Completion of the project "Underground Sun Storage - Flexible Storage"

Seasonal storage of large quantities of renewable energy to be made available year round – this was investigated in the project "Underground Sun Conversion – Flexible Storage" from December 2020 to May 2023.

After successful completion of the project the final report is available in English now. In the report all research results can be read in detail.

In the course of the project, we could prove that both safe storage of hydrogen and CO₂ and the conversion into methane are possible in underground gas reservoirs. In addition, the USC technology could be further developed towards commercializability.

In the follow-up project “Carbon-Cycle Economy Demonstration” (C-CED) the "USC – Flex Store" project is beeing continued. The goal is to establish a sustainable and closed carbon cycle and thus making CO₂ usable as a raw material and storable as methane.

RAG receives certificate for green hydrogen production

For more than 10 years, RAG Austria AG has been working on hydrogen as an energy source in order to store renewable energy seasonally and in large volumes.

In cooperation with TÜV SÜD, we have now succeeded in certifying the production of green hydrogen by means of water electrolysis at the research facility in Pilsbach - a great success for the current research project USC-FlexStore.

We see the certification as an essential prerequisite for the market ramp-up and commercialization of hydrogen and the associated storage services.

"Underground Sun Conversion – FlexStore" project

From December 2020, the “Underground Sun Conversion – Flexible Storage” (USC-FlexStore) project will investigate seasonal storage of large quantities of renewable energy to be made available year round.

This innovative international project is carried out with Swiss partners under the leadership of Energie 360°. It aims at developing a seasonal, high-volume transformation and storage solution for erratic renewable generation. Energy will be stored safely in gaseous form in underground facilities at depths of over 1,000 metres.

The aim of the project is to take RAG Austria AG’s patented “Underground Sun Conversion” (USC) technology (which involves methanation of CO₂ and green H₂) to the next level, and to design services based on it. Field tests are planned at RAG’s research facility in Pilsbach (Upper Austria).

“Underground Sun Conversion – Flexible Storage”: sustainable storage for the renewable energy system of the future

The “Underground Sun Conversion – Flexible Storage” (USC-FlexStore) project aims at developing a seasonal, high-volume transformation and storage solution for renewable generation.

In collaboration with Swiss energy supplier Energie 360° and research partners (WIVA P&G, BOKU Vienna, Empa, University of Bern, OST) working on this multi-disciplinary, transnational project, know-how and specific capabilities will be bundled. The research will focus on devising solutions to one of the biggest challenges facing the energy system of tomorrow: how to expand fluctuating generation of renewables such as wind and solar power while at the same time maintaining high levels of security of supply, especially in winter, when the possibility of generating power is low and demand is high?