Perspectives of using the geological subsurface for hydrogen storage in Poland

The increasing share of renewable energy in electricity production in Poland is part of the growing interest in the hydrogen underground storage. In the search for suitable locations for this purpose it is useful to have the knowledge on the geological structures for underground storage of gases, including carbon dioxide. This article presents the possibilities of geological storage of hydrogen in underground geological structures in Poland (salt caverns, depleted oil and natural gas fields, and deeply seated aquifers). The study results confirm that there are favorable conditions to achieve this goal – in many areas of Poland it is possible to realize some type of hydrogen underground storage. The paper presents prospective areas for different options of hydrogen underground storage at specified conditions. For locations in salt caverns, rock salt deposits from the following areas are proposed: Łeba Elevation, Fore-Sudetic Monocline, Carpathian Foredeep, and salt stocks in the Polish Lowlands. For depleted oil and natural gas fields in the Polish Lowlands, Carpathians and Carpathian Foredeep, a few tens of fields are indicated, most of them are natural gas deposits. In the Polish Lowlands, several anticlinal structures in the Lower Cretaceous and Lower Jurassic formations have been selected. These pre-designated locations may be the basis for further work and detailed considerations in order to find the best and most appropriate locations intended for hydrogen underground storage.