>>20364230
>separating hydrogen from anything other than hydrocarbons is expensive and takes a lot of energy.
Natural Hydrogen Has Been Underestimated
Geologists have now discovered numerous sources of naturally occurring hydrogen in geologies ranging from Mali to Switzerland, France and the United States. More than 50 companies have sprung up with the goal of finding and extracting it. The first natural hydrogen well was discovered by accident in Mali after a local lit a cigarette near an old, capped water well, only to discover that there was pure hydrogen leaking from it. Since then, that hydrogen well has been used to provide energy for the local town of approximately 4,000, for effectively no cost for perpetuity; unlike other geologic fuels, which form on timescales measured in millions of years, natural hydrogen is generated by the mixing of water and iron particles and is renewable on human timescales rather than geological epochs.
https://www.aga.org/natural-hydrogen-has-been-underestimated/
Prospectors hit the gas in the hunt for ‘white hydrogen’
The size of the prize could be enormous: the US Geological Survey has said that even if only a small fraction of hydrogen under the Earth’s surface could be recovered, there would probably be enough to last for hundreds of years.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/12/prospectors-hit-the-gas-in-the-hunt-for-white-hydrogen
How we chanced upon what may be the world’s largest white hydrogen deposit
On the basis of the gas data at 1100 metres below ground (14% hydrogen), the Lorraine deposit could contain up to 46 million tonnes of white hydrogen, which is to say more than half of the world’s current annual production of grey hydrogen.
https://theconversation.com/how-we-chanced-upon-what-may-be-the-worlds-largest-white-hydrogen-deposit-212499
Accidental white hydrogen discovery could revolutionize efforts to combat climate change
A Game Changer Emerges
Geoffrey Ellis, a geochemist with the US Geological Survey, recalls that a few years ago, the existence of natural hydrogen was considered implausible. However, a discovery in Mali changed everything. In 2011, a water well in the village of Bourakébougou unexpectedly produced gas that was 98% hydrogen, baffling scientists. Subsequent investigations revealed that white hydrogen deposits were more common than previously believed, challenging the conventional wisdom.
https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/copy-of-groundbreaking-stainless-super-steel-generates-sustainable-hydrogen-production-from-seawat