The discovery of so much “white” hydrogen in France has people dreaming of a breakthrough in the green energy transition. There is no reason why there cannot be reserves in the ground in Belgium. But it is too early to shout victory.
Sounds like a fairy tale. By relying on natural indicators such as “fairy circles,” rounded depressions in the ground where vegetation varies, geologists search for “white hydrogen” in the Earth’s interior. And this is definitely white gold in 2023: CO2-Free fuel that the Earth continuously generates.
Discoveries made earlier this year in the French region of Lorraine indicate a potentially huge supply of the substance. Last Sunday, the French government issued a permit for a white hydrogen research project in the Atlantic Pyrenees. There are still five applications pending.
Right now, hydrogen is usually gray: it’s extracted from natural gas, which releases a lot of carbon dioxide2 release him. This is why governments are focusing on “green” hydrogen. It is made by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, and renewable energy is the driving force.
Natural hydrogen reserves
Radioactive decay. Radioactive elements in rocks emit radiation that can split water.
serpentine. At high temperatures, water reacts with iron-rich rocks (such as olivine) to form hydrogen.
Deep rooted. Hydrogen streams can rise from the Earth’s core along tectonic plate boundaries and faults.
Iron-rich mantle rock
Pages. Hydrogen moves quickly through fractures and cracks. Weak leaks can explain shallow depressions called imaginary circles.
Microbes. In shallow soil and rocky layers, microbes consume hydrogen for energy, often producing methane.
Abiotic interactions. At deeper levels, hydrogen reacts with rocks and gases to form water, methane, and mineral compounds.
Traps. Hydrogen can be extracted by drilling for reservoirs in porous rocks or other rock layers.
directly. It is also possible to eat it rich in iron
The source rock can be exploited directly if it is shallow
It shows sufficient fractions to store hydrogen
For constipation.
Strengthens. Production can be stimulated
By pumping water into iron-rich rocks. via
a company2 Adding it can be removed from the air
It came true.
Iron-rich mantle rock
Natural hydrogen reserves
serpentine
At high temperatures, water reacts with iron-rich rocks (such as olivine) to form hydrogen.
Deep rooted
Hydrogen streams can rise from the Earth’s core along tectonic plate boundaries and faults.
Radioactive decay
Radioactive elements in rocks emit radiation that can split water.
Iron-rich mantle rock
Pages
Hydrogen moves quickly through fractures and cracks. Weak leaks can explain shallow depressions called imaginary circles.
Microbes
In shallow soil and rocky layers, microbes consume hydrogen for energy, often producing methane.
Abiotic interactions
At deeper levels, hydrogen reacts with rocks and gases to form water, methane, and mineral compounds.
directly
It is also possible to tap directly into iron-rich source rocks, if they are shallow and have enough fissures to capture the hydrogen.
Strengthens
Production can be stimulated by pumping water into iron-rich rocks. By company2 Adding it can be removed from the air.
Traps
Hydrogen can be extracted by drilling for reservoirs in porous rocks or other rock layers.
But white or “natural” hydrogen requires no processing: it comes out of the ground as a finished product. Ready to heat homes, virtually carbon-free. At an estimated price of around €1 per kilo, white hydrogen will be much cheaper than the more difficult green hydrogen, which costs on average €6 per kilo.
As the climate crisis grows more severe and the urgency of phasing out fossil fuels increases, it is no surprise that positive news about this “white gold” is sparking excitement.
Today this is particularly the case in France. “A permit has also been requested to conduct further research for the site in Lorraine, where the stock is likely to be very large,” says Emmanuel Bensadoun, technical director at France Hydrogen.
Sources have also already been discovered in Spain, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Iceland, Norway, Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. In the United States, white hydrogen is extracted in Nebraska. The reservoir in Mali was the only one that had actually been exploited since 2014. “Until recently, not much attention was paid to it, because the world depends on oil and gas,” Bensadoun says.
It has not been searched for yet
There are no known reservoirs in our country, but they have not yet been searched for. Bensadoun knows that Wallonia is the main focus. “Our geologists say there is no reason why it should be impossible to find natural hydrogen in Belgium,” says Jan Mertens, Scientific Director at ENGIE. “The geological formations in Belgium do not rule out the possibility of natural hydrogen also forming in our soil, just as in nearby Lorraine. But no measurements have ever been reported. So if we want to know, a measurement has to be studied. It has already been proven in Other places are that once you start looking, you often find some potential. In any case, we need these kind of breakthroughs to accelerate the energy transition.
Aside from any domestic sources, Belgium may also benefit from white hydrogen from Lorraine. “Getting from there to here is not unrealistic,” says Jan Weiss, a hydrogen expert at the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO).
But there are still many obstacles to overcome. “It is too early to shout victory. The pressure is so great because of the climate crisis that it is tempting to skip the steps in your mind. Practically speaking, this is not possible,” says Bensadoun. “Because we do not yet have answers to the crucial questions.”
For example, it turns out to be difficult to estimate exactly how much white hydrogen is underground. “It is also unknown how quickly these natural sources are replenished and how pure the white hydrogen is,” Bensadoun says.
Risk of leaks
Because hydrogen is the smallest molecule and highly flammable, extracting it is also not intuitive. The risk of leaks is high and white hydrogen can indirectly cause a greenhouse gas effect. “This could be important, but we don’t know enough about it yet,” Bensadoun says.
He and other experts estimate that exploiting white hydrogen will be an option from 2028 at the latest, provided that all obstacles to safe extraction are smoothly removed.
But this has not yet reached that point, because transporting hydrogen is technically more complex, and therefore much more expensive, than transporting natural gas and oil.
“Because hydrogen molecules are so small, you need a large volume to get a certain amount of energy. Or you have to put hydrogen under very high pressure and compress it. The risks of leaks and explosions are also much greater than those of natural gas,” says Weiss. The main costs of green hydrogen are mainly related to transportation. The hydrogen economy has been inflated, but only as long as there is no real carbon dioxide2Taxes that make fossil fuels more expensive remain a difficult story.
All of these problems can be solved technologically, but even with white hydrogen, transportation will still raise the price. “The only way to reduce these costs is to have a pipeline close to the source and industry and other applications that are not too far away,” Weiss added. “In this sense, supplies from Lorraine are more realistic for our country than importing green hydrogen from distant sunny regions.”
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