How can we track the behaviour of a gas once it has been injected deep beneath the Earth’s surface? This is the challenge at the heart of SBEM (Svelvik Borehole Electromagnetic Monitoring), an experimental campaign carried out in Norway by a team from the Exploration Geophysics Group of the Department of Mathematics, Informatics and Geosciences (MIGE) at the University of Trieste.

The experiment took place at the Svelvik CO₂ Field Lab, near Oslo, a research facility operated by the Norwegian research centre SINTEF and designed to test technologies for monitoring underground gas storage under controlled yet realistic conditions.

At the core of the SBEM campaign is borehole electromagnetic monitoring, a geophysical technique being tested to reconstruct the distribution and evolution of gas injected into the subsurface. This capability is crucial for the safe and economically sustainable development of both carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and underground hydrogen storage.

An international laboratory bringing research “into the field”

The Svelvik CO₂ Field Lab serves as a bridge between laboratory research and future industrial-scale applications. The University of Trieste group was able to access the facility and carry out the experimental campaign thanks to Geo-INQUIRE (Geosphere INfrastructures for QUestions into Integrated REsearch), a project funded under Horizon Europe that facilitates transnational access to Europe’s leading geoscientific research infrastructures.

The proposal submitted by the Trieste team was selected through a competitive process under the Geo-INQUIRE call, enabling the researchers to design and carry out the experimental activities directly in the field.

From proposal to field research: training through experience

A distinctive feature of the project was the direct involvement of PhD students Elisa Ligas and Giovanni Pantaleo, who followed the entire research process: from preparing the proposal and designing the geophysical acquisition to setting up the instrumentation and conducting the fieldwork, through to data processing, analysis and interpretation.

“This project demonstrates what the University of Trieste offers its students and PhD candidates: the opportunity to design and conduct original research at the forefront of current technology, in close collaboration with international research and industrial organisations,” highlights Michele Pipan, coordinator of the Exploration Geophysics Group and of the Master’s Degree Programme in Geophysics and Geodata. “Experiences such as this one at Svelvik turn PhD students into independent researchers, ready to contribute to the technologies needed for the energy transition.”

FUSE Project (UniTS–UniUD–OGS)

Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) and natural (“white”) hydrogen resources are emerging as key components of Europe’s energy transition strategy, offering large-scale, flexible and low-carbon solutions that can help mitigate the intermittency of some renewable energy sources and strengthen energy security.

Achieving the objectives of the European Hydrogen Strategy and global net-zero roadmaps requires robust geoscientific evidence and advanced technological capabilities to identify, characterise and monitor suitable geological formations. Reducing the risks associated with subsurface operations—from technical and environmental risks to geological hazards—requires new integrated research infrastructures.

The FUSE project, launched in April 2025, addresses this need. Developed through a strategic partnership between OGS, the University of Trieste and the University of Udine, FUSE is building an open, distributed infrastructure that combines state-of-the-art geophysical instrumentation, laboratory facilities and multiscale modelling environments.

The infrastructure integrates borehole geophysical logging systems, seismic, geoelectric and electromagnetic instruments, fibre-optic and orbital-vibrator monitoring solutions, as well as airborne/drone-based magnetic and gravimetric sensing capabilities. These are complemented by advanced laboratory platforms for petrophysics and fluid dynamics.

Together, these components will enable improved imaging, experimentation and simulation of hydrogen–rock–fluid interactions in Italy and beyond.