Geologic Hydrogen Capabilities
Sandia’s decades of hydrogen and geoscience research provides a foundation to solve complex challenges related to the development of geologic hydrogen. Most of these existing capabilities, including scientific hydrogen reservoir management techniques, subsurface access methodologies, and systems analysis, are directly applicable to the exploration, simulation, and storage of geologic hydrogen. In addition to this strong background in capability development, multi-lab strategic partnerships can be utilized to transform geologic hydrogen into an enduring part of our nation’s energy security.
Subsurface Reservoirs
Found underground, geologic hydrogen requires expertise to locate, characterize, and develop its subsurface reservoirs. Although supplemental research is still needed, the majority of Sandia’s existing body of knowledge around subsurface storage can be utilized to understand geologic hydrogen in the subsurface.
- Cavern storage: Sandia has been the scientific advisor to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve since its inception over 40 years ago. Sandia’s expertise in characterizing, modeling, and simulating the SPR has allowed it to meet operational needs during crude oil supply disruptions as one of our nation’s most vital energy assets. Additionally, Sandia leverages our analytic capabilities and laboratories to support experimentation and research for characterizing the suitability of subsurface hydrogen storage. We study multiple subsurface environments, including domal salt structures, bedded salt/sedimentary formations, and porous media, to store and recover hydrogen for safe and effective industrial use.
- Porous media storage: Sandia participates in DOE’s Subsurface Hydrogen Assessment, Storage, and Technology Acceleration (SHASTA) program that researches the science, engineering, regulations, and permitting of underground hydrogen storage systems in porous media and salt caverns. This work can be directly translated into understanding how geologic hydrogen reservoirs will behave during production.
- Reservoir modeling and simulation: Sandia researchers have led the development of the Geological Disposal Safety Assessment (GDSA) Framework for characterizing, modeling, and simulating fluid flow in the subsurface for nuclear waste repository siting. This framework allows rigorous uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis to be performed on subsurface geological models. Work is ongoing to modify simulation codes (e.g., PFLOTRAN) to model hydrogen reactive transport.
- Surface science: Sandia is actively studying the processes by which hydrogen is produced from Earth materials at the molecular and atomic levels using advanced laboratory methods that can monitor chemical reactions at mineral surfaces.
- Laboratory capabilities: Sandia’s world-class laboratories in geomechanics, geochemistry, geomicrobiology, and applied geology have established proven methodologies for characterizing the suitability of subsurface formations for the storage of hydrogen. These resources include new and upgraded facilities equipped to handle the unique environmental health and safety requirements of working with hydrogen.
Improving Subsurface Access
As the developers of the polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) drill bit, Sandia is well versed in pushing the bounds of drilling to provide access to subsurface energy and mineral resources.
- Decades of geothermal research and nuclear waste repository science have resulted in a team with significant experience in drilling into deep, hot, hard rock environments.
- Sandia’s critical minerals geochemistry expertise, combined with demonstrated geothermal expertise and hydrogen storage, can yield vital cross-utilization of deep access resources.
- Sandia’s ability to conduct flow, reactive transport, geochemical, and geomechanical modeling provides decision-quality results for subsurface investment.
- Mapping fracture networks is an important part of Sandia’s ongoing subsurface contributions to nuclear waste disposal science, as well as several national security projects.
- Because subsurface storage will likely be part of any future hydrogen grid, Sandia is actively researching innovative methods of subsurface storage and the effects of hydrogen on those systems.
Systems Analysis
Sandia’s modeling teams craft dynamic simulation models for large hydrogen systems and utilize related national lab capabilities to develop equation-oriented process models for various hydrogen-related unit operations. Further, we have demonstrated national-level expertise in capturing operational requirements and constraints, bracketing costs for key components, and translating these concepts into mathematical modeling and analysis.
- Sandia’s systems modeling teams have the capability to conduct system-level dynamic models of hydrogen systems (i.e., production/stimulation, conveyance, storage) and to optimize planning, design, and scheduling of hydrogen production/stimulation and management systems (e.g., size, location, cost, efficiency, performance), given variability in both energy supply and demand while balancing costs, policy incentives, and other factors.
- Our technoeconomic analysis team is recognized in national-level programs for their leadership in analyzing available hydrogen storage assets and determining the levelized cost of hydrogen for various storage regions and classes of storage assets.
- Life cycle assessments (LCA) are used to assess economic and other considerations for hydrogen production, storage, and conveyance systems in terms of kg H2 and additional program-required metrics.
- Sandia’s grid modeling, microgrids, distributed systems, and power electronics expertise supports analysis and protection of critical energy infrastructure and assets; including interdependencies between hydrogen production/storage systems and the bulk grid to study how issues such as siting could affect individual and overall system performance.
Sensing Hydrogen — an Emerging Area of Research
Sensing hydrogen seeps from natural deposits and industrial infrastructure leaks are important capabilities in the emerging world of geologic hydrogen. Sandia’s quantum team leverages our engineering facilities and expertise to link engineering with basic science. Through theory, computational modeling, and experimentation, our program advances what is possible in many facets of quantum information sciences.
- Sandia’s quantum team is exploring ways to differentiate atmospheric hydrogen from anomalous hydrogen seeps from the subsurface — from the local scale to broader, platform-based regional scales.
Decades of Hydrogen Experience
Sandia has extensive experience in hydrogen systems through decades of work in understanding hydrogen as part of its nuclear mission. The hydrogen-related capabilities developed in alignment with DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, established an impressive body of knowledge in producing, storing, and utilizing hydrogen safely in a variety of industrial and transportation settings.
- Sandia materials scientists use their expertise and Sandia’s internationally recognized capabilities to understand how hydrogen interacts with materials at both the atomic and macroscopic scales — and all the scales in between. Sandia applies this understanding to assess and predict the performance and reliability of engineered components. Through its co-leadership of the Hydrogen Materials Compatibility Consortium (H-Mat), Sandia uses its research to determine new materials, processing methods, and microstructures that will improve materials reliability in hydrogen infrastructure.
- Sandia’s unique capabilities are rooted in interdisciplinary research. Sandia’s approach enables self-assembled materials, tailored alloys, multicomponent composites, destabilized and nanostructured metal hydrides to be conceived, synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for vehicular hydrogen storage. Sandia also co-leads the Hydrogen Materials Advanced Research Consortium (HyMARC), which provides the fundamental understanding of phenomena governing thermodynamics and kinetics necessary to enable the development of on-board solid‐phase hydrogen storage materials.
- Sandia’s hydrogen safety, codes, and standards research program has developed technical data and scientific understanding to inform science-based improvements to codes and standards that define the safe use of hydrogen. These scientific advances include fracture mechanics of storage vessels, advanced quantitative risk assessment capability, and fundamental behavior and characteristics of a hydrogen release, such as dispersion, accumulation, ignition, flame radiation, and overpressure. Sandia researchers serve on national and international standards bodies for hydrogen safety.
- Sandia has world-class expertise in multimodal transportation of hydrogen; this includes reviewing existing codes and standards related to hydrogen systems for rail, as well as assessing the feasibility of supporting infrastructure (such as refueling and maintenance facilities) necessary for hydrogen rail applications.
Applying these areas of expertise to geologic hydrogen can allow us to:
- Broaden existing hydrogen program capabilities in safety, codes, and standards to apply to geologic hydrogen exploration, storage, and engineered systems.
- Apply knowledge and conduct further research on hydrogen effects on materials that may be used in an engineered geologic hydrogen processing system.
- Continue refining risk assessment approaches for exploration activities, large scale hydrogen storage systems and engineered infrastructure for hydrogen processing.
- Expand existing geochemistry, geomechanics, microbiology, subsurface transport modeling, and hydrogen systems modeling capabilities to broaden foundational knowledge on geologic hydrogen applications.