Environment

From mining giants to Big Oil, major players are jumping on the ‘white hydrogen’ bandwagon

Published

3 months ago

April 28, 2025

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The construction site of a plant for the production of hydrogen in Germany.

Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

A growing number of sizable companies, from mining giants to energy majors, are embracing the hype for natural hydrogen.

It comes as buzz continues to build over the potential for a resource that advocates say could radically reshape the global energy landscape.

Natural hydrogen, sometimes known as white, gold or geologic hydrogen, refers to hydrogen gas that is found in its natural form beneath Earth’s surface. The long-overlooked resource, first discovered by accident in Mali nearly 40 years ago, contains no carbon and produces only water when burned.

Investor interest in the nascent natural hydrogen sector has been intensifying in recent months, fueling optimism initially driven by research startups and junior exploration companies.

Over the past year or so, some of the sector’s established backers include mining giants Rio Tinto and Fortescue, Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom, the venture capital arm of British oil giant BP and Bill Gates‘ clean tech investment fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

We can use it to make metals, make fuels, you could even make food, and all with far fewer emissions than conventional approaches.

Eric Toone

Chief technology officer at Breakthrough Energy

Exploratory efforts are currently underway in several countries across the globe, with Canada and the U.S. leading the way in terms of project counts over the last year, according to research published by consultancy Rystad Energy.

Analysts expect the year ahead to be a pivotal one, with industry players hoping their exploration campaigns can soon locate the elusive gas.

Not everyone’s convinced about the clean energy potential of natural hydrogen, however, with critics flagging environmental concerns and distribution challenges. For its part, the International Energy Agency has warned there is a possibility that the resource “is too scattered to be captured in a way that is economically viable.”

A global scramble for ‘white gold’

Minh Khoi Le, head of hydrogen research at Rystad Energy, said it’s difficult to predict whether natural hydrogen can live up to its promise in 2025.

“I guess last year was the year that things got really interesting for the natural hydrogen space because that’s when many companies started to plan drilling campaigns, extraction testing and we started to see some major players start to get involved as well,” Le told CNBC by video call.

“Since then, I would say the progress has been relatively slow. There are only a few companies that have actually started drilling,” he added.

Gauges that are part of the electrolysis plant of the geological hydrogen H2 storage facility.

Alex Halada | Afp | Getty Images

Rystad’s Le, who characterized the global pursuit of natural hydrogen as a “white gold rush” last year, said that while there’d been no major progress over the last 12 months, an upswing in investor interest could help to deliver some meaningful results.

“Now, we are starting to see companies getting investment, so they have money to fund their drilling campaigns. So, if we are to get an answer of whether this thing will work, we’ll get to that conclusion a bit faster this year,” Le said.

Hydrogen has long been billed as one of many potential energy sources that could play a key 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 to the hydrogen color rainbow. However, its development has been held back by soaring costs and a challenging economic environment.

Clean, homegrown energy

Australia’s HyTerra announced an investment of $21.9 million from Fortescue in August last year, noting that the proceeds would be used to fully fund expanded exploration projects.

A spokesperson for Fortescue, one of the leading green hydrogen developers, said its push into the natural hydrogen sector was in line with its “strategic commitment to exploring zero emissions fuels.”

Acknowledging that more work is required to fully assess natural hydrogen’s emissions profile, Fortescue’s spokesperson described the technology as a “promising opportunity” to accelerate industrial decarbonization.

A hydrogen-powered haul truck, right, at the Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. Christmas Creek mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, Australia, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Elsewhere, BP Ventures, the venture capital arm of BP, led a Series A funding round of U.K.-based natural hydrogen exploration startup Snowfox Discovery earlier this year, while France-based start-up Mantle8 recently received 3.4 million euros ($3.9 million) in seed funding from investors, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate and technology fund founded by Bill Gates in 2015.

Eric Toone, chief technology officer at Breakthrough Energy, said the fund had backed the likes of Mantle8 and U.S.-based startup Koloma because the promise of natural hydrogen is such that it “could unlock a new era of clean, homegrown energy.”

“Hydrogen is pure reactive chemical energy. If we have enough hydrogen and it’s cheap enough, we can do almost anything. We can use it to make metals, make fuels, you could even make food, and all with far fewer emissions than conventional approaches,” Toone told CNBC via email.

“We know it’s out there and not just in isolated pockets. Early exploration has identified natural hydrogen across six continents. The challenge now is figuring out how to extract it efficiently, move it safely, and build the systems to put it to work,” he added.

In search of the ‘eureka moment’

Aurian Durbuis, chief of staff at France’s Mantle8, said momentum certainly appears to be building from a venture capital perspective.

“There is a growing interest, indeed, especially given the dynamics with green hydrogen right now, unfortunately. People are turning their eyes to other solutions, which is in our favor,” Durbuis told CNBC by video call.

Taking the evolution of US shale-gas as an analogy, even if large finds are made, it will likely take decades to achieve industrial production.

Arnout Everts

Member of the Hydrogen Science Coalition

Based in Grenoble, in the foothills of the French Alps, Mantle8 is targeting the discovery of 10 million tons of natural hydrogen by 2030 to complement the European Union’s goals.

“The question is can we find producible reservoirs, in the oil and gas terminology. That’s really what we need to figure out as an industry,” Durbuis said.

“We think we can drill in 2028 and hopefully that is the eureka moment because if we can find something at that time, then it could obviously be a game changer. If we find highly concentrated hydrogen, with pressure, then this just changes everything,” he added.

What’s next for natural hydrogen?

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 exploration for natural hydrogen is still at an “embryonic stage” — but even so, the likelihood of locating large finds of nearly pure hydrogen that can be extracted at scale look “relatively slim.”

The world’s only producing hydrogen well in Mali, for example, supplies “just a fraction of the daily energy output of a single wind turbine,” Arnout Everts, a geoscientist and member of the Hydrogen Science Coalition, told CNBC via email.

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

“Taking the evolution of US shale-gas as an analogy, even if large finds are made, it will likely take decades to achieve industrial production,” Everts said.

Ultimately, the Hydrogen Science Coalition said the pursuit of natural hydrogen risks distracting focus from the renewable hydrogen needed to decarbonize industries today.

Environment

Lucid’s Gravity SUV just smoked the Corvette Z06 to 150 mph

Published

9 hours ago

July 25, 2025

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Lucid's Gravity SUV just smoked the Corvette Z06 to 150 mph

Lucid’s electric minivan can outsprint the Chevy Corvette Z06, and it has more interior space than a Ford Explorer. Is the Lucid Gravity really the “ultimate uncompromising SUV?”

Lucid Gravity SUV is faster than a Corvette Z06

Lucid’s electric SUV is impressive inside and out. The Gravity provides up to 450 miles of driving range, ultra-fast charging (200 miles in under 11 mins), and it even offers up to 120 cubic feet of cargo space. That’s more than the Ford Explorer (87.8 cu ft).

It’s also faster than most sports cars. The Grand Touring trim has up to 845 hp, good for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in just 3.4 seconds, but the Dream Edition takes it to another level.

Powered by dual electric motors, the Lucid Gravity Dream Edition boasts 1,070 hp. To see how Lucid’s minivan stacks up against the competition, Car and Driver nabbed one for testing.

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On the test track, the Lucid’s minivan covered a quarter-mile in just 10.6 secs, beating a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 to 150 mph by nearly three seconds.

According to Car and Driver, the Gravity didn’t just impress in the quarter-mile, “it was a beast in every acceleration metric.” Lucid’s SUV hit 30 mph in 1.4 seconds, 70 mph in 3.7 secs, and topped 100 mph in just 5.9 seconds.

Dave Vanderwerp, the testing director who took the Gravity for a spin, said the electric SUV “gets a sort of second wave of thrust starting around 60 mph.”

With a quarter-mile of just 10.6 secs, Lucid’s Gravity is the fastest SUV they have ever tested, beating out the Rivian Tri-Motor Max (11.1 secs), BMW iX M60 (11.5 secs), and Mercedes-AMG EQE53 SUV.

Lucid-Gravity-SUV — Lucid Gravity (Source: Lucid)

Although the Rivian’s 850 hp R1S Tri-Motor beat the Gravity to 60 mph, Lucid’s SUV sprinted ahead in the quarter-mile, traveling nearly 20 mph faster.

It was also faster than gas-powered super SUVs, including the Lamborghini Urus Performante (11.2 secs) and Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT (11.2 secs). However, they have yet to test a Tesla Model X Plaid, so that could change the game.

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Lucid Gravity Dream Edition vs Audi RS Q8 Performance, Range Rover Sport SV, Porsche Macan Turbo Electric, Rivian R1S Quad, and Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid (Source: Hagerty)

In what it called the “1,000 hp mom missiles” drag race, Hagerty recently pitted the Gravity Dream Edition against the Audi RS Q8 Performance, Range Rover Sport SV, Porsche Macan Turbo Electric, Rivian R1S Quad, and Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.

The result was a three-way tie between Lucid’s Gravity, the Porsche Panamera Turbo, and Rivian R1S Quad hitting the quarter-mile in 10.5 seconds.

The Lucid Gravity is available to order starting at $94,900 in the US. Later this year, Lucid is launching the lower-priced Touring trim, priced from $79,900.

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Environment

EIA: Solar outproduced wind for the first time ever in May

Published

10 hours ago

July 25, 2025

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EIA: Solar outproduced wind for the first time ever in May

Solar provided over 11% of total US electrical generation in May, while wind + solar produced over one-fifth, and the mix of all renewable energy sources generated nearly 30%, according to data just released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Solar continues to set new records

Solar continues to be the fastest-growing source of US electricity, according to EIA’s latest “Electric Power Monthly” report (with data through May 31, 2025), which the SUN DAY Campaign reviewed.

In May alone, electrical generation by utility-scale solar (>1-megawatt (MW)) increased by 33.3% year-over-year, while “estimated” small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar PV increased by 8.9%. Combined, they grew by 26.4% and provided over 11% of US electrical output during the month.

For the first time ever, the mix of utility-scale and small-scale solar produced more electricity than wind: solar – 38,965 gigawatt-hours (GWh); wind – 36,907-GWh.

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Moreover, utility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 39.8% while that from small-scale systems rose by 10.7% during the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by 31.1% and was nearly 8.4% of total US electrical generation for January to May – up from 6.6% a year earlier.

Solar-generated electricity easily surpassed the output of US hydropower plants (6.1%). Solar now produces more electricity than hydropower, biomass, and geothermal combined.

Wind is also on the rise in 2025

Wind produced 12.2% of US electricity in the first five months of 2025. Its output was 3.9% greater than the year before, almost double that produced by hydropower.

During the first five months of 2025, electrical generation by wind + utility-scale and small-scale solar provided 20.5% of the US total, up from 18.7% during the first five months of 2024. Solar + wind accounted for nearly 21.5% of US electrical output in May alone.

During the first five months of this year, wind and solar provided 26.2% more electricity than coal, and 15.4% more than US nuclear power plants. In May alone, the disparity increased further when solar + wind outproduced coal and nuclear power by 55.7% and 22.1%, respectively.

All renewables produced almost 30% in May

The mix of all renewables – wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, geothermal – produced 9.7% more electricity in January to May than they did a year ago (7.6% more in May alone) and provided 28.1% of total US electricity production compared to 26.5% 12 months earlier.

Electrical generation by all renewables in May alone provided 29.7% of total US electrical generation. Renewables’ share of electrical generation is now second only to that of natural gas, whose electrical output actually dropped by 5.9% during the month.

“Solar and wind continue to grow, set new records, and outproduce both coal and nuclear power,” said Ken Bossong, the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director. “Consequently, the ongoing Republican assault against renewables is not only misguided and illogical but also a good example of shooting oneself in the foot.”

The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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Environment

Podcast: Tesla’s disturbing earnings, self-driving challenge, solid state batteries, and more

Published

10 hours ago

July 25, 2025

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Podcast: Tesla's disturbing earnings, self-driving challenge, solid state batteries, and more

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla’s disturbing earnings, a new self-driving challenge, solid-state batteries, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:

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