{rfName}
Gr

License and Use

Icono OpenAccess

Altmetrics

Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Analysis of institutional authors

Valle-Falcones, LmCorresponding AuthorGrima-Olmedo, CAuthorMazadiego-Martinez, LfAuthorRodriguez-Pons, RAuthor

Share

July 4, 2022
Publications
>
Article

Green Hydrogen Storage in an Underground Cavern: A Case Study in Salt Diapir of Spain

Publicated to: Applied Sciences-Basel. 12 (12): 6081- - 2022-06-01 12(12), DOI: 10.3390/app12126081

Authors:

Valle-Falcones, LM; Grima-Olmedo, C; Mazadiego-Martínez, LF; Hurtado-Bezos, A; Eguilior-Díaz, S; Rodríguez-Pons, R
[+]

Affiliations

Ctr Invest Energet Medioambientales & Tecnol, Avda Complutense 40,Edif 20, Madrid 28040, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Escuela Tecn Super Ingn Minas & Energia, Dept Energia & Combustibles, Rios Rosas 23, Madrid 28003, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Escuela Tecn Super Ingn Minas & Energia, Dept Ingn Geol & Minera, Rios Rosas 23, Madrid 28003, Spain - Author
See more

Abstract

Featured Application The underground salt cavern design by leaching process for green hydrogen storage to compensate for the variable/seasonal nature of renewables and increase the availability of a clean fuel to society. The Poza de la Sal diapir is a closed circular depression with Cretaceous Mesozoic materials, formed by gypsum, Keuper clays, and a large extension of salt in the center with intercalations of ophite. The low seismic activity of the area, the reduced permeability and porosity of the salt caverns, and the proximity to the Paramo de Poza wind park, make it a suitable place for the construction of a facility for underground storage of green hydrogen obtained from surplus wind power. The design of a cavern for hydrogen storage at a depth of 1000 m takes into account the differences in stresses, temperatures, and confining pressures involved in the salt deformation process. During the 8 months of the injection phase, 23.0 GWh can be stored in the form of hydrogen obtained from the wind energy surplus, to be used later in the extraction phase. The injection and extraction ratio must be developed under the conditions of geomechanical safety of the cavity, so as to minimize the risks to the environment and people, by conditioning the gas pressure inside the cavity to remain within a given range.
[+]

Keywords

Affordable and clean energyEnergy vectorGeological storageGreen hydrogenLeaching processProspectsWater electrolysisWind power

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Applied Sciences-Basel due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, it was in position 42/90, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Engineering, Multidisciplinary. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría Engineering (Miscellaneous).

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 2.76. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 4.57 (source consulted: FECYT Mar 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2026-04-25, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 41
  • Scopus: 43
  • Google Scholar: 40
[+]

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-25:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 98.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 97 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 11.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/85893/

As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

  • Views: 151
  • Downloads: 42
Continuing with the social impact of the work, it is important to emphasize that, due to its content, it can be assigned to the area of interest of ODS 7 - Affordable and clean energy, with a probability of 90% according to the mBERT algorithm developed by Aurora University.
[+]

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (VALLE FALCONES, LAURA MARIA) and Last Author (RODRIGUEZ PONS-ESPARVER, RAMON).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been VALLE FALCONES, LAURA MARIA.

[+]

Project objectives

La aportación persigue los siguientes objetivos: analizar el diseño de cavernas subterráneas de sal mediante el proceso de disolución para el almacenamiento de hidrógeno verde; evaluar la idoneidad del diapiro de Poza de la Sal como emplazamiento para dicha instalación considerando su baja actividad sísmica, permeabilidad y porosidad; determinar las condiciones geomecánicas, térmicas y de presión a 1000 m de profundidad para el almacenamiento seguro del hidrógeno; caracterizar la capacidad de almacenamiento durante la fase de inyección de 8 meses, con un total de 23.0 GWh; y garantizar la seguridad ambiental y humana mediante el control de la presión del gas dentro de la caverna.
[+]

Most relevant results

El estudio presenta un diseño detallado para el almacenamiento subterráneo de hidrógeno verde en una caverna de sal situada en el diapiro de Poza de la Sal, España. Los resultados más relevantes son: (1) la selección del sitio se basa en su baja actividad sísmica, baja permeabilidad y porosidad, y proximidad al parque eólico Páramo de Poza; (2) la caverna diseñada se ubica a 1000 m de profundidad, considerando tensiones, temperaturas y presiones confinantes para la deformación de la sal; (3) durante una fase de inyección de 8 meses, se pueden almacenar 23,0 GWh de hidrógeno generado por excedentes eólicos; (4) la relación entre inyección y extracción se mantiene bajo condiciones de seguridad geomecánica, controlando la presión del gas para minimizar riesgos ambientales y humanos.
[+]

Awards linked to the item

This research was funded by the Oil and Gas Engineering Master's degree (mip) of the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM), which is taught at the Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieros de Minas y Energia (ETSIME).
[+]