Natural geological structures called salt domes in Abu Dhabi could play a leading role in the UAE’s energy transition, new research suggests.
These structures of sedimentary rocks, formed where a large mass of salt has been forced upwards, often forming traps for oil or natural gas, are of interest to engineers who are concerned with the storage of hydrogen generated by renewable energy.
In a new study, to be presented at a conference in Vienna at the end of April, scientists said that UAE authorities are “actively exploring the use” of salt domes for large-scale hydrogen and hydrocarbon storage. This, they said, is being carried out in line with the country’s aim of a “clean energy transition and decarbonisation”.
The scientists from Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi and oil company Adnoc, said that the Jebel Al Dhanna salt dome stretches up to 2.8 kilometres east to west and 4.2km north to south.
It was analysed using three-dimensional seismic techniques and four boreholes to assess its capacity for salt caverns, which are created within the domes by using liquid to dissolve the salt to leave a cavity that can be used for storage.
Saving energy for times of need
“You engineer the salt caverns by pumping water underground and gradually dissolving over a year or three years,” said Stuart Haszeldine, a geologist and professor of carbon capture and storage at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
While the size of salt caverns depends on the size of the structure in which they are being created, Prof Haszeldine said they typically stretch 20 to 30 metres vertically or 30 to 50 metres horizontally, although they can be much larger.
The demand for hydrogen is growing and an advantage is that it can be stored underground until needed. At times of greater energy demand, the hydrogen can be extracted and used to power fuel cells that generate energy, or burned to produce heat.
Hydrogen is ideally stored underground, said Kevin Taylor, a professor in energy geoscience at the University of Manchester in England, because the gas’s low density means that it is not economical to build large-scale storage above the ground.
The use of salt caverns to store hydrogen is still at an experimental stage. However, the European Union is currently supporting a project called HyPSTER (Hydrogen Pilot Storage for large Ecosystem Replication) which is a large-scale salt cavern in Etrez in eastern France for hydrogen storage. The project team announced in late 2024 that the first hydrogen molecules had been injected into a salt cavern.
Other uses for salt caverns
Prof Haszeldine said that in the Gulf states, salt caverns could be used to store hydrogen for either export or domestic use. They are already, he said, “well proven” for the storage of methane.
In separate research published last year, Chinese scientists looked at the potential for salt caverns to be used for the storage of carbon dioxide. With carbon capture and storage, where CO2 released by industrial plants is collected, and direct air capture, where CO2 is sucked out of the air, the carbon dioxide is typically stored deep underground.
Ideally, it is dissolved and mineralised, creating a permanent storage so that the carbon no longer contributes to global warming. However, producing salt caverns to store CO2 permanently in this way may not be realistic, given the costs of creating the cavern, while another drawback is that the gas will not become mineralised.
“You could use salt caverns for CO2 storage, but you would probably make more money injecting hydrogen or methane in and out,” Prof Haszeldine said. “ … If you’re going to mine a cavern as a business, you will probably mine a cavern for the storage of hydrogen.”
While salt caverns may not be ideal for permanent CO2 storage, the researchers from China indicated in the journal Engineering they could be used for non-permanent CO2 storage and so could help to “promote the important transformation of carbon as a waste to [an] industrial resource”.
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
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“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
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ELIO
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
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Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
