The Next Gold Rush
Can Hydrogen be the fuel that will dominate the future?
This is not the first time we have written about Hydrogen as an energy for the future. And even though Hydrogen is number one on the Periodic Table, it just cannot get a break.
Hydrogen energy, while holding great promise, faces several challenges that hinder its widespread adoption. First among them is cost.
The most common method of producing hydrogen relies on fossil fuels, primarily natural gas. This process generates carbon emissions, undermining hydrogen’s environmental benefits. A clean alternative method, electrolysis, produces hydrogen using solar or wind power. However, it is expensive, requires a lot of power, and water.
It seems that hydrogen as an energy source is too good to be true. But there is another way to get hydrogen.
There’s Gold Hydrogen in them thar hills!
Although hydrogen is a colorless gas, we discuss it in the full color of the rainbow.
From grey to green to blue and even gold. In most cases the colors represent the production method used to make molecular hydrogen. As in how the hydrogen is separated from a water molecule. I will detail the color spectrum later.
But the color gold has special significance. Gold hydrogen (also known as white hydrogen) gets its color from the term “Black Gold” used in the oil industry.
It’s important to note that not all hydrogen has to be manufactured. There is naturally occurring hydrogen gas that can be found in underground deposits. And that is gold hydrogen, because it commonly occurs in old oil fields.
Hence the oil reference.
And the concept of producing massive amounts of extremely low carbon hydrogen by converting depleted oil and gas reservoirs into hydrogen production assets is intriguing.
And this technology is emerging right now.
The Chase Is On!
The Biden administration and several companies are looking to pursue naturally occurring hydrogen deposits.
Per ARPA-E Director Evelyn N. Wang,
“With funding from ARPA-E, project teams from across the nation will explore the possibility of accelerating the production and extraction of natural hydrogen, transforming our understanding of this critical energy resource while accelerating solutions we need to lower energy costs and increase our nation’s energy security.”
And the U.S. government is not the only ones out there looking to capitalize on this emerging hydrogen sector. Multiple startups are moving forward this year on projects. HyTerra is planning to soon drill for hydrogen at a well in Kansas. Breakthrough Energy, backed by Bill Gates, is actively looking for places in the U.S. to drill for gold hydrogen. And Gold H2 is looking to convert old fossil fuel reservoirs into low carbon hydrogen production assets.
The potential is huge.
Gold hydrogen represents an opportunity to produce clean energy that is not only low carbon, but also low land footprint, low water footprint and low energy consumption. It checks all the boxes.
Now as promised above here is a summary of all the hydrogen colors:
Green Hydrogen:
Green hydrogen is made by using clean electricity from surplus renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power, to electrolyse water. Electrolysers use an electrochemical reaction to split water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen, emitting zero-carbon dioxide in the process.
Blue Hydrogen:
Blue hydrogen is produced mainly from natural gas, using a process called steam reforming, which brings together natural gas and heated water in the form of steam. The output is hydrogen, but carbon dioxide is also produced as a by-product. So, the definition of blue hydrogen includes the use of carbon capture and storage to trap and store this carbon.
Grey Hydrogen:
Currently, this is the most common form of hydrogen production. Grey hydrogen is created from natural gas, or methane, using steam methane reformation but without capturing the greenhouse gases made in the process. Grey hydrogen is essentially the same as blue hydrogen, but without the use of carbon capture and storage.
Black Hydrogen:
Using black coal or lignite (brown coal) in the hydrogen-making process, these black and brown hydrogen are the absolute opposite of green hydrogen in the hydrogen spectrum and the most environmentally damaging.
Pink Hydrogen:
Pink hydrogen is generated through electrolysis powered by nuclear energy. Nuclear-produced hydrogen can also be referred to as purple hydrogen or red hydrogen.
Turquoise Hydrogen:
Turquoise hydrogen is made using a process called methane pyrolysis to produce hydrogen and solid carbon. In the future, turquoise hydrogen may be valued as a low-emission hydrogen, dependent on the thermal process being powered with renewable energy and the carbon being permanently stored or used.
Gold (Or White) Hydrogen:
Gold hydrogen is a naturally occurring, geological hydrogen found in underground deposits and created through fracking.
For the Good,
Michael Nichols
Numbers You Need to Know
$50 Billion
Nearly $50 billion investment of both private and public funding for hydrogen hubsis one of the largest investments in clean manufacturing and jobs in history.(Whitehouse.gov)
1987
The year a well digger peered into a hole in the shade of a mango tree while smoking a cigarette and it exploded in his face. The discovery was gold hydrogen which now powers the entire village of Bourakébougou, Mali. (Science)
38 Metric Tonnes
The number of announced projects for low-emission hydrogen production is rapidly expanding. Annual production of low-emission hydrogen could reach 38 Mt in 2030, if all announced projects are realized. (International Energy Agency)
What’s New in Sustainable Investing
Sustainable investing has bright future, Morningstar exec says
Sustainable investing has a bright future, as younger generations and those with long-term investing goals, such as pension funds, have expressed interest in it, Morningstar Indexes’ head of ESG strategy said at the Exchange ETF conference in Miami Beach, Fla., on Feb. 13. (Pensions & Investments)
Bullish investors drop recession calls for first time since April 2022
Global investors are at their most bullish in two years this month and no longer expect a recession, as confidence grows in the resilience of the underlying economy, a Bank of America survey showed on Tuesday. (Reuters)
Video Of The Week
Geologic hydrogen
The pursuit of sustainable and clean energy sources has led researchers to explore unconventional avenues, and geologic hydrogen has emerged as a compelling frontier