While conducting a methane search in the Lorraine Basin in northeastern France earlier this year, Professor Jacques Pironon’s team uncovered an unexpected discovery.
They discovered an enormous hydrogen deposit about 3,000 meters below the surface.
Prof. Pironon, research director at the University of Lorraine’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France, states, “It is what we call serendipity.”
Such a discovery would have only been of scholarly interest a short time ago, but these days it makes waves.
This is because a lot of people believe hydrogen will become a necessary fuel in the near future. They contend that since hydrogen doesn’t release carbon dioxide when used as fuel or in industrial operations, it may hold the secret to bringing the world economy closer to net zero.
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However, the main disadvantage of hydrogen is that most production methods are currently not environmentally friendly at all.
The Carbon Trust estimates that fewer than 1% of the hydrogen produced worldwide now is emission-free.
Grey hydrogen is created when methane is broken down into hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide. The same steps are used to make blue hydrogen, but the CO2 that is released is caught and stored.
When coal is burned partially, black hydrogen is created.
The production of green hydrogen, the illusive 1%, occurs when water is electrolyzed to produce hydrogen and oxygen.
However, more emission-free sources of hydrogen would be appreciated, as green hydrogen is both scarce and very costly.
Natural deposits, also referred to as gold hydrogen, white hydrogen, or natural hydrogen, may be a significant source.
Although there are several methods for producing them, the primary one is the reaction of ground water with minerals like olivine that are high in iron. As a result, the water separates into hydrogen and oxygen, which bonds to the iron.
Naturally-occurring hydrogen has been discovered before; in addition to the French discovery, there are reportedly significant amounts in the US, Australia, Russia, and several European nations, as well as a small well in Bourakébougou, western Mali.
On the other hand, the French discovery is thought to be the greatest naturally occurring gas reserve ever discovered. According to Prof. Pironon, there may be 250 million tonnes of hydrogen, which would be sufficient to supply the world’s current demand for almost two years.
According to estimations from the US Geological Survey (USGS), there may be thousands or perhaps billions of megatonnes of undiscovered hydrogen resources worldwide.
USGS research geologist Geoffrey Ellis, who has estimated the amount of geological hydrogen, warns that not all of this will be easily exploited.
“This is the global model, and the vast majority is going to be inaccessible – too deep or too far offshore, or in accumulations that are much too small for it to ever become economical to actually access,” according to him.
However, according to USGS estimates, there is likely 100,000 megatonnes of accessible hydrogen, which may last for hundreds of years.
According to Mr. Ellis, the methods for gathering it “should be similar to natural gas.” There is already technology in place.”
There are efforts to more broadly exploit reserves, even though the Bourakébougou site in Mali is now the only facility generating white hydrogen economically and harvests just about five tonnes annually.
Bill Gates’s investment firm, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, invested $91 million (£72 million) in US start-up Koloma earlier this year with the goal of tapping into the country’s white hydrogen reserves.
Getech, a prospecting company, is now searching Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, and Togo for possible deposits.
South Australia is a primary priority area as it cleared the way for development in 2021 by adding hydrogen to the list of regulated compounds allowed for exploration under the Petroleum and Geothermal Act 2000.
According to Deloitte Australia’s Suren Thurairajah, partner for climate and sustainability, “six different companies have applied for and been granted 18 exploration licenses for gold hydrogen since February of 2021.”
“The area under permit is 570,000 square kilometres, which is 32% of the size of the state of South Australia.”
Most recently, a company called Gold Hydrogen announced the discovery of a large field of natural hydrogen in the state, which it hopes to bring into production next year or the year after.
So far, the major energy players are holding back.
“The big oil comp”The area under permit is 570,000 square kilometres, which is 32% of the size of the state of South Australia.”
Most recently, a business named Gold Hydrogen declared that it had found a sizable field of naturally occurring hydrogen in the state. It plans to start producing hydrogen from this field either the following year or the year after.
The main companies in the energy sector are holding back so far.
“I believe the major oil firms are highly intrigued, but for the time being they’re just observing and adopting a wait-and-see stance. According to Mr. Ellis, “They’re letting the start-ups take the risk; this is a really dangerous endeavor right now.
I believe that anies are highly intrigued, but for the time being, they’re just observing and adopting a wait-and-see mentality. According to Mr. Ellis, “They’re letting the start-ups take the risk; this is a really dangerous endeavor right now.
“Once we see some production data from some of these wells, we will certainly see the major oil and gas companies moving into this space.”
He cites the US’s current lack of hydrogen market as one issue that lessens the motivation for exploration.
Europe leads the world in hydrogen project proposals, accounting for 35% of worldwide spending, followed by North America and Latin America, each with roughly 15% of investments, according to industry association the Hydrogen Council.
“So there’s a sort of chicken and egg problem: markets aren’t really developing until they see the supply, and the supply won’t really be developed until they see the market,” adds Ellis.
However, he continues, “I believe it depends on the amount of work we put in. I believe it is possible if we truly determine that we need to find a solution to this issue as soon as possible.”
