Why is this research important to Alberta?

• Alberta’s hydrogen future depends on storing hydrogen safely underground, but invisible microbial risks threaten that goal.
• Salt caverns are Alberta’s most promising option for large scale hydrogen storage, yet bacteria living in cavern brines can quietly consume stored hydrogen and produce toxic “sour gas”.
• Left unmanaged, this contamination raises safety risks, drives up costs, and could delay hydrogen storage development.
• Currently, no practical tools exist to measure or manage these microbial risks in Alberta’s caverns.
• This work directly supports Alberta’s Hydrogen Roadmap and the province’s ambition to become a global clean hydrogen supplier.

What is the goal of this work? How will genomics be used?

This project aims to identify and manage the microbial risks inside Alberta salt caverns being developed for hydrogen storage. This will be achieved by:

• Determining which bacteria are present in cavern brines, whether they consume hydrogen, and whether they produce sour gas.
• Using genomic analysis of community DNA and RNA to reveal which organisms are active and what they are doing, which provides a level of insight that traditional testing cannot.
• Running laboratory experiments under conditions that replicate real cavern environments to measure how much hydrogen is consumed and how much sour gas is produced.
• Testing simple, low-cost chemical treatments to stop harmful bacterial activity.
• Combining all findings into an easy-to-use predictive tool that operators can use to assess and manage risk in their specific caverns.

An Industry partner is providing real brine and rock samples directly from operating caverns, ensuring results are immediately applicable.

What are the expected benefits, and how will the research findings be shared?

This project delivers practical, wide-reaching benefits for Alberta’s energy sector and beyond, including:

• Reducing costs and safety risks for cavern operators by providing validated strategies to prevent sour gas contamination.
• Supporting growth of Alberta’s clean hydrogen industry and benefiting companies.
• Lowering environmental risk by enabling safer, large-scale storage of clean hydrogen.
• Training the next generation of highly qualified workers for Alberta’s hydrogen sector.

Findings will be shared directly with an industry partner for immediate operational use, deposited in public data repositories, and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals

Related Resources

Related information can be accessed through:

• News article: U of A innovators recognized with ASTech Awards
• News article: U of A launches Centre for Hydrogen Innovation, aiming for ‘transformational impact’
• News article: U of A launches new centre to fuel a hydrogen-powered future
• Interview – University of Alberta: Accelerating Hydrogen Storage in Canada’s Salt Caverns | The Accelerator Project
• Interview – Alberta Emerald Foundation: Inside the Work Shaping Canada’s Energy Future
• Interview – Edmonton Global: From lab to launch How the University of Alberta is scaling hydrogen innovation