>>20693495
>there has been much talk about green hydrogen as a strong energy bet.
The white gold rush and the pursuit of natural hydrogen
The buzz around natural hydrogen – dubbed white or gold hydrogen – is gaining global momentum as a potential gamechanger in the hunt for cost-effective, low-carbon energy sources. Rystad Energy research shows that at the end of last year, 40 companies were searching for natural hydrogen deposits, up from just 10 in 2020. Currently, exploratory efforts are underway in Australia, the US, Spain, France, Albania, Colombia, South Korea and Canada.
One of the most promising elements of white hydrogen is its cost advantage over other forms of hydrogen due to its natural occurrence. Grey hydrogen, produced from fossil fuels, costs less than $2 per kilogram (kg) of hydrogen on average, while green hydrogen, produced using renewable electricity, is currently more than three times pricier. The cost of renewable hydrogen is expected to come down as electrolyzer pricing falls in the coming years, and yet, white hydrogen would still be cheaper.
At present, Canada-based producer Hydroma extracts white hydrogen at an estimated cost of $0.5 per kg. Depending on the deposit's depth and purity, projects in Spain and Australia aim for a cost of about $1 per kg, solidifying white hydrogen’s price competitiveness.
https://www.rystadenergy.com/news/white-gold-rush-pursuit-natural-hydrogen
Natural Hydrogen Has Been Underestimated
The United States Geological Service (USGS) intends to publish a map of appropriate geologies in the continental United States at some point in 2024. This map is expected to include very large proportions of both coasts and the Midwest as appropriate geologies for hydrogen. The United States is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this new resource thanks to our cutting-edge energy technologies that have already helped to lower U.S. global emissions by 61 percent. If anyone can rapidly extract large amounts of clean natural hydrogen, it’s us.
https://www.aga.org/natural-hydrogen-has-been-underestimated/
The $245M bid to pull clean hydrogen straight from the earth
In 1987, an engineer digging a water well in the Mali village of Bourakebougou paused for a smoke break and set off an explosion from a shallow underground reserve of hydrogen, singeing the village and himself in the process. Additional wells drilled in the vicinity have located more of the gas in cavities near the surface.
Other accidental discoveries of hydrogen have been made across the world, stumbled upon by miners or petrochemical surveys. Substantial subsurface deposits have been located in Albania, Australia, Brazil, France, Morocco, Oman, Spain and the United States.
This naturally occurring hydrogen mostly originates from a process called serpentinization. When subterranean water comes in contact with iron-rich rock such as olivine, it essentially rusts, creating iron oxides — and leaving behind hydrogen. The gas can then make its way up through permeable rock and soil to be released into Earth’s atmosphere, or contained in impermeable underground domes.
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/hydrogen/the-245m-bid-to-pull-clean-hydrogen-straight-from-the-earth
2nd pic: (a) Global distribution of potential native hydrogen source rocks and reservoirs
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/a-Global-distribution-of-potential-native-hydrogen-source-rocks-and-reservoirs-20_fig2_371193275