A new rock testing device designed to support underground hydrogen storage research has been developed at the University of Miskolc’s Institute of Applied Earth Sciences. The equipment was officially handed over at a closing ceremony held on December 5, 2025, marking the completion of a major research project under the National Laboratory for Renewable Energy.
The project focused on one of the key challenges of underground hydrogen storage: understanding how hydrogen behaves when injected into geological formations. Safe and economically viable storage requires detailed knowledge of how hydrogen and hydrogen-methane mixtures affect the permeability of reservoir rocks.
To address this, researchers developed a new measurement procedure and built a dedicated device capable of testing the permeability of storage rocks when exposed to hydrogen-natural gas mixtures. The results were evaluated using both existing and newly developed computer software and simulation tools. This allowed researchers to determine how the injected gas mixture influences the physical properties of the reservoir rock during operation.
At the handover ceremony, Prof. Dr. Gábor Mucsi, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Environmental Sciences, highlighted the growing importance of reservoir engineering in underground energy storage and emphasized the value of conducting internationally competitive research in cooperation with industry partners.
Dr. István Szunyog, the project’s technical manager, presented the main research tasks and discussed the reservoir mechanical challenges associated with hydrogen storage.
During the event, several researchers provided insight into different aspects of the project. Dr. Ildi Bölkény spoke about the design and construction of the rock testing equipment, while Dr. Mátyás Krisztián Baracza shared experiences related to poroperm tests and hydrogen flooding experiments. Dr. Marianna Vadászi, head of the Underground Hydrogen Storage Research Group, outlined broader perspectives on underground hydrogen storage.
Industry representatives also contributed to the conference. Tamás Földes, Managing Director of TOMOGEO Kft.; Béla Tihamér Szőcs, Head of Operations at MFGT Zrt.; and Anitha Andiappan, Reservoir Engineer at RAG Austria AG, presented practical experiences related to underground hydrogen storage and laboratory measurements, including MicroCT-based analyses.
Following the presentations, participants discussed potential future research directions alongside the newly unveiled equipment.
The development represents another step forward in strengthening Hungary’s research capacity in renewable energy and underground energy storage technologies.
Source: University of Miskolc
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