Ofgem backs Scottish underground hydrogen storage project
The consortium, National Gas, has secured £500,000 from Ofgem to develop the innovative new type of underground hydrogen storage.
The system, known as H2FlexiStore, has been developed by Edinburgh energy storage developer Gravitricity, and is designed to hold up to 100 tonnes of green hydrogen in purpose-built underground lined shafts.
The technology can be located where required, for example as part of the National Gas network or next to large industrial users.
The Ofgem funding will enable a consortium – which also includes Southern Gas Networks, Guidehouse, Edinburgh University, Energy Reform and Premtech – to design and model a working system over the next six months, ahead of a potential demonstration phase next year.
Capacity comparisons. (Image: Gravitricity) The funding comes from Ofgem's Strategic Innovation Fund and follows the successful completion of a National Gas led feasibility study in 2024, which identified H2FlexiStore as the preferred technology to provide locationally flexible hydrogen storage.
Once the design project is successfully completed, a third and final project phase could be secured, which would see the delivery of a technical demonstration project, supported by multi-million-pound funding from the Strategic Innovation Fund.
A successful demonstrator project would validate the benefits of underground storage to the hydrogen industry and key infrastructure projects such as Project Union, which is investigating the potential to repurpose the existing gas grid for hydrogen to create a UK hydrogen backbone to connect production and storage assets to demand.
Martin Wright is a co-founder of the company. (Image: Gravitricity) Martin Wright, Gravitricity co-founder and executive chairman, said: "Given the strategic need for grid scale energy storage both nationally and internationally, it is crucial that enabling hydrogen storage technologies such as H2FlexiStore are commercially mature in time to offer cost effective resilience within current and future energy systems.
"This support from Ofgem, enables us to prepare both technically and commercially for the delivery of a demonstration project next year and the early commercial projects within our existing pipeline of opportunities."
Kelvin Shillinglaw, innovation analyst at National Gas, said: "This project is a critical step forward in ensuring the UK's gas networks are ready for a hydrogen-powered future.
"By embedding resilience with operational hydrogen storage directly into the transmission system, we can maintain operational flexibility, reduce costs for consumers, and support the decarbonisation of heat and power."
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