A global gold rush for buried hydrogen is underway — as hype builds over its clean energy potential

Published

2 years ago

March 26, 2024

admin

The team from the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) took samples of natural hydrogen gas found in One Pute Jaya Village, Morowali Regency, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, 23 October 2023.

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

A global gold rush is underway for a long-overlooked resource that advocates say could play a significant role in the shift away from fossil fuels.

Geologic hydrogen, sometimes referred to as white, gold or natural hydrogen, refers to hydrogen gas that is found in its natural form beneath Earth’s surface. It is thought to be produced by high-temperature reactions between water and iron-ich minerals.

Hydrogen has long been billed as one of many potential energy sources that could play a pivotal role in the energy transition, but most of it is produced using fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, a process that generates significant greenhouse gas emissions.

Green hydrogen, a process that involves splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity, is one exception from what’s known as the hydrogen color rainbow. However, its development has been held back by soaring costs and a challenging economic environment.

It’s within this context that momentum has been building around geologic hydrogen. Exploratory efforts are now underway in countries such as the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Spain, Colombia, South Korea and others.

A photo taken on April 27, 2023 shows gauges that are part of the electrolysis plant of the geological hydrogen H2 storage facility ‘Underground Sun Storage’ in Gampern, Upper Austria.

Alex Halada | Afp | Getty Images

Research published earlier this month by Rystad Energy showed that 40 companies were actively searching for geologic hydrogen deposits by the end of last year — up from just 10 in 2020.

The consulting firm, which described the pursuit of geologic hydrogen as a “white gold rush,” said the hype stems from hopes that the untapped resource could be a “gamechanger” in the clean energy transition.

“I would say this is something relatively old and new in a way,” Minh Khoi Le, head of hydrogen research at Rystad Energy, told CNBC via videoconference. “The first project that found hydrogen was a while ago, but it never picked up from there, right? People never seriously tried to go for exploration.”

An accidental discovery

The initial discovery of geologic hydrogen occurred in 1987 in a small village roughly 60 kilometers (37.3 miles) from Mali’s capital of Bamako. A failed attempt to drill for water by Canada’s Hydroma hit upon an abundance of odorless gas that was inadvertently found to be highly flammable. The well was soon plugged and forgotten.

Almost two decades later, subsequent exploration at the site found geologic reservoirs containing nearly pure hydrogen gas. Today, the resource is being used to provide power to the Malian village of Bourakébougou.

Last year, researchers found what may be the world’s largest geologic hydrogen deposit to date in France’s eastern Lorraine region. The unexpected discovery further boosted interest in its clean energy potential.

A man is seen in a pirogue on the Niger River in Bamako, Mali on January 26, 2024.

Ousmane Makaveli | Afp | Getty Images

Geoffrey Ellis, a research geologist at the Energy Resources Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), told CNBC that there could be a vast amount of naturally occurring hydrogen buried in underground reservoirs around the world.

Based on current understanding, Ellis said there is likely to be about 5 trillion metric tons of geologic hydrogen in Earth’s interior, although most of this is likely to be too deep or too far offshore to be economically recovered.

Nonetheless, Ellis said that just a few percent of geologic hydrogen recovery might well be enough to supply all projected demand for 200 years.

“The potential is there but we’ve got to do the work,” Ellis said via videoconference, adding that more investment is necessary to accelerate early-stage research and development.

The U.S. Department of Energy last month announced $20 million to support 16 projects nationwide to advance the natural subsurface generation of hydrogen. It said the energy resource could potentially produce zero carbon emissions when burned or used in a fuel cell.

If some of these numbers that certain institutes, like the USGS, about the potential volume that you can extract … come true, it can actually play quite a significant role.

Minh Khoi Le

Head of hydrogen research at Rystad Energy

“Natural hydrogen has created a lot of excitement at the moment but in terms of potential I think it is still a little bit uncertain because none of these projects have actually started producing or extracting hydrogen — except for that one in Mali,” Rystad Energy’s Le told CNBC.

Le said there were still “a lot of question marks around the whole story about natural hydrogen,” but there appeared to be “some substance” behind the hype.

“If some of these numbers that certain institutes, like the USGS, about the potential volume that you can extract … come true, it can actually play quite a significant role,” he added.

‘Sometimes we want to run before we can walk’

Not everyone’s convinced. Some have expressed skepticism about the clean energy potential of natural hydrogen.

“Sometimes we want to run before we can walk,” Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz, an energy analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, told CNBC via videoconference.

The first near-term priority for hydrogen, Jaller-Makarewicz said, should be looking for ways to replace so-called grey hydrogen with green hydrogen.

Grey hydrogen — produced using natural gas and the most common form of hydrogen production — leads to large greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, the Carbon Trust has estimated that less than 1% of current global hydrogen production is emission-free.

“Don’t confuse the idea of ‘we need to find the solution’ with the reality,” Jaller-Makarewicz said.

This photograph shows Lhyfe floating hydrogen production unit (R) past the Floatgen floating wind turbine (L), at the SEM-REV experimentation site off Le Croisic, western France, on June 26, 2023.

Sebastien Salom-gomis | Afp | Getty Images

Separately, the Hydrogen Science Coalition, a group of academics, scientists and engineers seeking to bring an evidence-based view to hydrogen’s role in the energy transition, said in a recent blog post that geologic hydrogen discoveries currently supply the world with less daily energy than a single wind turbine.

What’s more, the coalition says there are environmental concerns about the extraction process, and transportation and distribution challenges mean geologic hydrogen is not likely to be found where it is needed most.

“Considering findings to date, what we know about geologic hydrogen systems, and the fact that favourable settings appear rare, the odds of finding geologic hydrogen that can be extracted at the scale of large natural gas developments looks relatively slim,” the coalition said on March 14.

Environment

The ‘world’s first flying car’ is now being hand-made in California

Published

1 hour ago

December 9, 2025

admin

The 'world's first flying car' is now being hand-made in California

Flying cars are no longer just for the movies. Alef Aeronautics has begun building the first electric flying cars for customers, which are being hand-made in California.

Electric flying cars are real and hand-made in the US

It sounds like something from The Jetsons or Harry Potter, but flying cars are becoming a reality. Alef has been developing all-electric flying cars for about a decade now.

After unveiling a prototype in 2016, the company secured backing from early Tesla and Bitcoin investor Tim Draper. Draper became a pioneering investor and mentor to the team.

The big funding round propelled Alef to create not just a toy, but a flying car that can be used as an everyday commute vehicle.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

In 2018, the company’s first full-size “skeleton” was flown, and the following year, the first prototype was shown to a group of investors.

Alef introduced its first model, dubbed the Model A, in 2022, a 100% electric flying car that can drive 220 miles with a 110-mile flight range.

Less than a year later, it became the first to receive a Special Airworthiness Certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration while securing its first pre-orders from a car dealership.

We got our first look at the flying car in action earlier this year after Alef released a video of an ultralight Model A jumping over other vehicles, including a Tesla Cybertruck (see the video below). According to Alef, it was the “first-ever video in history of a car driving and vertically taking off.”

Alef’s electric flying car jumps over a Tesla Cybertruck (Source: Alef Aeronautics)

In its mission to make flying cars a reality, the California-based startup announced another major milestone on Monday.

Alef said it has begun manufacturing the first flying cars for customers at its facility in Silicon Valley, California. The first models are being hand-made and will be delivered to just a few early customers “for the purpose of testing flying cars in the real world environment,” according to Alef.

The company plans to train and support early adopters, using lessons learned as it ramps up production and deliveries.

“We are happy to report that production of the first flying car has started on schedule,” Alef’s CEO, Jim Dukhovny, said at the event.

Alef claims its flying cars are “100% electric, drivable on public roads, and has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities.”

The startup has already received 3,500 pre-orders, which it says is worth $1 billion. Alef’s flying car is expected to start at around $299,999. You can pre-order one on Alef’s website with a $150 deposit, or you can secure a spot in the priority queue for $1,500. The first customer deliveries are expected to begin in 2026.

Add Electrek as a preferred source on Google

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Environment

Cramer: I may need to reevaluate our Costco position. Plus, a good sign for Linde

Published

2 hours ago

December 9, 2025

admin

Cramer: I may need to reevaluate our Costco position. Plus, a good sign for Linde

Environment

Ford finds a new partner for affordable EVs amid a ‘fight for our lives’

Published

3 hours ago

December 9, 2025

admin

Ford finds a new partner for affordable EVs amid a 'fight for our lives'

Ford is promising that more affordable EVs are coming soon. A new partnership will include two Ford-branded electric vehicles, but that’s just the start.

Ford and Renault partner up on affordable EVs

“We know we’re in a fight for our lives,” Ford’s CEO Jim Farley warned on Monday (via CNN) before announcing a landmark partnership with Renault to develop more affordable EVs and fend off surging Chinese brands like BYD and SAIC’s MG.

Ford said the new partnership is “a first step,” as part of a broader restructuring in the region. The plans include two new Ford-branded EVs, based on Renault’s Ampere platform.

Although they will share underpinnings with the popular Renault 5, the American automaker will lead the design to “ensure these vehicles are distinctly Ford.”

Advertisement – scroll for more content

The first is expected to be an electric successor to the widely popular Fiesta, while the second is rumoured to be a small EV crossover, similar to the Renault 4.

Ford didn’t offer specifics, but said the first vehicles will begin arriving in showrooms in 2028. Farley told reporters that the new EVs will be smaller than anything planned for the US, as it seeks to fill a critical gap in its European lineup.

“As an American company, we see Europe as the frontline in the global transformation of our industry,” Farley said, adding that “how we compete here will write the playbook for the next generation.”

The partnership will also include jointly developing Ford and Renault-branded commercial vehicles using common platforms.

Ford’s current EV lineup in Europe consists of the Electric Explorer and Capri, which share a platform with the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5, and the Puma Gen E.

Ford-affordable-EVs — Ford Explorer EV production in Cologne (Source: Ford)

The news comes just a day after Farley warned that the EU’s emissions rules are “risking the future” of the auto industry.

Electrek’s Take

Ford initially backed the EU’s push to have all-electric vehicle sales in the region by 2035, but now it’s blaming slower-than-expected EV demand and calling for looser rules.

Farley has warned several times now that Chinese automakers, like BYD, are an “existential threat” to the auto industry. As part of its restructuring, Ford has already announced plans to cut thousands of jobs in Europe while reducing output at its Cologne EV facility.

Ford’s share of European passenger car sales has plummeted from 6.1% in 2019 to just 3.3% through October of this year.

Although the company is blaming slower EV demand, electric vehicles are still gaining ground in Europe. Through October 2025, nearly 1.5 million EVs were registered in Europe, accounting for 16.4% of the market. That’s up from around 13.2% through the first 10 months of 2024.

Meanwhile, the combined share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 36.6% from 46.3% over the same period.

Are EV sales slowing? Or, is it a Ford problem? The new alliance with Renault to build more affordable EVs will be critical to Ford’s comeback in the region.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.