Launched at the end of 2024 for a period of four months, the test program aimed to analyze the behavior of an underground saline cavity subject to a hundred cycles of hydrogen pressure variations. The objective: to simulate different operating profiles – slow or fast cycles, with low or strong amplitudes – representative of industrial use. The results have proven conclusive, validating the technical viability of underground hydrogen storage in this type of geological formation. This success marks a key step in the development of a European infrastructure for low carbon hydrogen.
Hypster (Hydrogen Pilot Storage for Large Ecosystem Replication) is the first hydrogen storage demonstrator in the saline cavity funded by the European Union, via the Clean Hydrogen Partnership program. The project intends to play a structuring role in the hydrogen value chain, with a clear ambition: testing replicable solutions throughout industrial scale throughout European territory. With the success of these tests, Hypster contributes to laying the basics of a renewable hydrogen sector in Europe, by providing flexible and robust storage solutions, essential to the energy transition.
Carried by Storengy, a subsidiary of Engie specializing in underground storage of natural gas, Hypster brings together many industrial, scientific and institutional partners. Among them are in particular Armines-Ecole Polytechnique, INOVYN Ineos, ESK GmbH, ERM, INERIS, AXELERA, BROUARD CONSULTING AND EQUINOR. The project is also supported by the European Horizon 2020 program, with the assistance of Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research.
