Natural hydrogen
Hydrogen gas made underground by reactions in rock; newly found and still being studied. Lightning is also a natural electrical source, but not one that can be harvested.
Natural sources · Earth, gravity and atoms · No. 20
- Natural sources
- Origin: Natural chemical
- Renewable: Possibly (under study)
Hydrogen found by accident in Mali in 1987 now flows almost pure from a well and powers a village.
Chart: Illustration: Natural hydrogen
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Hydrogen forms underground when water reacts with iron-rich rock or is split by natural radiation, then gathers in traps or seeps to the surface.
Three things to know
- Of 24 exploration wells drilled in Mali in 2017-18, 18 found hydrogen.
- Mali's field has given about 1,300 m3 a day for seven years with no reported pressure drop.
- Leaked hydrogen warms the climate indirectly, with a 100-year warming potential about 11.6 times that of CO2.
The journey
- 1 Water and rockWater meets iron-rich rock underground
- 2 ReactionRock chemistry or radiation splits water
- 3 Traps or seepsGas collects in reservoirs or leaks upward
- 4 WellsDrilled at depths of about 100-1,200 m
- 5 UsesVillage power now, low-carbon hydrogen later