Key facts
- White hydrogen, or geologic hydrogen, is naturally occurring hydrogen found in the Earth's crust.
- Green hydrogen projects have seen low realization rates, with only 7% of global capacity announcements finishing on schedule.
- Green hydrogen remains expensive and often less efficient than direct use of clean energy.
- Research suggests the Earth's continental crust contains energy equivalent to approximately 170,000 years of present-day global oil consumption in the form of hydrogen.
- Extracting white hydrogen requires understanding complex geological systems similar to oil exploration.
The promise of green hydrogen as a decarbonization tool is facing significant hurdles, prompting a look at alternative sources like 'white' hydrogen. White hydrogen, also known as geologic hydrogen, is naturally occurring hydrogen found within the Earth's crust. Proponents suggest it could bypass many of the critical barriers that have stalled the scaling of green hydrogen, potentially offering a more cost-effective and readily available solution.
Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy, has been promoted for years as a game-changer for emissions-intensive sectors such as steelmaking and transportation. However, its implementation has been slow, with less than a tenth of planned projects realized as of 2023. A paper in Nature Energy highlighted that only 7% of global capacity announcements for green hydrogen finished on schedule. Key issues include high costs that make it uncompetitive with other fuels and the fact that direct use of clean energy is often more efficient for decarbonization pathways.
White hydrogen, by contrast, taps into vast, existing underground resources. Research from the University of Oxford, Durham University, and the University of Toronto estimates that hydrogen generated geologically in the Earth's continental crust holds energy equivalent to approximately 170,000 years of current global oil consumption. However, the exact amount accumulated in recoverable deposits remains uncertain.
Extracting and purifying white hydrogen efficiently and environmentally friendly is a complex geological challenge. Scientists are working to identify complete extraction systems, including production sources, migration pathways, reservoirs, and geological traps. "It’s only once we fully understand how this system works, which has similarities to but also fundamental differences from oil systems, that large-scale industrial exploitation can be considered," according to a report from Futura. Despite these complexities, numerous startups globally are racing to perfect the extraction process and unlock this resource commercially.