HyDRA – diagnostic tools and risk protocols to accelerate underground hydrogen storage

Officially launched on 1 January 2025, HyDRA was awarded €3 million in funding by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and its members. This pioneering EU-funded project aims to advance the understanding and implementation of underground hydrogen storage (UHS) across Europe.

The overall goal of the HyDRA project is the “Characterisation of hydrogen-consuming microbial activity and interaction with the storage formation to determine guiding principles that mitigate risk and enable fast-tracking of porous media underground storage as part of the European hydrogen ecosystem”.

HyDRA gathers together eight leading research institutions and one enterprise across six countries: BGR, ESI, IDAEA-CSIC, ISO, KIT, TUC, UEDIN, UiB and UNINA. These institutions are collaboratively addressing the pressing need for large-scale hydrogen storage solutions to support Europe’s transition to a low-carbon energy future.

Our mission: Enabling Large-Scale Hydrogen Storage in Europe

To meet the EU’s ambitious climate targets, diversify the energy market, and ensure a reliable energy supply, there is a pressing need to expand hydrogen infrastructure.

With current storage facilities unable to accommodate the anticipated growth in hydrogen production, underground storage in naturally occurring sealed formations, such as sedimentary basins, presents a promising solution. These formations are cost-effective, robust, and offer large storage capacities, making them ideal for integration into existing systems.

However, significant knowledge gaps remain, particularly concerning how microbial processes might influence hydrogen storage. The HyDRA project addresses these gaps by developing scientific protocols and regulatory frameworks to ensure safe and efficient underground hydrogen storage.

The HyDRA project at a glance; goals, methodologies and interdisciplinarity.

Key Objectives of HyDRA

1. Innovative Research:

Investigate hydrogen-consuming microbial activity and its interaction with storage formations to establish risk mitigation strategies.

2. Methodology Development:

Enhance understanding of bio-geochemical processes affecting hydrogen storage in porous media.

3. Standardization and Regulation:

Provide science-based recommendations to support the development of ISO standards and regulatory codes for underground hydrogen storage.

An Europe-Wide Approach

HyDRA collaborates with a wide network of storage site operators (SSOs) to ensure comprehensive coverage across Europe and minimize research duplication. The project spans over 20 sedimentary basins, each with distinct geological conditions, pressures, temperatures, and depths.

Additionally, the project will analyze microbial communities in natural hydrogen seeps and accumulations through bio-geochemical sampling. This research is essential to shaping monitoring and remediation technologies for the safe and efficient deployment of underground hydrogen storage.

Through the HyDRA project, we aim to make sure that European underground hydrogen porous media storage is safe and effective.

Key Info:

Project consortium:

  • BGR (Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources)
  • ESZN (Earth Sciences New Zealand)
  • IDAEA-CSIC (Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research at Spanish National Research Council)
  • ISO (Isodetect GmbH)
  • KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)
  • TUC (Clausthal University of Technology)
  • UEDIN (University of Edinburgh)
  • UiB (University of Bergen)
  • UNINA (University of Naples Federico II)

Period duration:
2025 – 2028

Disclaimer:
The project is supported by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and its members. Co-funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101192337 — HyDRA. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.