27/11/2024

Keynote Address: What Value Does the Subsurface Hold for Energy Storage ?

Global generation capacity for low carbon renewable energy such as wind and solar power has greatly increased in recent years, leading to an increasing need for energy storage to address curtailment of excess energy and  balance supply with demand.  Large-scale energy storage is possible via various technologies including pumped hydro schemes; underground cavern storage of natural gas, hydrogen and compressed air; shallow and deep geothermal storage; battery storage and innovative technologies such as storage of heat as molten salt or gravity storage utilising disused mineshafts.  

 Geological understanding is key to the success of many of these and the UK’s rich geological heritage includes thick beds of halite that can be developed for cavern storage, depleted hydrocarbon fields that have held large amounts of oil and gas over geological time and saline aquifers with pore space that could be utilised for energy storage. There are also novel uses of the subsurface such as lined tunnels for compressed air, abandoned mines for heat and cool storage and permeable rocks/caverns for underground pumped hydro projects. This presentation will provide an overview of recent BGS involvement in energy storage science and an introduction to the energy storage research capabilities of the recently completed UK Geoenergy Observatories in Cheshire and Glasgow. 

Discussion points: 

• What is the current focus for companies looking to invest in energy storage, in terms of global regions, power sources and storage technologies? 

• What are the opportunities for large- scale subsurface energy storage vs small scale local schemes and how might these interact? 

• What are the priority areas for UK investment in subsurface research, innovation and skills development?