The energy system is setting very ambitious but necessary targets at a global level, which can only be achieved through the integration of energy vectors and systems and the use of non-programmable renewable sources.

As a result, there is a need to implement systems for storing and transforming electrical energy into other forms of energy that can be used and reconverted with a view to increasing flexibility. Many initiatives and studies are currently underway to reduce climate-changing emissions and create a clean, efficient and competitive energy system.

While the direct injection of hydrogen into the gas network has already been tested (even in Italy, albeit in a very limited way), the technology for the geological storage of hydrogen (H2) can still be considered as little known.

In order to promote the development of this storage technology, regulatory adjustments may be necessary to allow this technology to be implemented safely and with clear rules.

The geological storage of hydrogen could have significant similarities with the storage of natural gas, which is highly regulated and disciplined in Italy. However, the implementation of the regulation cannot take place as it is, since the behavior of hydrogen is not comparable to that of natural gas underground (consider in particular the aspects related to greater fugacity and explosivity).

Therefore, if the legislation on geological storage of hydrogen could be inspired on the one hand by that of the gas sector or even by that which regulates the underground storage of carbon dioxide, on the other hand it will be appropriate to make changes and arrangements that make the storage of hydrogen safe for the environment, health and systems.

In this context, this report contains an analysis of the current legislation on hydrogen gas in Italy, with the aim of obtaining useful references for the development of the regulatory framework for the geological storage of hydrogen.