The U.S. Department of Energy is investing millions in research into extracting geologic hydrogen from subsurface rock formations. It’s long been believed that subsurface pockets of pure hydrogen are rare. However, the idea is now being challenged and the potential of a larger source of carbon-free energy is now under investigation with support from the DoE.
Researchers believe pockets of pure hydrogen are waiting to be discovered
The common belief is that hydrogen rarely exists on its own, even though it’s the most abundant element in the universe. It’s usually attached to other elements, like oxygen in water, or carbon in methane. However, naturally occurring reservoirs of hydrogen exist beneath the Earth’s surface, and scientists are starting to believe that there are more of them than we previously thought.
Hydrogen is a viable, carbon emissions-free source of energy if it’s extracted through renewable processes, and considering its suitability for a wide range of applications, it comes as no surprise that the United States Department of Energy is looking into the extraction of the substance in its purest form.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there are potentially billions of tons of geologic hydrogen reservoirs beneath the Earth’s surface. A number of deposits have already been discovered across the globe, and several startups are looking at ways to tap into these resources.
A different direction that hydrogen is taking in the energy sphere is pink hydrogen, a prospective long-term energy source that combines the stability of nuclear energy with the environmental advantages of hydrogen.
The U.S. DoE wants to see breakthroughs in hydrogen extraction technologies
The form of hydrogen that’s produced when water reacts with iron-rich rocks during oxidization is called geologic hydrogen.
$20 million in research grants from the DoE is being paid out to teams from laboratories, universities, and privately owned companies to work on technology for the low-cost extraction of this hydrogen from the subsurface to be used as fuel.
A team from the University of Texas at Austin headed by Assistant Professor Wen Song has been awarded a $1 million grant to develop a foam injection approach to extract geologic hydrogen. This process involves designing, synthesizing and characterizing foam compositions for optimal stability and hydrogen uptake behavior in the reservoir. The aim is to enhance efficiency for scaling up while meeting global energy demands at an attractive price.
The UT Austin research team aims to develop foam-assisted hydrogen recovery
Song, the George H. Fancher Assistant Professor of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at UT Austin, leads a team with an ambitious plan to investigate and improve the natural hydrogen recovery process through stimulating geologic hydrogen production:
“We aim to optimize the reaction parameters to make the reaction faster and produce hydrogen in an economically feasible manner.”
Song’s research is focused on understanding and leveraging the fundamental micro/nanoscale transport dynamics that dictate subsurface energy and environmental resources, including next-generation extraction approaches and innovative energy recovery solutions. The team expressed excitement about the potential of their research:
“If we can understand how to stimulate these rocks into generating hydrogen, safely getting it up, it really unleashes the potential energy source. Then the emerging industry will look to oil and gas for the drilling, piping, and gas extraction know-how.”
The benefits of geologic hydrogen
Geologic hydrogen has the potential to play an important role in the rapidly expanding global hydrogen economy. Being able to extract it directly from geological deposits has several key advantages:
- Reduced carbon emissions: Geologic hydrogen has a low carbon footprint, which makes it cleaner than hydrogen that’s produced using fossil-fueled production methods.
- Lower costs: The extraction of geologic hydrogen is less energy-intensive than other methods of hydrogen production, making it a more cost-effective option.
- Abundance and sustainability: Geologic hydrogen reserves are estimated to be larger than fossil fuel deposits, presenting a long-term and sustainable energy source.
In more news about the development of hydrogen technology, scientists are finding ways to take advantage of one of the biggest reserves of renewable energy in the known universe—the ocean. A team of researchers from the United States has made a significant leap in the development of a system that can extract hydrogen and oxygen from seawater while leaving the salt behind.
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