Natural hydrogen is being studied and explored in the US, Canada and Australia — OilPrice
Researchers and companies in the US, Canada and Australia are studying and exploring natural, or “white,” hydrogen. As OilPrice reports, this gas forms underground as a result of chemical reactions between rocks and groundwater. It is being considered as a possible alternative to “green” hydrogen, which is produced through electrolysis using renewable energy.
Research in Western Australia
Scientists from the School of Engineering at Edith Cowan University studied magnetite from iron ore deposits in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The results were published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.
During the experiment, magnetite samples were in contact with water for 60 days at a temperature of 200°C and high pressure, reproducing conditions deep within the Earth. The researchers said that injecting a solution into banded iron formations could stimulate hydrogen generation.
Professor Stefan Iglauer noted that hydrogen generation is affected not only by magnetite reserves, but also by how easily water can reach fresh mineral surfaces through fractures, pores and permeable channels. The study’s lead author, Kaveh Moghanirahimi, said that Western Australia has some of the world’s largest banded iron formations.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Canada and the US
Geochemists at the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa found that hydrogen gradually accumulates within the Canadian Shield, a massif of some of the Earth’s oldest rocks. The scientists measured natural hydrogen concentrations and tracked its long-term accumulation at one location to assess exploration prospects.
Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar said that vast areas of Canada, including the Canadian Shield, contain rocks and minerals suitable for generating natural hydrogen. Canadian company Max Power Mining has begun drilling its third confirmation well, 2,278 meters deep, at the Lawson complex in southern Saskatchewan.
Australia’s HyTerra is conducting natural hydrogen production tests at the Nemaha project in Kansas and testing a well at the Geneva project in Nebraska. Its CEO, Riley Kemp, said the company’s main goal is to create a commercial geological hydrogen production project.
Last year, the US Geological Survey published the first map of prospective areas for natural hydrogen deposits. These areas include parts of Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan, the Four Corners states, the California coast and certain areas of the Atlantic coast.
