A PHD TOPIC OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DOCTORAL SCHOOL IS IN THE WINNERS OF PROOF OF CONCEPT PROGRAM

Orsolya Gelencsér, III. year PhD student

Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences – Environmental Earth Sciences

Supervisors: Falus György Ph.D, Zsuzsanna Szabó-Krausz Ph.D.

Orsolya Gelencsér won the Proof of Concept (PoC) 2023 grant provided by the ELTE Innovation Centre with her ongoing innovative PhD research.

The aim of the call is to raise intellectual creations, ideas and plans created at Eötvös Loránd University to a higher maturation level, and to support the University's innovation activity and promote the business utilization of the research results.

Orsolya’s PhD project is about the underground storage of energy in the form of gaseous hydrogen (H₂) which is one of the possible directions of development for the European Union economy, and other leading energy companies worldwide (Fig. 1). Orsolya focuses on the geochemical aspects of underground hydrogen storage (UHS), for example, the effect of pressurized hydrogen on the porewater and rock forming minerals. She is using geochemical modeling and experiments for her research to estimate the mineral reactivity in hydrogen environment. The geochemical risks of hydrogen storage are still poorly understood as most of the related scientific literatures were published in the last decade. Orsolya has started her PhD studies in 2020 with the support of Cooperative Doctoral Program and her most recent results[1] are in the interest of the industry. With the help of PoC grant, Orsolya could develop her methodology to a further technology readiness level (TRL). Furthermore, considerable interest in her research results among companies is expected, as they can play a significant role in proving the long-term safety of storage activities.