For years, as one of the great promises of clean energy. The perfect fuel: when burned it only emits water vapor and, in theory, it could power ships, airplanes, steel factories or industries that are impossible to electrify.
The problem was always the same: producing it was very expensive. Until now.
Because a new generation of technology and geological companies believes they have found the solution underground. Literally.
According to The New York Times, dozens of startups are launching a kind of new global energy fever in search of what is already known as : huge natural reserves of hydrogen hidden in the subsoil or even chemical processes capable of generating it directly underground.
And the figures they use are beginning to attract a lot of attention.
The United States Department of Energy estimates that this hydrogen could be produced for less than a dollar per kilo. That would mean a cost up to six times lower than the current green hydrogen generated by solar or wind energy.
The great energy promise hidden under the rocks
The scene seems more typical of oil exploration than clean energy.
In Thetford Mines, a former Quebec mining region historically known for asbestos, the startup Vema Hydrogen has drilled two wells more than 300 meters deep looking for a very specific type of iron-rich rock.
The goal is to trigger a natural chemical reaction known as serpentinization: when certain minerals react with water, they spontaneously generate hydrogen.
“The potential is massive,” says Pierre Levin, the company’s executive director, while observing the drilling in the middle of the Canadian cold. “There are rocks like this all over the world. Enough to produce billions of tons of hydrogen.”
The idea has been around for decades in scientific circles, but it was long thought that hydrogen would easily escape through underground cracks before it could accumulate.
Now that theory is beginning to break down.
The discovery that changed everything
One of the key moments came almost by accident in Mali, in 1987.
Some workers were digging an apparently dry well when one of them came too close with a lit cigarette. The result was an unexpected explosion: underground there was a natural pocket of hydrogen.
That discovery seemed like a rarity. Today many scientists believe that there may be enormous reserves spread throughout the planet.
“When I started researching this I had a lot of doubts,” acknowledges Geoffrey Ellis, a geochemist with the United States Geological Survey. “I am now convinced that there is a lot of hydrogen down there. The question is whether we can produce it profitably.”
And that’s where the new race begins.
Startups like Koloma -backed with $400 million by investors including Amazon or United Airlines- They are already drilling wells in Iowa. Other companies explore areas of Kansas, Nebraska, Australia or Canada.
The fuel that could compete with fossils
The great attraction is economic, but also strategic.
Today’s green hydrogen relies heavily on large amounts of renewable electricity, which makes the process extremely expensive. Geological hydrogen, on the other hand, could be obtained directly from the subsoil with minimal emissions.
And that opens up gigantic scenarios.
From sustainable fuel for ships and planes to clean fertilizers, green steel or even data centers powered without fossil fuels.
The problem is that no one yet knows if it will really work on a large scale.
Drilling is expensive, there is a risk of leaks, small earthquakes could occur and Some scientists even warn that underground microorganisms could “eat” some of the hydrogen before extracting it.
But still, interest is skyrocketing.
“Two years ago all this sounded completely hypothetical,” explains Alexis Templeton, professor of geochemistry at the University of Colorado. “Now we know that hydrogen can be produced underground. The only question is whether we can make it profitable.”
And precisely that question could end up redefining a good part of the world’s energy future.
