Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos back startup White Hydrogen

Investors have been talking about the huge potential of green hydrogen – hydrogen produced through electrolysis powered by renewable energy sources – for several years now. It is believed to be the clean fuel of the future, supporting the decarbonisation of hard-to-mitigate industries such as shipping, aviation and manufacturing. However, recently, investor interest has grown in an alternative source of energy – white hydrogen.

Although green hydrogen is an excellent alternative to fossil fuels because it can be used for a number of applications to help decarbonize heavy industry, it is still extremely expensive to produce compared to fossil fuels and hydrogen produced with natural gas. In contrast, geological hydrogen, also known as white hydrogen, is natural and can be extracted from the ground. While hydrogen is the most abundant chemical element on Earth, until recently it was thought that the gas was not present in its pure form on Earth. However, in 2012, oil and gas workers drilling a borehole in Mali accidentally discovered almost pure natural hydrogen.

Since this discovery, geologists have evaluated deposits in different areas of the world. White hydrogen is produced from the reaction of water with iron-bearing rocks; the iron corrodes, and bubbles of pure hydrogen form in the earth’s crust. However, unlike fossil fuels, which take millions of years to produce, white hydrogen is constantly replenished. White hydrogen is believed to be more prevalent in inaccessible offshore locations, although as of 2012 several deposits have been found in Mali, Australia, Eastern Europe, France, Oman, Spain and the US.

A major discovery of white hydrogen in France’s Lorraine mining basin was announced earlier this year, providing greater optimism about the potential use of the natural source of clean energy. By 2023, France’s National Center for Scientific Research was operational The Regalo project for four years, aimed at extracting exploitable methane resources. However, after drilling, researchers discovered natural hydrogen deposits in the regionwhich could be exploited to support the green transition. Based on gas data 1,100 meters underground, where researchers found a concentration of 14% hydrogen, the Lorraine deposit could contain up to 46 million tonnes of white hydrogen, which is equivalent to more than half of the current annual production of gray hydrogen.

In the US, Professor Iwnetim Abate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) oversees a group of researchers as they trying to extract hydrogen from rocks. According to the US Geological Survey, in addition to being found in rocks, water in the Earth’s crust could contain billions of tons of geological hydrogen. To determine the optimal conditions for underground hydrogen synthesis, supported by $3 million in funding from the US Department of Energy, Abate’s team is exploring potential conditions to make the process more efficient. They aim to halve the cost of water electrolysis or find a better alternative.

In August, in Australia, global metals miner Fortescue acquired a 39.8 percent stake in Australian hydrogen company HyTerra for 21.9 million dollars. HyTerra and Fortescue will collaborate on The Nemaha Project in Kansas and plans to explore new global opportunities. The cash injection is expected to help HyTerra expand its operations to explore six wells instead of two.

Based on the promising discoveries around the globe, some major investors are showing more interest in white hydrogen. US-based clean fuel startup Koloma, which has the backing of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, recently announced plans to use its expertise in hydrocarbons to search for white hydrogen. The company has raised more than $305 million since it was founded a few years ago. Pete Johnson, CEO and co-founder of Koloma, explicitly“We can leverage expertise and service providers that have traditionally served the oil, gas and mining industries and quickly put them to work to drive carbon-free resource discovery. Using and tweaking what already exists will allow us to mature our industry faster.”

There are several companies around the world now chasing the “white gold rush” as governments and private investors become increasingly interested in alternative energy sources. In addition to offering a promising source of clean fuel, white hydrogen could be used to produce clean ammonia, which could remove dependence on Russia for ammonia-based fertilizers. The conversion of hydrogen gas into ammonia makes it significant easier to transport. Energy companies can retrofit existing natural gas pipelines to efficiently transport ammonia over long distances. Ammonia can either be used for fertilizer and other products, or split back into hydrogen and nitrogen using the ammonia cracking process at its destination.

After an accidental discovery a few years ago, momentum is finally starting to pick up in the white hydrogen industry as researchers search for alternative energy sources to support the global green transition. In addition, more investors are funding climate research and taking greater risks to finance innovative clean technologies and exploration activities. However, little is known about the natural production process of white hydrogen or how it might be extracted and used on a commercial scale, suggesting that more exploration and evaluation work is needed to understand how to safely access the source of clean energy.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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