Hydrogen is a gas that burns cleanly and produces a lot of energy. It will play an important part in tackling the climate crisis. Until recently, producing hydrogen created pollution. Now, scientists say there may be large amounts of natural hydrogen hidden underground.
As the world moves away from fossil fuels, new fuels are needed to take their place. In recent years, there have been huge increases in the amount of solar and wind power being produced. These clean energy sources can power many things that used to run on fossil fuels, like cars and heating systems.
But some things require more energy, and can’t be switched over to electricity so easily. Examples include jet airplanes, huge cargo ships, and processes that require very high temperatures. But hydrogen could be used in many of these cases. And because hydrogen can be used without emitting greenhouse gases, there’s a lot of interest in using hydrogen as a fuel.
(Source: Roman, via Pixabay.)
It sounds easy – after all, hydrogen is the most common element in the universe. The problem is that on Earth, most hydrogen atoms are stuck to other atoms. For example, water is sometimes called “H2O”, because water molecules are made of two hydrogen (H) atoms joined to one oxygen (O) atom.
Separating hydrogen from other atoms takes energy. Until recently, that energy mainly came from fossil fuels. Hydrogen may be a “clean” fuel, but it’s not so clean when it’s made with fossil fuels.
Energy experts give hydrogen different names depending on how it was made. Hydrogen made using coal power is often called “black” or “brown” hydrogen.
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Separating hydrogen from other atoms takes energy. Until recently, that energy mainly came from fossil fuels. Hydrogen is not so clean when it’s made with fossil fuels. Above, a 2009 picture of a hydrogen plant belonging to a large hydrogen-making company.
Recently, there’s been a lot of interest in “green hydrogen”. Green hydrogen is made with renewable energy and has almost no carbon emissions.
But making green hydrogen is expensive compared to making hydrogen with fossil fuels. And some people think renewable energy should be used in other ways.
That’s where “white”, or natural, hydrogen comes in. This is hydrogen made by the Earth’s natural processes and trapped deep underground.
Scientists have long known about white hydrogen. But the idea that there might be a lot of it, and that it could be collected is still pretty new.
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Green hydrogen is made with renewable energy and has almost no carbon emissions. But making green hydrogen is expensive, and some people think renewable energy should be used in other ways. Above, a green hydrogen fueling station for buses in Barcelona.
The first big discovery of white hydrogen came in Mali, Africa. A well that was being drilled for water caught on fire. Scientists later discovered that the gas that caused the fire was 98% hydrogen. That well is now powering a nearby village.
Recently, two scientists in France were testing deep underground in northeastern France, trying to figure out how much natural gas was there.
As they went deeper, they got a surprise. The amount of hydrogen started to go up. At 1,250 meters (4,100 feet), 20% of the underground gas was hydrogen. The scientists believe they may have found the world’s largest source of natural hydrogen.
Companies in several countries are now working hard looking for white hydrogen. Though natural hydrogen is an idea that’s just beginning to take off, many scientists think it could be an important part of the world’s future energy supply.
Did You Know…?
Because the search for natural hydrogen is in the early stages, much is still unknown. This includes how much hydrogen there might be, how much it would cost to collect it, and whether drilling for hydrogen might cause other problems. There are also big challenges involved in transporting hydrogen, so there’s still a lot to work out.