University of Alberta and Vortex Energy's Partnership on Hydrogen Storage Secures $1.08 Million in MITACS/NSERC Financing

The University of Alberta, in partnership with federal and provincial funding agencies and industry partners across Canada, is fostering a collaborative environment for training highly qualified personnel and advancing hydrogen storage science and technology from lab to field scales. This project, titled "Assessing and optimizing hydrogen storage in Canadian domal and bedded salts," is part of a larger collaborative effort involving multiple partners and is expected to pave the way for scalable, long-term energy solutions.

The project, which is contributing to the advancement of sustainable energy infrastructure, is focused on improving hydrogen storage efficiency, safety, and scalability within Canada's geological formations. Vortex Energy's collaboration with the University of Alberta, for instance, focuses on evaluating salt formations at the Robinsons River Salt Project in Newfoundland for underground hydrogen storage (UHS).

The partnership has completed core logging and preliminary geological analysis, finding favorable features such as excellent sealing by gypsum and mudstone layers, intact structural integrity, and promising mineral compositions for safe and effective hydrogen storage. They are currently conducting more detailed studies like fluid inclusion and hydrogen-mineral interaction tests to further validate the site's suitability.

Recently, the collaboration initiated a flagship geophysical survey deploying Ambient Noise Tomography (ANT) sensors in late July 2025. This sensor network passively records seismic vibrations to build high-resolution velocity models, essential for understanding the salt body geometry and optimizing drill planning. The survey is being conducted jointly by Vortex Energy, the University of Alberta, CAUR Technologies, and Storm Exploration, with regulatory approval secured from local authorities.

The significance of this collaboration lies in advancing feasible large-scale underground hydrogen storage, critical for enabling hydrogen as a clean energy vector. The salt caverns' high integrity and suitable mineralogy could provide a stable, secure storage environment, addressing a key infrastructure challenge in the hydrogen economy.

The funding from MITACS and NSERC supports this research by enabling field surveys, sample analysis, and advanced laboratory experiments, ensuring rigorous technical validation. Over a four-year period, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has committed $720,000 for the project, while MITACS Accelerate has provided an additional $360,000. The funding will be used to support salaries for interns and students involved in the research project.

In summary, the project is making significant progress, having completed well core analysis and UAV magnetic surveys, and currently conducting ANT sensor geophysical surveys at the Robinsons River Salt Project. The collaboration's significance lies in potentially enabling secure, large-scale underground hydrogen storage, which is key to hydrogen infrastructure and decarbonization efforts. The funding from MITACS and NSERC plays an essential role in providing financial and technical support for the research collaboration, allowing fieldwork, sensor deployment, and advanced material characterization to assess hydrogen storage feasibility.

University of Alberta and Vortex Energy's Partnership on Hydrogen Storage Secures $1.08 Million in MITACS/NSERC Financing