Dominik Uznanski, GdF Suez, Paris, France
The Lined Rock Cavern (LRC) technology allows storage of natural gas under high pressures in one or more caverns excavated in solid rock at a shallow depth. Each cavern is equipped with a steel liner, which serves as an impermeable container for the gas, which means that the surface facility does not need gas treatment facilities such as dehydrators. The cavern size and depth is adapted to actual geological conditions.
LRC storages can be located in many places where there are no traditional underground storage formations, such as salt deposits or depleted reservoirs, because the caverns are made of solid rock. The working gas volume can be close to 90% of the total volume and gas can be injected and withdrawn frequently, which offers an optimal answer to peak-shaving needs.
LRC is the fruit of 18 years of thorough R&D, testing and industrial implementation, carried out by GDF SUEZ and E.ON Sverige. The Skallen LRC storage, a successful demonstration project in southwest Sweden close to Halmstad, has been in commercial operation since early 2004. More recently, efforts have been undertaken to develop a compressed air energy system, in which the LRC storage allows a timely and cost efficient production of electricity using air turbines.
Today, GDF SUEZ wants to help implement the LRC technology worldwide and offer an interesting strategic gas storage alternative to traditional underground storages and LNG peak-shaving plants, as well as provide a means of producing electricity from compressed air.
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