Dr. Marianna Vadászi, member of the Underground Hydrogen Storage Research Group at the University of Miskolc, participating in the National Laboratory for Renewable Energy (NLRE) project, shares her insights.
Within the framework of the project, the research team faced new professional challenges in the field of underground hydrogen storage. The team designed and built a unique rock-testing device that allows the analysis of reservoir rocks under both hydrogen–methane mixtures and pure hydrogen conditions. Hydrogen, as a potential medium for energy storage, can play a key role in achieving a carbon-neutral energy system. By examining the interactions between the geological environment and the injected fluids, the researchers can better understand the mechanisms of hydrogen loss occurring in various forms. The project also fostered closer collaboration between the research group and both domestic and international gas industry partners, while providing opportunities to explore the latest international findings on hydrogen storage.
The group’s main achievement is the testing of rock samples from domestic reservoirs to assess their suitability for underground hydrogen storage using the newly developed device. The safe injection and withdrawal of hydrogen over multiple cycles face numerous technical challenges. Their research – unique in Hungary – enables the investigation of rocks exposed to hydrogen environments, providing a new petrophysical (examining the physical and chemical attributions of rocks) testing service for companies both in Hungary and abroad.
Newly developed permeameter operating on the principle of pressure drop
As a new industrial research direction, the group has also begun examining the behaviour of well cementing used in storage operations. Its results have already been integrated into the university’s hydrogen supply engineering training, and collaborations with national and international underground gas storage facilities have been further strengthened in the field of hydrogen technologies.
