Natural hydrogen detected in 'multiple locations' in South Australia
First stage of soil gas testing has yielded promising results for Australian firm Gold Hydrogen ahead of initial drilling in October
ASX-listed company Gold Hydrogen has announced today (Tuesday) that naturally occurring hydrogen has been detected at the surface of “multiple locations” in PEL 687, an area in the state of South Australia which it has licensed for exploration.
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Depending on additional transport and storage costs, it could be even cheaper than grey hydrogen made from unabated fossil gas, although the emissions footprint of exploration and drilling is yet to be determined.
But commercially exploitable reserves of natural hydrogen have yet to be discovered outside of Mali, where it is burned to generate electricity for a local village.
The stage-one survey was conducted by Australian government agency Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to test soil for so-called “white” or “gold” hydrogen across 80 different locations on Yorke Peninsula, which includes the PEL 687 area.
The survey also detected helium in multiple locations, which Gold Hydrogen says could be due to natural decay of geological elements in the crust.
In 1931, naturally occurring hydrogen was found in three samples taken in the area during oil & gas exploration, at depths of 240.8 metres, 262.1 metres, and 507.8 metres.
The Australian firm plans to drill its first well to determine whether there is hydrogen accumulated underground in the licensed area this October.
A second-stage soil-gas survey, which would involve more long-term measurement, is also tentatively scheduled for late 2023 to early 2024.
(Copyright)Key natural hydrogen production processes, environments and locations
There are six known ways in which hydrogen is produced naturally:
Serpentinisation
In which the mineral olivine located in mid-ocean ridges or ophiolites (a geological formation where sections of the Earth’s mantle rise above sea level) is weathered to form hydrogen-rich fluids. This has been seen in the Semail ophiolite, in the Hajar Mountains of Oman. Under pressure and high temperatures, water can react with these iron-rich rocks to produce H2.
Radiolysis of water
Radioactive elements in the Earth’s crust — for example in crystalline basement rocks with high content of uranium, thorium or potassium — decompose water molecules trapped in causing a hydrogen pocket, as happened in South Australia.
Deep degassing
In which “primary” hydrogen (a single hydrogen atom attached to a single carbon atom) escapes from deep within the Earth’s crust. This has been seen in Nebraska, in the US.
Iron reduction and sulphur oxidation
Ferric iron in a black smoker (a subsea hydrothermal vent formed from iron sulphide deposits) is reduced to ferrous iron and hydrogen sulphides.
Thermal decomposition of organic matter
In which ammonium compounds located in deep sendiments decompose under high temperatures to form hydrogen and nitrogen, for example in hydrogen-nitrogen gas seeps in Oman.
Biological activity
Hydrogen is produced by microbes living in the Earth’s crusts, usually co-existing with hydrogen-consuming microbes and found via sediment or aquifers. This has been observed in the coal beds of the Powder River Basin in Montana, US.