# Hydrogen storage

Hydrogen held as compressed gas, liquid, in salt caverns, depleted gas fields or metal hydrides.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/

Storage · Chemical · No. 86

- Storage
- Duration: Days to seasons
 Storage · Chemical · Foundation · Energy

A single salt cavern can hold up to 6,000 tonnes of hydrogen, and one British cavern has been working since 1972.

Chart: Illustration: Hydrogen storage

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Hydrogen made with spare power is squeezed to 350 to 700 bar, chilled to about -253 C, pumped into caverns, or bound to a metal or liquid.

##### Three things to know

1. Hydrogen burns from about 4% in air with an almost invisible flame, and it leaks through tiny gaps.
2. Bigger caverns are much cheaper per kilogram: about USD 25/kg at 1,000 tonnes against USD 95 at 100 tonnes (calculated).
3. Releasing hydrogen from an organic liquid carrier takes about 11 kWh of heat per kg, roughly a third of its energy.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Electrolysis**Spare power splits water into hydrogen
2. 2 **Densify**Compress, liquefy or bind to a carrier
3. 3 **Store**Tanks, salt caverns or depleted gas fields
4. 4 **Release**Decompress, warm or heat the carrier
5. 5 **Use**Turbine, fuel cell or industrial feedstock
 Covered in [Storing energy: from fuel stocks to batteriesEnergy](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/energy/storing-energy/)

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## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/correlation/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)