Is Gold Hydrogen a Black Swan?

Geological Hydrogen is a wild card.
Nuts that it’s even a thing, as for a century at least, no one thought hydrogen existed in rock formations like this.
Possible challenge: the H2 often comes mixed with other problematic gases like methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, which would have to be carefully separated and stored somehow, not burned or allowed to escape.

OilPrice.com:

“Most hydrogen is likely inaccessible, but a few percent recovery would still supply all projected demand — 500 million tons a year — for hundreds of years,” said Geoffrey Ellis, a USGS research geologist, as reported by the Financial Times. The supply has gone largely unnoticed due to scientists’ earlier assumptions about how natural hydrogen is formed and how it’s degraded. “We haven’t looked for hydrogen resources in the right places with the right tools,” said Ellis. 

Better-equipped and more enlightened, geologists are discovering hydrogen reserves in many places, including a chromite mine in Albania from which 200 tons are flowing every year.  

Today, hydrogen used as a fuel or industrial material is primarily produced by chemically altering gas principally composed of methane. When resulting carbon emissions are captured, the product is called “blue hydrogen.” When they’re not, it’s called “grey hydrogen.” In 2022, grey hydrogen accounted for 92% of the hydrogen market by value. “Green hydrogen,” which results when water molecules are split via electrolysis in a process powered by renewable energy, is still marginal.

Naturally occurring geologic hydrogen is called “gold hydrogen,” and the geologists say it has a better ecological-impact profile than blue or even green hydrogen: Electrolysis requires a large amount of electricity. 

A gold rush for gold hydrogen is coming,” said Mengli Zhang, an assistant professor at the well-regarded Colorado School of Mines. Among the firms focused on the opportunity are Natural Hydrogen Energy LLC, which drilled America’s first exploratory well, in Nebraska, and Koloma, whose investors include Bill Gates Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Both firms are headquartered in Denver. Helios Aragon is pioneering gold hydrogen production in Europe. The Aragon, Spain company has permits spanning more than 200,000 acres in the northern part of the country.   

“Geologic hydrogen represents an extraordinary opportunity to produce clean hydrogen in a way that is not only low carbon, but also low land footprint, low water footprint and low energy consumption,”  Koloma’s chief business officer, Paul Harraka, told the Times. 

MENAFN – Middle East North Africa Financial Network:

 Geologists are heralding the dawn of a new “gold rush” era, not for precious metal but for hydrogen, an abundant and carbon-free resource naturally occurring within the Earth. An unpublished study by the US Geological Survey has revealed the presence of up to 5 trillion tons of hydrogen stored in underground reservoirs across the globe, sparking immense interest within the scientific community and beyond.

Project leader Jeffrey Ellis unveiled these groundbreaking findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver, emphasizing the vast potential of this untapped resource. While acknowledging that a significant portion of this hydrogen may remain inaccessible, Ellis remains optimistic, noting that even a small fraction could satisfy the projected global demand of 500 million tons annually for centuries to come.

The burgeoning demand for hydrogen, both as a fuel and an essential raw material for industrial processes such as ammonia production for fertilizer, has historically been met through methods like chemical reforming, resulting in “blue hydrogen” with carbon capture or “gray hydrogen” without. However, the advent of “green hydrogen,” produced via water electrolysis using renewable energy sources, has provided a cleaner alternative.

Yet, Mingli Zhang of the Colorado School of Mines asserts that harnessing natural hydrogen, also known as geohydrogen or “gold,” holds the promise of even greater environmental and economic benefits compared to blue or green hydrogen. Zhang predicts a forthcoming surge in the pursuit of this “golden hydrogen,” drawing attention to its potential as a cleaner and more cost-effective alternative.

Investor interest is already on the rise, exemplified by the US startup Coloma’s successful fundraising efforts, which garnered USD91 million in investments, including support from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Paul Haraka, Coloma’s Commercial Director, touts geohydrogen as an unparalleled opportunity to produce clean hydrogen with minimal carbon footprint and resource usage.

In pursuit of this promising venture, American company National Hydrogen Energy has embarked on exploratory drilling in Nebraska. CEO Vyacheslav Zjonik remains optimistic about the prospects, albeit acknowledging the time required to transition from exploration to commercial production. Zjonik expresses the company’s commitment to expediting this process, reflecting the growing anticipation surrounding the potential of geohydrogen to revolutionize the energy landscape.

Financial Times:

Hydrogen requires different geological conditions from oil and natural gasfields. “We haven’t looked for hydrogen resources in the right places with the right tools,” said Ellis. Geologists are now finding natural hydrogen reserves around the world.

This month researchers reported that more than 200 tonnes of hydrogen a year were flowing from the Bulqizë chromite mine in Albania. The village of Bourakébougou in Mali is often seen as the birthplace of natural hydrogen extraction.

Since 2012, almost pure hydrogen has flowed from a borehole there with no diminution of pressure, giving villagers their first electricity supply.

Ellis said the Bourakébougou gas well may have inspired a hydrogen rush comparable with the birth of the petroleum industry in 1859, when Edwin Drake drove a pipe into the ground at Titusville, Pennsylvania and struck oil.