UNDERGROUND HYDROGEN STORAGE POTENTIAL IN PENNSYLVANIA

The commonwealth of Pennsylvania has been critically important to the energy infrastructure of the United States (U.S.) since it fostered the birth of the modern petroleum industry more than 150 years ago. The abundant fossil energy reserves in the commonwealth make it a leading supplier of natural gas, coal, electricity, and refined petroleum products on the East Coast. As the U.S. pushes to decarbonize, Pennsylvania is also well suited to become a hub for hydrogen production, transport, and storage. The commonwealth overlies the Marcellus Shale, the largest natural gas field in the U.S., and is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the country—a feedstock for blue hydrogen production. It also has extensive natural gas infrastructure, which could potentially be repurposed for hydrogen, and a high potential for industrial demand. Notably, the geology in Pennsylvania has proven to be favorable for underground natural gas storage. Underground hydrogen storage in Pennsylvania has the potential to provide large-scale, long-duration energy storage for a hydrogen economy. However, the feasibility of hydrogen storage in the various geologic formations of Pennsylvania must still be understood. In this study, we evaluated relevant geologic formations in Pennsylvania for their hydrogen storage potential. We applied a suitability framework to rank potential storage reservoirs by their favorability and used available geologic information to estimate hydrogen storage volumes.