# Hydrogen storage: Correlation Prices it moves with, and why Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/correlation/ Hydrogen is stored as compressed gas in tanks, in underground salt caverns, as a cryogenic liquid or in carriers. Costs depend on compressors, tank materials such as carbon fibre, suitable geology and the energy lost in conversion. Proxy **US PPI: argon and hydrogen** index · monthly, Jun 2009 to Sep 2026 There is no free public price for hydrogen storage itself, so this tab uses the closest public series as a stand-in. Read the numbers as an indication, not as the price of this exact item. #### What its price moves with Selected link ##### Hydrogen storage and Salt Monthly changes -0.00 little or none correlation 12-month changes -0.12 little or none correlation Lead or lag +1 mo Salt tends to lead by 1 month (r 0.16) Price function, Jun 2009 to Aug 2026 Hydrogen storage ≈ 34.8 × (Salt)^0.21 R² 0.21 On this fit, a 10% higher salt price goes with a 2.0% higher hydrogen storage price over the long run. Units: index and index, BLS base period. The fit is loose, so treat the function as a rough guide. Chart: Hydrogen storage and Salt prices rebased to 100 at Jun 2009, log scale Both prices rebased to 100 at Jun 2009, on a log scale so equal percentage moves look the same size. Chart: Hydrogen storage price against Salt price, monthly, log scales, with fitted line Each dot is one month; paler dots are older (2009), darker dots recent (2026); the ringed dot is the latest month. The dashed line is the fitted price function. Both axes are logarithmic. Chemical [H2 Hydrogen](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrogen/)Stored product The tile shares the US argon and hydrogen price index with the hydrogen tile, so no separate statistics are shown. That index mainly measures merchant hydrogen sold to industry, not the cost of storing it. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Commodity [NaCl Salt](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/salt/)Cavern host −0.00 Salt caverns are the cheapest way to store large volumes of hydrogen because salt is gas-tight. The salt index shows no link with the hydrogen proxy, with monthly moves at 0.00, since cavern cost depends on geology rather than salt prices. little or none co-movement month to month · 121 months Show charts Chemical [ACN Acrylonitrile](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/acrylonitrile/)Tank fibre −0.20 High-pressure tanks for vehicles are wound with carbon fibre made from polyacrylonitrile. The basic organics proxy shows at most a weak, negative link to the hydrogen index, with monthly moves at -0.20, because fibre is a small and separate market. weak co-movement month to month · 208 months Show charts Energy [Gas Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/)Feedstock 0.05 Most hydrogen is made from natural gas, and gas storage offers the template for hydrogen caverns. The hydrogen index shows no link to the European gas price, with monthly moves at 0.05, because merchant hydrogen is sold on long contracts. little or none co-movement month to month · 208 months Show charts Energy [Elz Electrolysers](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_electrolysers/)Supply partner Electrolysers running on variable wind and solar power need storage to deliver steady hydrogen to users such as ammonia plants. Cheaper electrolysers increase the need for storage to smooth their output. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Energy [FC Fuel cells](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fuel_cells/)End use Fuel cell vehicles carry hydrogen in high-pressure tanks, and tank cost is a large part of vehicle cost. Fuel cell demand therefore drives tank volumes and the push to cut carbon fibre use. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. How to read these numbers **Correlation of monthly changes** (the number in the coloured pill) compares how much each price moved, month by month, since 2006 or the first month both series exist. It runs from −1 to +1: near +1 the two usually rise and fall in the same months, near 0 there is no link, and a negative number means they tend to move in opposite directions. Above 0.7 is strong, 0.4 to 0.7 moderate, 0.2 to 0.4 weak. **12-month changes** compare year-on-year moves, which shows whether two prices share the same cycles even when the month-to-month noise differs. **Price function** is a straight-line fit of the two prices on logarithmic scales: price ≈ k × (partner price)^β. β is how much this price moves, in per cent, for a 1% move in the partner over the whole period, and R² is the share of the variation the fit explains. Two prices that both drift up with inflation can fit well without any real link, so read it together with the monthly correlation. **Lead or lag** checks whether the monthly correlation is clearly higher when one price is shifted by 1 to 6 months. Correlation is not cause. The reasons on each card explain the economic link; the numbers show how strongly it has shown up in prices. Proxy series are US producer price indexes or related prices and can blur the real link. Data: World Bank Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet), October 2026; US Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price indexes, IMF primary commodity prices and US EIA prices via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, retrieved November 2026. Calculations by this site. ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/overview/index.md) - [Science and technology](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/sg-sci/index.md) - [Engineering and performance](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/sg-eng/index.md) - [Economics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/sg-econ/index.md) - [Impact and additionality](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/sg-impact/index.md) - [What to track](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/tracking/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/links/index.md)