Four Networks for Geologic Hydrogen Storage

每年都有大量的可再生能源被浪费，因为它们是在需求低的时候生产的。一些多余的能量可以通过将水分解成氢来储存，氢是一种灵活的燃料和有用的化学物质。但是，哪里可以储存足够大的氢来影响我们社会的碳足迹呢？地下多孔岩层也许能够储存和释放氢气。天然气储层已将天然气封存了数百万年。枯竭气藏的储存也可能为依赖化石燃料开采的社区提供新的经济机会。然而，目前尚不清楚氢是否可以储存在岩石中并在不造成经济损失的情况下回收。解决这些问题具有挑战性，因为除了安全问题外，氢还会与矿物质和微生物相互作用，从而改变其可用性和转售价值。氢经济的社会和经济影响也是未知的。在这里，该团队利用全球专业知识调查地下储氢的科学、环境、社区和经济影响。他们进行了最先进的实验，以揭示氢在岩石中储存时的化学和生物变化。目标是确定最佳的天然储层。他们设计了一个完整的实验，可以在现场测试氢的储存。他们分析了过渡到氢经济的社会经济影响。他们评估与新兴绿色氢产业相关的机遇和风险，同时通知感兴趣的社区。这样的评估对于释放日益增长的清洁能源供应并将其分配给公众至关重要。该项目还培训了未来的绿色氢劳动力。它为1名博士后、研究生和本科生提供支持和培训，特别是来自科学界代表性不足的群体。更具体地说，该项目围绕4个任务进行组织。Task 1使用实验宏基因组学和地球化学方法来了解化学和生物氢损失。该任务的结果是一个热力学生物地球化学模型来预测氢在任何候选储层中的命运。任务2使用美国和国际专家设计氢存储的实地研究，以测试存储性能的预测。这项任务的目标是生成并发布一份公开的研究计划，供任何考虑向氢经济过渡的国家进行实地研究。任务3研究和对比了荷兰和加利福尼亚氢中心区域发展的计划和活动。这里的一个基本目标是告知社区如何评估和建设性地应对与新兴绿色氢产业相关的机遇和威胁。任务4为本科教育和培训建立新的国际机会，重点关注围绕氢的各种科学、技术、环境和经济问题。这项任务旨在招募不同类型的STEM学生进入地球科学领域，并训练他们在跨学科、社会和国际边界上熟练地协同工作。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Every year, large amounts of renewable energy are wasted because they are produced at times of low demand. Some of the excess energy could be stored by splitting water into hydrogen, a flexible fuel and useful chemical. But where can hydrogen be stored at scales large enough to impact the carbon footprint of our society? Underground porous rock formations may be able to store and return hydrogen. Natural gas reservoirs have trapped gas for millions of years. Storage in depleted gas reservoirs may also provide new economic opportunities to communities depending on fossil fuel extraction. It is unclear, however, whether hydrogen can be stored in rocks and retrieved without economic losses. Addressing these issues is challenging because, beside the safety concerns, hydrogen can interact with minerals and microbes in ways that alter its usability and resale value. The social and economic impacts of a hydrogen economy are also unknown. Here, the team leverages expertise worldwide to investigate the scientific, environmental, community, and economic implications of underground hydrogen storage. They carry out state-of-the-art experiments to unveil the chemical and biological transformations of hydrogen while stored within rocks. The goal is to identify the best natural reservoirs. They design a full-scale experiment where storage of hydrogen can be tested in the field. They analyze the socioeconomic implications of transiting to a hydrogen economy. They assess the opportunities and risks associated with the emerging green hydrogen industry while informing interested communities. Such an assessment is critical to unlock a growing supply of clean energy and distribute it to the public. This project also trains the future green hydrogen workforce. It provides support and training for 1 postdoctoral associate, and graduate and undergraduate students notably from underrepresented groups in science. More specifically, the project is organized around 4 tasks. Task 1 uses experimental metagenomics and geochemical methods to understand chemical and biological hydrogen losses. This task outcome is a thermodynamic biogeochemical model to predict the fate of hydrogen in any candidate reservoir. Task 2 uses US and international experts to design a field study of hydrogen storage to test predictions of storage performance. This task's goal is to generate and publish an open research proposal for a field study that can be used in any country considering the transition to hydrogen economy. Task 3 studies and contrasts plans and activities for the regional development of hydrogen hubs in the Netherlands and California. An essential goal here is to inform communities on how to assess and constructively respond to opportunities and threats associated with the emerging green hydrogen industry. Task 4 establishes new international opportunities for undergraduate education and training with a focus on the diverse science, technology, environmental and economic issues around hydrogen. This task seeks to recruit a diverse body of STEM students into Earth science fields and train them to work skillfully and collaboratively across disciplinary, social, and international boundaries.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.