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

EESA Faculty Scientists Elected as National Academy of Sciences Members

May 4, 2018

Two EESA faculty scientists have been elected as members of the National Academy of Sciences. Kristie Boering is a faculty scientist in the Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division at Berkeley Lab and a UC Berkeley professor of chemistry and earth and planetary science who studies physical, environmental, and atmospheric chemistry; climate change; and earth and planetary…

EESA Scientists Leverage Machine Learning to Connect Measurements of Shale Across Scales

May 2, 2018

EESA Scientists were able to use the new synchrotron Infrared Nano Spectroscopy (SINS) capability at Advanced Light Source. Above: Diagrams of the setup of (a) the Germanium-hemisphere enhanced attenuated total reflection (Ge micro-ATR) and (b) the resonance enhanced SINS. Berkeley Lab scientists have identified a way to use machine learning to connect fine-…

Two Papers by EESA Geophysicists Honored by Society of Exploration Geophysicists

April 26, 2018

Two papers published in 2017 by geophysics researchers within the Energy Geosciences Division have been honored by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. Geophysics Department Head Jonathan Ajo-Franklin was notified that the studies received Honorable Mention in the category of Best Paper in Geophysics in April. The papers published by the society are: An effective-medium model for P-wave…

Berkeley Lab Signs Memorandum of Understanding with French Geological Survey

April 12, 2018

On April 10, Berkeley Lab and France’s Geological Survey, BRGM (Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières), signed a Memorandum of Understanding representing their intent to expand a collaborative partnership. The French geological survey is one of Berkeley Lab’s key European counterparts in working to address the need to protect and sustain Earth’s energy and environmental…

Scientists Unveil New Version of Popular Flow-Simulation Tool

March 22, 2018

Scientists from the Energy Geosciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) have released the latest version of TOUGH (Transport Of Unsaturated Groundwater and Heat), a suite of software codes used worldwide to simulate nonisothermal multiphase flow and transport in fractured and porous media. TOUGH3 builds on the impressive legacy of its TOUGH predecessors, which…

Berkeley Lab Scientists Go Deep Underground to Study Rock Fractures in Geothermal Environments

March 5, 2018

In February EESA Staff Scientist Tim Kneafsey helped escort leadership from the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on a journey 4,850 feet below the ground. They toured Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), an old South Dakota gold mine turned testing ground for studying how the process of extracting heat from rocks…