Underground gas storage is a cornerstone technology for addressing climate challenges and advancing clean energy transitions. By managing greenhouse gases and enhancing energy system resilience, it supports global sustainability goals. This study presents a comparative bibliometric analysis of geological storage research for CO2 (Berrezueta et al., 2023) and H2 (Berrezueta et al., 2024), focusing on contributions published in Scopus and Web of Science databases up to 2024 (updated January 6, 2025).
For CO₂ storage, 16,392 contributions were identified, with 5,870 addressing laboratory-scale experiments. Between 2001 and 2012, scientific output surged significantly. Key themes include pore structure (0.48%), residual trapping (0.62%), and hydrogen-related studies (0.27%). Sedimentary rocks dominate laboratory investigations (22.10%), while basaltic formations are underexplored (1.10%). Laboratory experimentation and numerical modeling are critical for understanding injection mechanisms, risk analysis, and storage dynamics.
Hydrogen storage research (2,390 contributions)) has grown exponentially since 2015. This period represents 85.26% of total publications in this field. Focus areas include physicochemical interactions with geological formations, optimization of storage cycles in salt caverns (11.17%) and porous reservoirs (23.67%), and hydrogen’s integration as a clean energy vector. Experimental studies (42.74%) emphasize replicating real-world conditions to improve system reliability.
Both fields highlight the importance of experimental research for advancing knowledge on reservoir dynamics, economic feasibility, and storage capacity. Shared methodologies and complementary innovations underline the potential for synergy between CO₂ and H₂ storage. These findings call for interdisciplinary innovation and international collaboration to address technical challenges and accelerate the deployment of geological gas storage technologies.
This work was supported by national funds through the Undergy project (MIG-20211018), H2Salt project (PR-H2CVAL4-C1-2022-0072) and the CARBres Project (RTI2018-093613-B-100).
Berrezueta, E.; Kovacs, T.; Herrera-Franco, G.; Mora-Frank, C.; Caicedo-Potosí, J.; Carrion-Mero, P.; Carneiro, J. Laboratory Studies on CO2-Brine-Rock Interaction: An Analysis of Research Trends and Current Knowledge. Int. J. Greenh. Gas Control 2023, 123, 103842, doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2023.103842.
Berrezueta, E.; Kovacs, T.; Herrera-Franco, G.; Caicedo-Potosí, J.; Jaya, M.; Ordóñez-Casado, B.; Carrion-Mero, P.; Carneiro, J. Laboratory Studies on Underground H2 Storge. Bibliometric Analysis and Review of Currant Knowledge. Applied Sciences 2024, 14 (23), 11286, doi:10.3390/app142311286.
