option used to supply hydrogen to the storage system.
• Proposals should describe a roadmap for scale-up of the proposed technology for storage of 20 tons of H₂ or more for the applications envisaged by the proposed technology, by 2030
• Projects should validate the potential to reduce OPEX (energy, water, heating/cooling, maintenance, replacement of parts, recertification, …) to a level of < 1 €/delivered kg of H₂ in 2030 on the ton to 20 ton/day delivery scale;
• The safety of the storage system and boundary conditions for its implementation should be defined, since further development of already existing or the establishment of new technical rules, codes and standards for novel storage solutions is a prerequisite for the establishment of future market opportunities and business cases. The safety analysis should deliver required conditions of operation of the storage system with respect to amounts and rates of unintended possible release of hydrogen, necessary ventilation, and safety distances to neighbouring installations.
• Projects may include a work package on simulation of effects of failure and unintended hydrogen release of the proposed storage technology, validating the progress beyond the state of the art.
• Projects may implement in-situ techniques for H₂ filling level and state of health monitoring to extrapolate lifetime of the storage system.
• As far as possible, critical raw materials as well as “forever chemicals” in the production chain should be avoided, favouring circular economy approaches and use of chemicals and materials with minimum environmental impact. Use of recycled raw materials for construction and operation is preferred. The necessary consumption of raw materials and their resources for building and operation of the proposed storage technology should be described in the proposal.
• A broader range of applicability of the proposed technology would be a plus. Proposals may identify and provide numbers on specific business cases.
• If one, some or all of the following are necessary for envisaged applications - a hydrogenation unit, a dehydrogenation unit, a cracker, a purification, a compression device – these, as well as all necessary auxiliaries (e.g., internal and external heat management) should be included for calculation of total system storage density, footprint, CAPEX, OPEX, etc. Hydrogenation or hydrogen processing units for loading have to be included in the system envelope only if they are necessary on-site for the storage process. E.g., a hydrogenation unit for a novel type of hydrogen carrier, operated at a different site than that of the novel storage system, does not have to be included, but may be described for clarification of advantages of the proposed storage technology.
• Progress with respect to state-of-the-art in CAPEX and OPEX, considering additional cost advantages like low footprint / cost of ground or use of industrial waste heat lowering energy cost, should be assessed in a Life Cycle Cost assessment (LCCA) of potential use cases.

Liquid hydrogen storage technologies are out scope of this topic.

Proposals are encouraged to explore synergies with the Zero Emission Waterborne Transport (ZEWT) partnership and Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking (CA-JU) as this topic has the potential for providing the large scale hydrogen storage facilities that ports and airports will require.

For additional elements applicable to all topics please refer to section 2.2.3.2.

Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project - see General Annex B.

The JU estimates that an EU contribution of maximum EUR 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.

The conditions related to this topic are provided in the chapter 2.2.3.2 of the Clean Hydrogen JU 2024 Annual Work Plan and in the General Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023–2024 which apply mutatis mutandis