Essay by Eric Worrall
h/t David S. – If you’ve never heard of natural hydrogen deposits before, you’re not alone. But the discoveries of substantial deposits of underground gas, most of which contain near-pure hydrogen, are likely entirely dependent on efforts to develop a “green hydrogen” economy.
Natural hydrogen exploration ‘boom’ covers a third of South Australia
South Australia has found itself at the center of the 21st century gold rush, albeit this time with natural hydrogen. As of February 2021, 18 exploration permits have been issued or applied for in the state by six different companies looking for natural hydrogen.
FEBRUARY 2, 2022 BELLA PEACOCK
Are from Australian pv magazine
In a rapid escalation from inactivity last February, exploration companies are now scrambling to find what they believe could be the cheapest, easiest way to get “future fuel.” ” much hyped: hydrogen.
Over the past 12 months, six different companies have been granted or applied for 18 Oil and Gas Exploration Permits across South Australia, according to Australian energy consultancy EnergyQuest. Combined, the licensed area equates to about 570,000 square kilometers (km2) or 32% of the entire state, the consulting firm found, referring to the sudden outflow as a “boom”.
Natural Hydrogen
To date, natural or native hydrogen has been largely ignored – although it has been described by natural hydrogen researcher Viacheslav Zgonnik as “common in nature” in a 2020 paper. Natural hydrogen deposits form through chemical reactions underground, Zgonnik said the molecule has been detected in high concentrations, often the primary gas, in all types of geological environments.
…
Summary of the 2020 report;
The occurrence and geoscience of natural hydrogen: A comprehensive review
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103140
abstract
Using an interdisciplinary approach, this paper examines current knowledge in the field of natural hydrogen. For the first time, it combines views on hydrogen from previous Eastern Bloc literature with Western ones, including rare views and recent studies. The data are summarized and classified according to three main sections: hydrogen as a free gas in different environments, as inclusions in various rocks, and as a dissolved gas in groundwater. This review unequivocally demonstrates that molecular hydrogen is much more common in nature than was previously thought. Hydrogen has been detected in high concentrations, often as the primary gas, in all types of geological environments. A critical review of all the proposed mechanisms involved in the origin of natural hydrogen suggests that deep roots are likely the explanation for its abundance in nature. By combining the available data, an estimate of about 23 Tg/year for the total annual hydrogen flux from the proposed geological sources is estimated. This value is one order of magnitude larger than the previous estimate but most likely still not large enough to account for the recently discovered prevalence worldwide. wet. Hydrogen can play an important role in the mechanisms that take place in both shallow and deep earth particles, and it can influence a wide range of natural phenomena. Hydrogen is an essential energy source for many microorganism. Hydrogen sampling can be a useful tool in the study of the natural environment, geological mapping, earthquake monitoring, fault tracing, and resource exploration. Hydrogen of geological origin has the potential to become renewable energy source of the future, with exploration projects going on at the present time. Therefore, the topic of natural hydrogen is relevant from many different perspectives.
Read more: https://www.sciasedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012825219304787#preview-section-abstract
Another article discusses natural hydrogen;
Natural hydrogen is the fuel of 21st century
Laurent Truchefirst * and Elena F. Bazarkina2.3
first University of Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, ISterre, F-38000 Grenoble, France
2 Institut Néel, UPR 2940 CNRS – University of Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, France
3 IGEM RAS, 119017 Moscow, RussiaSame author: [email protected]
abstract
Much has been learned about natural hydrogen (H2) seeps and accumulates, but the current knowledge of the behavior of hydrogen in the crust is limited, so the exploitation of this resource cannot be considered. Targeting hydrogen requires a shift in the age-old patterns driving oil and gas exploration. This paper describes the background of the source-to-sink synthetic view of the hydrogen cycle and proposes preliminary practical guidelines for hydrogen exploration.
This story dates back to February, but until David points out, I had never heard of natural hydrogen, except for an impurity in natural gas.
With caution, information on natural hydrogen is rather sparse, so I have no confirmation of the claim that natural hydrogen occurs in large enough quantities in exploitable deposits, with the exception of a handful of documents. It can be proven to be the cold fusion of zero carbon industry. But serious people seem to be taking it seriously.
Even the possibility of significant exploitable natural hydrogen deposits poses a threat to efforts to build a green hydrogen economy powered by renewable energy.
How will people get the financing to spend billions installing solar panels and wind turbines, developing green water hydrolysis technology, if someone has the ability just poke a hole in the ground and write off their profit margins?
I still think hydrogen is too dangerous to be used in consumer items like hydrogen-powered cars.
But a zero-carbon dissipative hydrogen-powered electric turbine mounted on a large natural hydrogen deposit could wipe out the profits of any wind or solar battery or battery back-up facility. , regardless of how many subsidies the government offers.
Even if natural hydrogen deposits only last for a decade or two, or are never developed into a commercial resource, the threat posed by businesses developing dispersable natural sources of hydrogen would undermine the business of most other forms of green energy, with the exception of hydropower.
Update: h/t Nick Stokes – a CSIRO . paper Hydrogen in Australian natural gas: occurrence, sources and resources The suggestion “Prediction and subsequent determination of the surface H2 what can be mined remains a mystery and awaits guidelines for powerful exploration and targeted drilling as proof of concept. “
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