In-situ Injection of Hydrogen Gas in the Opalinus Clay

Steel components are generally used in the design of deep geological repositories for high-level radioactive waste. After closure of the underground disposal galleries, anoxic corrosion of steel is expected to produce hydrogen gas. Studies are performed to evaluate what will happen to this hydrogen in an underground repository. Among these studies is the “Hydrogen Transfer” (HT) experiment, which was implemented in 2009 in the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory to study in-situ the diffusion of hydrogen in Opalinus Clay. A second objective of this experiment was to evaluate whether hydrogen could be consumed by chemical reactions with the rock.