A Feasibility Study into the Expansion of the Hydrogen Storage at Entrance

With more emerging technologies for hydrogen storage, it has become more important than ever to properly evaluate different options to ensure technical feasibility and legal compliance. In this study the technical aspects and legal requirements of two main storage technologies: underground gas cylinders and metal hydride have been researched for installation at the Energy Transition Centre in Groningen.
The technical strengths, weaknesses and suitability of the technologies are explored and quantified using engineering calculations, then verified by experts at Entrance. Both technologies operate based on different principles, both offering improvements in safety but each focusing on various other characteristics of hydrogen storage as their main selling point. In terms of legal compliance, the current legal framework for hydrogen storage under the Environment and Planning Act (2024) is insufficient. This is especially the case for people who initiate hydrogen projects and local authorities who need to assess and decide whether the required Environmental and Planning permits can be granted in accordance with the current legal framework. It is however uncertain how the legal framework for hydrogen storage needs to be applied and which interests should be considered in in the decision-making process based on the new criterion: balanced allocation of functions to locations (ETFAL) and the instruction rules concerning safety from the national government. It was found that underground gas cylinders offer a more standard and practical approach at the cost of a more labour- intensive instalment period due to the need for ground excavation, whereas the metal hydride approach is more complex and less efficient, favouring volumetric energy density over gravimetric energy density. However, the less standard technology provides more areas for study at Entrance compared to underground cylinders. The expected results on the legal front reveal that in most cases a Planning permit is required for deviating from the Environmental plan from the local
authority. This is the case since not many Environmental plans provide an assessment framework for hydrogen storage. An Environmental permit is only needed when a large amount of hydrogen is stored.
Whether these permits will be granted depends on the specific facts and circumstances of the initiative, if there remains a balanced allocation of functions to locations (ETFAL) and whether the initiative is in line with the instruction rules concerning safety from the national government.