Austria Energy Storage Project

What role does pumped storage play in Austria's future electricity market?

Austria’s pumped storage will play an increasingly important role in the future electricity market in Austria, but also for the further integration of the European market, by providing needed storage and flexible dispatch to accommodate the growing share of variable renewable generation into the Austrian and European electricity systems.

What is Rag Austria doing?

This means that RAG Austria AG, together with the project partners involved, has taken a significant step towards the commercial application of safe, seasonal and large-volume storage of renewable energy in the form of hydrogen in natural underground reservoirs.

Where is the world's first hydrogen storage facility located?

In 2023, the world's first hydrogen storage facility was opened in an underground sandstone gas reservoir as part of the flagship project Underground Sun Storage 2030 (USS 2030) in the municipality of Gampern, Upper Austria. The project operation, consisting of two storage cycles, has been successfully completed.

Where is solar energy stored?

In this unique cross-sector demonstration facility, solar energy is converted into green hydrogen by water electrolysis and stored in pure form in an underground natural gas reservoir in Gampern, Upper Austria. The scale of the storage corresponds to the summer surplus of about 1,000 photovoltaic systems on family homes.