Gold hydrogen – novel extraction for a potential green energy option

The Gold Hydrogen Programme has been launched in the US to extract naturally occurring ‘gold hydrogen’ within the Earth.

The initiative, led by the Houston-headquartered biotech startup Cemvita Factory, plans to use new subsurface biomanufacturing techniques the company has developed that could result in its cost-effective and safe extraction.

Hydrogen within the Earth is generated in the deep crust and brought to the subsurface by internal processes, where it forms ‘reservoirs’ within sedimentary rocks such as limestone and sandstone.

One challenge is to understand how and where the hydrogen accumulates. This is under investigation by, for example, researchers at the University of Oxford, who in recent work have identified natural occurrences of hydrogen in gas exploration wellheads in eastern Brazil. With similarities identified with the deep mines of the South African Witwatersrand and the Canadian Shield underlying much of Canada, hydrogen also would be present there.

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The other challenge is then extracting the hydrogen, which until now has been cost-prohibitive and not commercially viable.

The Gold Hydrogen Programme is a coalition of organisations led by Cemvita Factory and includes oil and gas technology solutions provider Chart Industries, engineering and consulting firm EXP and the non-profit Center for Houston’s Future as the founder members.

Abandoned gas wells

For the hydrogen extraction, Cemvita is targeting depleted and abandoned oil and gas reservoirs and potentially the significant reserves that may be left in the ground in the global move away from fossil fuels.

While the details of the company’s extraction process have not been detailed, in broad terms it involves fermentation of the unrecovered oil in these wells utilising a category of hydrogen producing subsurface microbes that Cemvita scientists claim to have discovered that are present or that can be introduced.

The company expects that the process can be delivered carbon neutral with carbon capture and storage – thus Cemvita’s gold hydrogen also would qualify as ‘blue’ hydrogen – and that it can achieve a hydrogen price below that of green hydrogen and less than $1/kg.

“Microbiology shows incredible potential for unlocking the promise of gold hydrogen in a clean, efficient way,” says Zach Broussard, Head of Petroleum Microbiology at Cemvita and Gold Hydrogen Program Manager.

“Through this programme, we are looking forward to collaborating with companies who value innovation and are committed to leading the clean energy transition.”

Cemvita anticipates that more companies will join the programme and has capped the participation to 10 members.

Helios Aragon project

While Cemvita is pursuing this innovative approach, other companies are looking to use the traditional mining and gas production techniques.

The Spanish start-up Helios Aragon, for example, owns gas exploration permits in the northern Spanish province of Aragon, where occurrences of natural hydrogen have been known from wells drilled for oil and gas exploration for over 50 years.

One of the wells, less than 100km from Zaragoza, had shown anomalously high hydrogen gas levels at a depth of 3,680m, with further studies indicating that it may contain commercially extractable natural hydrogen.

In partnership with Durham and Oxford researchers and support from the US-based Ascent Hydrogen Fund, Helios has initiated a programme aimed to culminate in the drilling of an exploration well to a depth of 4,000m and the creation of a local hydrogen hub.

Gold Hydrogen Australia

Another is the Australian company Gold Hydrogen, which has the country’s first hydrogen exploration permit with rights in the Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island near Adelaide in South Australia, where natural hydrogen had previously been discovered.

The initiative is at an early stage, with exploration testing slated to start during 2022.

According to the South Australian government’s Department for Energy and Mining, several sites have been identified as potential sources of natural hydrogen.

The natural gas company Santos is currently developing a blue hydrogen strategy with carbon capture and storage in the Cooper Basin, which extends into the northeast of South Australia and could potentially also support a gold hydrogen development such as this in the region.