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Geologic Hydrogen: A New Source of Carbon-Free Fuel for the World, New Opportunities for the Lab
https://research.lbl.gov/2024/06/26/geologic-hydrogen-a-new-source-of-carbon-free-fuel-for-the-world-new-opportunities-for-the-lab/Geologic Hydrogen: A New Source of Carbon-Free Fuel for the World, New Opportunities for the Lab
Published on June 26, 2024 by Ruby Barcklay.
Berkeley Lab’s strategic research themes describe research programs and projects at the Lab that could make a significant contribution to the world, while also potentially providing growth opportunities for research at the Lab and for science. The two Lab research projects recently funded by ARPA-E to develop geologic hydrogen as a new source of carbon-free fuel are such projects, relating to the strategic research themes “discovering materials, chemical processes, and biological systems for energy and the environment” and “dramatically accelerating clean energy technologies.”
The Earth and Environmental Sciences Area (EESA)’s senior scientist Ben Gilbert and research scientist Mengsu Hu, both with the Energy Geosciences Division (EGD), have just embarked on two-year projects that aim to address significant challenges involved in stimulating and extracting hydrogen from rocks in Earth’s subsurface before this promising source of low-carbon energy can achieve widespread use. Ben is trying to understand the chemical mechanisms responsible for producing geologic hydrogen and then investigating ways to accelerate this process, while Mengsu’s research explores seismically safe ways to create fractures in rock, stimulate geologic hydrogen production, and ultimately transport the hydrogen back to Earth’s surface.
Ben explained: “When certain rocks encounter water, they can undergo mineralogical and chemical reduction or oxidation changes spontaneously. In a process called ‘serpentinization,’ iron-rich rock from the oceanic crust is moved up through tectonic processes, and when it meets with water, iron is released while water is reduced to hydrogen. As discovered in Mali and other places, this geologic hydrogen could be naturally formed and trapped in reservoirs. This could well be a new significant source of fuel and has led to hydrogen prospecting by energy companies.”
ARPA-E’s newly funded projects take exploring the potential of geologic hydrogen beyond locating and extracting trapped geologic hydrogen, towards the possibility that the hydrogen can actually be produced intentionally, by drilling and flowing water into rock and then transporting the hydrogen to the surface for collection.
…
Published on June 26, 2024 by Ruby Barcklay.
Berkeley Lab’s strategic research themes describe research programs and projects at the Lab that could make a significant contribution to the world, while also potentially providing growth opportunities for research at the Lab and for science. The two Lab research projects recently funded by ARPA-E to develop geologic hydrogen as a new source of carbon-free fuel are such projects, relating to the strategic research themes “discovering materials, chemical processes, and biological systems for energy and the environment” and “dramatically accelerating clean energy technologies.”
The Earth and Environmental Sciences Area (EESA)’s senior scientist Ben Gilbert and research scientist Mengsu Hu, both with the Energy Geosciences Division (EGD), have just embarked on two-year projects that aim to address significant challenges involved in stimulating and extracting hydrogen from rocks in Earth’s subsurface before this promising source of low-carbon energy can achieve widespread use. Ben is trying to understand the chemical mechanisms responsible for producing geologic hydrogen and then investigating ways to accelerate this process, while Mengsu’s research explores seismically safe ways to create fractures in rock, stimulate geologic hydrogen production, and ultimately transport the hydrogen back to Earth’s surface.
Ben explained: “When certain rocks encounter water, they can undergo mineralogical and chemical reduction or oxidation changes spontaneously. In a process called ‘serpentinization,’ iron-rich rock from the oceanic crust is moved up through tectonic processes, and when it meets with water, iron is released while water is reduced to hydrogen. As discovered in Mali and other places, this geologic hydrogen could be naturally formed and trapped in reservoirs. This could well be a new significant source of fuel and has led to hydrogen prospecting by energy companies.”
ARPA-E’s newly funded projects take exploring the potential of geologic hydrogen beyond locating and extracting trapped geologic hydrogen, towards the possibility that the hydrogen can actually be produced intentionally, by drilling and flowing water into rock and then transporting the hydrogen to the surface for collection.
…