The Role of Civil Engineering in Renewable Energy Storage: Contributions and Challenges

Renewable energy generation is characterized by intermittency; consequently, energy storage is a prerequisite for its large-scale utilization. Existing research primarily focuses on power systems and electrochemical materials, often overlooking the civil engineering aspects of energy storage projects. This paper employs a literature review approach to examine the engineering characteristics of four mainstream technologies, namely pumped hydro storage, compressed air energy storage, battery energy storage stations, and hydrogen energy storage, and summarizes the roles of civil engineering and the typical issues involved. The study reveals that civil engineering encompasses the entire lifecycle of energy storage projects from site selection and design to construction, and that the extent of civil engineering involvement directly impacts project feasibility and long-term operational safety. Specific challenges include lining cracking and hydraulic fracturing risks in pumped hydro storage; surrounding rock degradation and sealing performance in lined-cavern compressed air energy storage; caprock integrity and fault avoidance in salt-cavern hydrogen storage; pollution containment following thermal runaway in battery storage; and the prevention of hydrogen embrittlement in pipelines for hydrogen transport. This study demonstrates that the engineering constraints associated with energy storage technologies are fundamentally civil and geotechnical issues, which should be systematically considered during the evaluation of energy storage solutions.