EWE closes initial hydrogen storage tests near Berlin

German energy service provider EWE said on Friday it has successfully completed the first phase of tests of a 500 cubic metre underground hydrogen storage cavern in Ruedersdorf, near Berlin, obtaining “satisfactory results”.

EWE tested the slow injection and withdrawal of hydrogen, or slow operational mode, over a period of three months. “The technical system for injection and withdrawal worked well,” project manager Hayo Seeba said.

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Notably, the quality of the hydrogen after withdrawal changed only slightly. The gas also absorbed only a little moisture from the underground cavity, Seeba added.

Overall, EWE will test three different injection and withdrawal scenarios with various flow rates. The second testing phase will start at the end of May and will again last three months. As part of the experiment, the company will increase the hydrogen flow rate to depict significantly faster storage cycles. The pressure in the hydrogen cavern will rise and fall faster than in the first operating cycle.

The tests, initiated in October 2023, are being carried out as part of the HyCAVmobil research project, which EWE is conducting jointly with the German Aerospace Center. The overall cost of the project is EUR 10 million (USD 10.8m), with EWE providing EUR 4 million in own funds.

The German energy service provider plans to incorporate the findings from Ruedersdorf into a large-scale storage project in Huntorf, Lower Saxony.

In total, EWE holds 37 caverns in Huntorf, Nuettermoor, Jemgum, and Ruedersdorf, or about 15% of all German cavern storage suitable for hydrogen storage.

In March, the company said it plans to connect the storage site in Ruedersdorf to the hydrogen core network that is being developed throughout Germany.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.084)