Gasunie and Patrizia/Storag Etzel want to develop hydrogen storage caverns in the Etzel salt dome in the German state of Lower Saxony. Gasunie and Storag Etzel announced this today during energy conference E-world in Essen. The aim, following a feasibility study, is to develop and operate a multi-cavity storage facility with a total capacity of up to 1 TWh of hydrogen. 

Hydrogen is going to play an important role in the future energy system, especially for making industry more sustainable. For a well-functioning hydrogen market, large-scale hydrogen storage is crucial. In the Netherlands, Gasunie has now started developing underground hydrogen storage in the northern Netherlands (HyStock). In Etzel, Germany, Gasunie and Storag Etzel have already been working together on the pilot project H2CAST since January last year, testing hydrogen storage in two small existing caverns.

The new agreement with Patrizia/Storag Etzel for cavern development is the next step for Gasunie in its ambition to develop hydrogen storage capacity to contribute to a smooth start of the hydrogen market in the Netherlands and Germany. Based on the new agreement with Storag Etzel for the development of caverns, Gasunie will investigate the feasibility of a storage facility.

The location of the storage caverns in Etzel is strategically located with a perfect connection to the Dutch and German hydrogen market, close to the future Gasunie hydrogen network Hyperlink and the Energy-Hub port of Wilhelmshaven.