Resilient Energy, Water and Infrastructure

Grid-Scale Subsurface Energy Storage

Illustration depicting compressed air energy storage (CAES) in porous media systems. Illustration by W. Denn.

Understand and develop effective and affordable grid-scale energy storage in the deep subsurface, such as porous media compressed air energy storage, thermal energy storage, or hydrogen storage. Carry out research on capacity assessment, design of systems, performance analysis, assessment of risks, and specialized analysis of site-specific issues.

Overview

Grid-Scale Subsurface Energy Storage is an Energy Geosciences Division initiative within the Resilient Energy, Water and Infrastructure Program Domain.

Featured Projects

News & Events

EGD Hosts Symposium on Coupled Processes in Radioactive Waste Disposal and Subsurface Engineering Applications

November 23, 2019

On November 4-5, 2019, the Environmental Geosciences Division co-hosted the DECOVALEX 2019 Symposium on “Coupled Processes in Radioactive Waste Disposal and Subsurface Engineering Applications” in Brugg, Switzerland. Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes in geological systems are critically important to the performance and safety assessment of geologic disposal systems for radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Understanding…

Better Predicting Earthquake Damage to Infrastructure with Faster Computing

October 30, 2019

This article originally appeared at lbl.gov and was authored by Jessica Scully. Researchers at Berkeley Lab are using high-performance computing systems to better predict how structures will respond to an earthquake along one of the Bay Area’s most dangerous faults. Berkeley Lab researcher David McCallen David McCallen is the principal investigator of a team of…

How groundwater management activities can affect water quantity and quality

October 2, 2019

Peter Nico has co-authored a new working paper outlining how groundwater management activities can affect not only the quantity but also the quality of groundwater with a team of water-quality experts led by the Environmental Defense Fund. Nico is an environmental biogeochemist and program domain lead for Berkeley Lab’s Resilient Energy, Water and Infrastructure Program. …

Testing Gas Leaks in an Underground Carbon Dioxide Storage Site using EM Tomography

September 25, 2019

Two vans that look like mail trucks, two 200-feet well, a 150-pound antenna, four scientists, and many many wires: that’s the scene at the Richmond Field Station, five miles outside of Berkeley. Here, Berkeley Lab scientists are testing a cross-well electromagnetic tomography technology that was originally developed to spot oil, gas, and water in deep…

New $100M Innovation Hub to Accelerate R&D for a Secure Water Future

September 23, 2019

This news release appeared first on the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory website. The National Alliance for Water Innovation, which is led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), has been awarded a five-year, $100-million Energy-Water Desalination Hub by DOE (pending appropriations) to address water security issues in the United States. The Hub…

Jonathan Ajo-Franklin Receives Harold Mooney Award for 2019

September 11, 2019

EESA Faculty Scientist Jonathan Ajo-Franklin has been named the Harold Mooney Award Winner for 2019 by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. Ajo-Franklin began working at Berkeley Lab as a research scientist in 2007. He later became staff scientist and department head of the Geophysics Department in 2017. The Harold Mooney Award is given annually to…