Geologists Have Long Searched for Gold Hydrogen. A New Study Finally Shows Where It’s Hiding.

• While hydrogen is on the verge of being a world-changing fuel source, its creation still relies largely on natural gas, making the fuel less-than-ideal in a world increasingly focused on decarbonization.

• While scientists and engineers are working to improve the production of “green hydrogen,” some scientists are exploring ways to find massive natural reserves of hydrogen in the Earth, otherwise known as “gold hydrogen.”

• A new study, drawing from data gathered from tectonic simulations, says that mountain ranges are particularly ideal for finding pockets of natural hydrogen due to they large volume of exhumed mantle rock and access to water circulation.

It’s easy for one to recognize the benefits of hydrogen as a potential energy source. Whereas fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas produce harmful byproducts when burned, a hydrogen fuel releases only water vapor. But when you look at the energy required to create that fuel cell, the green energy promise of hydrogen quickly fades.

According to the World Economic Forum, only 0.1 percent of hydrogen production today is considered “green,” meaning it uses renewable energy resources for its production. Today most hydrogen fuel cells are “grey,” denoting that natural gas is used in its creation, which isn’t ideal in helping the world cut its emissions. While scientists around the world are improving electrolyzers and photocatalysts to lower the price of green hydrogen (the U.S. Department of Energy hopes to get the price-per-kilogram to $1 by the end of the decade), many geologists have spent the last several years on the search for “gold hydrogen,” or hydrogen extracted naturally from the Earth.

Now scientists at GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany, have discerned that the Earth’s mountains likely contain vast reserves of hydrogen that could significantly aid humanity’s transition from fossil fuels. The results of their research were published last week in the journal Science Advances.

“This new research advances our understanding of suitable environments for natural hydrogen generation,” GFZ’s Sascha Brune, a co-author of the study, said in a press statement. “Given the economic opportunities associated with natural H2, now is the time to go further and also investigate migration pathways of hydrogen and deep, hydrogen-consuming microbial ecosystems to better understand where potential H2 reservoirs can actually form.”

For decades, experts believed the Earth produced little-to-no hydrogen—or at least not enough to be economically viable. However, that narrative quickly changed after the discovery of a huge accumulation of natural hydrogen in Bourakebougou, Mali, in 2018. Eric Gaucher, a geochemist at the University of Bern, even told Science in 2023 that the discovery could be as historically important as the one in Titusville, Pennsylvania, 163 years ago, which is considered the first oil drilling rig in history. Since then both science and industry have been dedicated to investigating the potential of natural reserves of hydrogen, and this new study represents some of the best news yet.

Using numerical plate tectonic modeling, GFZ scientists simulated plate tectonic evolution from initial rifting to continental break-up, leading to modern (geologically speaking) mountain building. This model tracked when mantle rock in mountains potentially came in contact with water, creating an opportunity for hydrogen production as an byproduct of a geologic process known as “serpentinization.”

The scientists discovered that mountains are particularly well-suited for this process due to colder temperatures, larger volume of exhumed mantle rocks, and more water circulation through fault lines in the mountains. The paper specifically identifies the Alpide belt, also known as the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt which contains the Alps, Pyrenees and the Himalayas, as well-suited for this type of natural hydrogen production. They found that mountains likely contain hydrogen concentrations 20 times greater than in rift basins, another geologic feature capable of producing exhumed mantle rock.

“Crucial to the success of these efforts will be the development of novel concepts and exploration strategies,” GFZ’s Frank Zwaan, lead author of the study, said in a press statement. “Overall, we may be at a turning point for natural H2 exploration. As such, we could be witnessing the birth of a new natural hydrogen industry.”

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