SPE NL – PGK Annual BBQ 2025

On the 16th of June 2025, the annual SPE NL-PGK barbecue event will take place again at Beachclub Oscars, The Hague. This year’s theme is Subsurface Solutions in the Hydrogen Value Chain. The evening will begin at 17:00 with social drinks in Oscar’s followed by lectures on the role of hydrogen and upscaling challenges with the following presentations:

1) Natural Hydrogen – is it a new contributor in our future energy system? (Dr. Jürgen Grötsch, FAU, Germany)

Abstract
In order to change the current energy system, alternative resources need to replace wood, coal, oil and gas. Following the 2015 Paris Agreement, global efforts to develop sustainable energy resources have intensified. A promising newcomer is natural (white) hydrogen, found worldwide as emanations. In 2024, it gained media attention, notably from Albania’s Bulqizë chromite mine, which emits around 200 tons of hydrogen annually from its shafts— clearly a resource which could be used in the energy transition.

Historically, interest in hydrogen exploration was limited due to technical challenges, misconceptions about its viability, and the dominance of cheaper energy sources. However, over 300 natural hydrogen seeps have now been reported, including Turkey’s eternal fires of Chimaera near Antalya, burning for over 2,500 years. Exploration companies have begun forming, though long-term production data is still lacking. If proven viable, natural hydrogen could rival historic shifts like coal overtaking peat in the 1880s. About 40 companies are currently exploring it, yet regulatory frameworks and digital geoscience data remain insufficient in most countries. To advance this resource, it is time to add natural hydrogen to the national mining laws as one of the starting points. The presentation will outline the current understanding and future potential of this “new” energy – a resource first used in 1907 to fuel a lighthouse on Keri Island.

About the presenter
Jürgen is a University Lecturer in Geo-Energy at Friedrich-Alexander Universität (FAU), Erlangen, and advises the German government on subsurface nuclear waste storage. He holds a PhD in geology from FAU which he did in collaboration with Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA. Joining Shell in 1991, he held various leadership roles in the Middle East and the Netherlands, including Chief Geologist of NAM B.V. and Head of Geoscience Services Europe. In 2011, he initiated the Open Subsurface Data Universe™, now the largest digital technology project in the energy industry. Since retiring from Shell in 2022, he focuses on sustainable subsurface solutions such as natural hydrogen, geothermal energy, and helium production. He is CEO and co-founder of Tellus Energy Solutions GmbH, Germany’s first natural hydrogen exploration & development company. Jürgen is a SPE Distinguished Lecturer, a member of Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes and energy think tank ‘AURIGA’. He is Past-President and current board member of the German Geological Society (DGGV).

2) Underground Hydrogen Storage – State-of-the-Art, Upscaling Challenges and Outlook for Deployment (Dr. Remco Groenenberg, TNO)

Abstract
Hydrogen is foreseen to play an important role in our future energy system. It is a versatile energy carrier that can be produced from renewable electricity, and then used as a fuel to (re-)generate electricity and/or heat (in the build environment and industry), for mobility, or as feedstock for the chemical industry. A key advantage of hydrogen is that it can be stored underground in salt caverns, and potentially also in porous reservoirs (depleted gas fields, aquifers) in large quantities, thereby offering essential services to society in the form of balancing solutions for unavoidable intra- to inter-seasonal variations in energy supply and demand, and strategic energy reserves. Currently, salt cavern storage is one of the few technologies considered mature enough to be applied for storing hydrogen in such large quantities. However, a large number of salt caverns will be required to create the estimated storage capacities, which will meet with serious technical, market, societal and spatial constraints. Therefore, storage of hydrogen in depleted gas fields may be also required. Although it is in many ways similar to storage of natural gas in depleted gas fields, at present the feasibility of this technology is not yet proven. In this presentation, we will review the state-of-the art in hydrogen storage in salt caverns and porous reservoirs, take a closer look at the potential for commercial deployment in Europe vs. expected future storage demand, and discuss the challenges that must be addressed towards safe, sustainable, and affordable implementation.

About the presenter
Remco Groenenberg is a subsurface storage specialist at TNO with experience in storage of gases (natural gas, hydrogen, nitrogen, compressed air) and liquid hydrocarbons in the subsurface. He currently holds the position of Scientific Lead for Subsurface Energy Storage, in which he coordinates TNO’s research and technology development programme on storage of hydrogen in the subsurface in support of TNO’s wider hydrogen value chain R&D portfolio. As part of this role, he also has a leading role in national and international R&D projects such as the EU-funded EUH2STARS and HyUSPRe projects on hydrogen storage in reservoirs, and coordinated the subtask on wells and facilities of Task42 of the Hydrogen Technology Collaboration Programme (H2-TCP) of the IEA. Remco holds a PhD in Applied Earth Sciences from Delft University of Technology. Before joining TNO, he held several positions in industry and academia, working on R&D, demonstration and commercialization in the fields of subsurface energy storage, geothermal energy production, CO2 storage, and oil and gas exploration and production.

Dr. Jürgen Grötsch: Overview of hydrogen exploration in different geological settings.	Dr. Remco Groenenberg: Target reservoirs and associated storage capacity for subsurface hydrogen storage

Programme