Relevance of Microbial Redox Reactions of Hydrogen During Underground Storage of Hydrogen

Underground storage of hydrogen (H2) could be an alternative or important supplement to energy storage. However, there is still lack of knowledge about fundamental biogeochemical aspects of underground hydrogen storage. The work presented here addresses the microbial consumption of H2 and the involved microorganisms at potential underground storage sites. A specific interest is to gain information about microbial activity that might result in a loss of stored hydrogen as well as the production of unwanted metabolic products e.g. H2S. The importance of specific conditions with relevance for underground hydrogen storage i.e. elevated pressure, high temperature and rock material, will be addressed. Preliminary results showed the consumption of hydrogen by indigenous microorganisms from porous rock reservoir fluid and also demonstrated the dependence of the microbial hydrogen consumption rates on important reservoir parameters, i.e. temperature, pressure and geochemistry.