Quantifying seasonal hydrogen storage demands under cost and market uptake uncertainties in energy system transformation pathways

The paradigm of climate neutrality places the electricity system at the centre of the clean energy supply, with indirect electrification and the hydrogen economy playing pivotal roles in mitigating emissions from energy and industrial processes. This study links the pan-European energy system planning model SCOPE SD with the multi-period European gas market model IMAGINE to analyse hydrogen infrastructure development in a closed transformation pathway. The results indicate a pressing need for significant expansion beyond refurbished methane infrastructure in Europe and quantify the effects of uncertain hydrogen storage costs and market uptake for the first time. Our scenarios show that approximately three-quarters of the final storage facilities are required and one-fifth of the final pipelines required are new construction projects. The study concludes that rapidly planning hydrogen storage and pipeline infrastructure is essential to meet the required capacity by 2050, especially if market uptake is not unlimited.