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📢 Announcement: Doctoral Defence – Raymond Mushabe
Title: Â Underground hydrogen storage in porous media: microbial controls and multiphase flow.
Date: 17 April 2026
Time: 13:15–16:00 (CET)
Location: Realfagbygget, Auditorium 2, University of Bergen
Host: University of Bergen (UiB)
Affiliation: Centre for Sustainable Subsurface Resources (CSSR)
About the event
Raymond Mushabe will defend his PhD thesis entitled
Underground hydrogen storage in porous media: microbial controls and multiphase flow.
The thesis addresses key challenges related to large‑scale underground storage of hydrogen, with a particular focus on how microbial activity and multiphase flow in porous media may influence storage efficiency and predictability.
Research overview
The PhD work investigates how microbial processes in reservoir rocks can lead to hydrogen consumption, energy losses, and changes in gas–fluid flow behaviour. The study combines laboratory experiments, advanced imaging techniques (MRI and PET), reservoir‑scale simulations, and machine‑learning‑based modelling.
The results indicate that hydrogen losses decrease over repeated storage cycles, suggesting more stable and predictable storage behaviour over time.
About the candidate
Raymond Mushabe grew up in Uganda and holds a Master’s degree in petroleum technology from NTNU. His PhD research in reservoir physics (2022–2025) was carried out in collaboration with the University of Bergen, Haukeland University Hospital, Equinor, and NORCE.
The work was funded by the Research Council of Norway and conducted as part of the Centre for Sustainable Subsurface Resources (CSSR).
Supervisors:
Geir Ersland · Na Liu · Nicole Dopffel · Marianne Steinsbø
Further information (UiB)
The University of Bergen has published additional information about the doctoral defence in Norwegian, including background on the research:
👉 Hydrogen storage underground and microbes with an appetite (UiB)
[Hydrogenlagring i undergrunnen og mikrobar med appetitt | Nye doktorgrader | UiB]