OptiStore

The OptiSTORE project seeks to address the challenge of supply and demand imbalance within Wales & West Utilities’ (WWU) network as means to mitigate the need for storage, particularly in support of Net Zero ambitions, including the planning for development of new hydrogen pipelines and WWU’s existing HyLine programme.. Current geological hydrogen storage methods such as salt caverns, saline aquifers, and depleted oil and gas reservoirs are capital intensive, often technically complex and reliant on specific geological conditions which are less present across WWU’s geography.

Whilst hydrogen can be stored as a liquid, this process requires extremely low temperatures which is technically complex and costly due to the energy required to maintain such low temperatures. One promising alternative to this is Ammonia, which is attractive due to its lower storage temperature (-33°C versus -253°C for hydrogen), higher volumetric energy density, and existing infrastructure and regulatory familiarity.

This project will explore the feasibility of using ammonia as a means to provide supply-side flexibility of hydrogen to support industrial clusters and future hydrogen pipeline developments.