How ‘white hydrogen’ deposits found in France could save Earth

Two scientists who were exploring the Earth’s crust for fossil fuels discovered a large supply of hydrogen, or “white hydrogen,” in northeastern France.

One of the greatest concentrations of white hydrogen ever discovered, this amazing discovery is estimated to be worth between six and 250 million metrio tonnes, according to CNN.

However, what is it, how was it discovered, and how will it save the world?

Let’s take a look.

About white hydrogen

Naturally existing in the Earth’s crust, white hydrogen is also referred to as “gold,” “natural,” or “geologio” hydrogen. It is called “white” because “no greenhouse gases are produced during production.”

It is a greener energy source than solar or wind power since, when hydrogen burns, all that is produced is water.

In many sectors like steel, shipping, and aviation, white hydrogen can be utilised as a greener substitute, explained DNA.

In the universe, hydrogen is the most plentiful element, yet it is usually found in mixtures with other molecules.

With the discovery of a well in Mali that yielded 98 per cent hydrogen gas in 2018, white hydrogen became somewhat of a sensation in the scientific community.

Numerous locations across the globe, including the US, Oman, Maki, Eastern Europe, Russia, Australia, and France, have since been proven to contain these deposits.

The global supply of white hydrogen is thought to be in the tens of billions of tonnes, according to NDTV.

“Most of this is almost certainly going to be in very small accumulations or very far offshore, or just too deep to actually be economic to produce. But if just 1% can be found and produced, it would provide 500 million tons of hydrogen for 200 years,” Geoffrey Ellis, a geochemist with the US Geological Survey, told CNN.

The discovery

The discovery was made when the methane concentrations in the subsurface of the French mining region of Lorraine were being evaluated.

Hydrogen concentrations increased as scientists Jacques Pironon and Phillipe De Donato dug deeper.

At 1,100 metres and 1,250 metres, the concentrations increased dramatically to 14 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.

This indicated the existence of one of the biggest known deposits of white hydrogen, indicating the existence of a massive hydrogen reservoir.

The reason this discovery is so crucial

Scientists once thought that enormous amounts of hydrogen could only be created in lab settings.

Based on where it came from, hydrogen was divided into several categorises, such as grey, brown, blue, and green hydrogen. By using electrolysis, scientists may create grey and green hydrogen in the lab.

But with this discovery, scientists learned that it can be produced naturally without requiring energy-consuming procedures.

On the other hand, white hydrogen presents a clean-burning energy source that may be plentiful and unexploited.

It is also more affordable than green hydrogen, which is thought to cost around six US dollar per kilogramme. White hydrogen is predicted to cost about one US Dollar per kilogramme.

“If you had asked me four years ago what I thought about natural hydrogen, I would have told you ‘Oh, it doesn’t exist. Hydrogen’s out there, we know it’s around,” Ellis told CNN.

It could help us “get to speed” on rescuing the world from the climate crisis, according to geochemist Viacheslav Zgonnik, who spoke with the news channel.

It will help in saving the world

A green energy project already makes use of hydrogen.

Drilling is underway to find hydrogen resources by organisations like Koloma in the US and Gold Hydrogen in Australia.

Historical records, which indicate large quantities of hydrogen in some places, such as the South Australian Yorke Peninsula, are the driving force behind these initiatives.

Hydrogen is essential to lowering our environmental impact and has the potential to completely transform the clean energy market.

A number of startups are now investigating the possibility of selling white hydrogen. On the other hand, it could take 200 years for the resource to develop.

With inputs from agencies