Natural hydrogen: Across the Earth
Ophiolites, old basement rock and the new hunting grounds
What this tab covers How the resource varies with latitude, climate, terrain and geology: the richest and poorest regions and the leading countries.Natural hydrogen is associated with iron-rich ophiolites and old continental basement rocks, often near faults. Confirmed occurrences include Mali, Albania and France, and exploration is under way across Africa, Australia, Europe and the Americas.
Promising settings are ophiolites (slices of oceanic crust thrust onto land), ancient iron-rich basement and rift zones, particularly where faults allow gas to migrate and a seal can trap it. Circular surface depressions ('fairy circles') sometimes mark seepage.
Rich and poor regions
| Region | Resource | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Mali (Bourakebougou) | 97.4% H2 in the first well, powering a village; five stacked reservoirs at about 100-1,200 m3 | high |
| Albania (Bulqize ophiolite) | At least 200 t H2 a year degassing in a chromite mine4 | high |
| France (Lorraine; Pyrenean foreland) | Up to 46 Mt estimated in Lorraine; three permits granted in the Pyrenean foreland8 | medium |
| Australia | Active exploration; Gold Hydrogen drilled its first two wells (Ramsay prospect) at the end of 20239 | medium |
| United States | Desert Mountain has drilled 8 wells with helium and hydrogen targets; NH2E has drilled its first well in Nebraska9 | medium |
Exploration is now active in Morocco, Djibouti, South Africa and Sudan, in Australia and the Philippines, in France, Poland and Kosovo, and in the US and Canada; Colombia, Uruguay and Brazil are drafting regulations. No country yet has commercial production beyond Mali's pilot, so country rankings by output or reserves do not yet exist.
Sources
- The natural hydrogen field without pressure depletion GEO ExPro, 2023
- Discovery of a large hydrogen reservoir in an underground mine in Albania ISTerre, Universite Grenoble Alpes / CNRS, 2024
- Scientists have found a huge deposit of 'white hydrogen' in France World Economic Forum, 2023
- Task 49 Subtask C report: natural hydrogen IEA Hydrogen Technology Collaboration Programme, 2025