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Energies
Volume 19
Issue 2
10.3390/en19020348
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

A Rock-on-a-Chip Approach to Investigate Flow Behavior for Underground Gas Storage Applications

by
Marialuna Loffredo
1,*,
Cristina Serazio
1,
Nicolò Santi Vasile
1,
Eloisa Salina Borello
1,
Matteo Scapolo
2,
Donatella Barbieri
2,
Andrea Mantegazzi
2,
Fabrizio Candido Pirri
1,
Francesca Verga
1,
Christian Coti
2 and
Dario Viberti
1
1
Politecnico di Torino, Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI), Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
2
SNAM-STOGIT, Via Libero Comune, 5, 26013 Crema, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2026, 19(2), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/en19020348 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 10 November 2025 / Revised: 23 December 2025 / Accepted: 30 December 2025 / Published: 10 January 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Underground Energy Storage Technologies)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Large-scale storage solutions play a critical role in the ongoing energy transition, with Underground Hydrogen Storage (UHS) emerging as a possible option. UHS can benefit from existing natural gas storage expertise; however, key differences in hydrogen’s behavior compared to CH4 must be characterized at the pore scale to optimize the design and the management of these systems. This work investigates two-phase (gas–water) flow behavior using microfluidic devices mimicking reservoir rocks’ pore structure. Microfluidic tests provide a systematic side-by-side comparison of H2–water and CH4–water displacement under the same pore-network geometries, wettability, and flow conditions, focusing on the drainage phase. While all experiments fall within the transitional flow regime between capillary and viscous fingering, clear quantitative differences between H2 and CH4 emerge. Indeed, the results show that hydrogen’s lower viscosity enhances capillary fingering and snap-off events, while methane exhibits more stable viscous-dominated behavior. Both gases show rapid breakthrough; however, H2’s flow instability—especially at low capillary numbers (Ca)—leads to spontaneous water imbibition, suggesting stronger capillary forces. Relative permeability endpoints are evaluated when steady state conditions are reached: they show dependence on Ca, not just saturation, aligning with recent scaling laws. Despite H2 showing a different displacement regime, closer to capillary fingering, H2 mobility remains comparable to CH4. These findings highlight differences in flow behavior between H2 and CH4, emphasizing the need for tailored strategies for UHS to manage trapping and optimize recovery.
Keywords: underground fluid storage; hydrogen; pore-scale; Rock-on-a-Chip; flow regimes; microfluidic devices underground fluid storage; hydrogen; pore-scale; Rock-on-a-Chip; flow regimes; microfluidic devices

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MDPI and ACS Style

Loffredo, M.; Serazio, C.; Vasile, N.S.; Salina Borello, E.; Scapolo, M.; Barbieri, D.; Mantegazzi, A.; Pirri, F.C.; Verga, F.; Coti, C.; et al. A Rock-on-a-Chip Approach to Investigate Flow Behavior for Underground Gas Storage Applications. Energies 2026, 19, 348. https://doi.org/10.3390/en19020348

AMA Style

Loffredo M, Serazio C, Vasile NS, Salina Borello E, Scapolo M, Barbieri D, Mantegazzi A, Pirri FC, Verga F, Coti C, et al. A Rock-on-a-Chip Approach to Investigate Flow Behavior for Underground Gas Storage Applications. Energies. 2026; 19(2):348. https://doi.org/10.3390/en19020348

Chicago/Turabian Style

Loffredo, Marialuna, Cristina Serazio, Nicolò Santi Vasile, Eloisa Salina Borello, Matteo Scapolo, Donatella Barbieri, Andrea Mantegazzi, Fabrizio Candido Pirri, Francesca Verga, Christian Coti, and et al. 2026. "A Rock-on-a-Chip Approach to Investigate Flow Behavior for Underground Gas Storage Applications" Energies 19, no. 2: 348. https://doi.org/10.3390/en19020348

APA Style

Loffredo, M., Serazio, C., Vasile, N. S., Salina Borello, E., Scapolo, M., Barbieri, D., Mantegazzi, A., Pirri, F. C., Verga, F., Coti, C., & Viberti, D. (2026). A Rock-on-a-Chip Approach to Investigate Flow Behavior for Underground Gas Storage Applications. Energies, 19(2), 348. https://doi.org/10.3390/en19020348

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