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About UsFuture Hydrogen Energy Technology is a national high-tech company with global hydrogen energy technology and equipment. It has a number of core patented technologies. The international expert team has more than 30 years of hydrogen energy research and development and technology accumulation.
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SolutionFuture Hydrogen Energy Technology is a national high-tech company with global hydrogen energy technology and equipment. It has a number of core patented technologies. The international expert team has more than 30 years of hydrogen energy research and development and technology accumulation.
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ServiceFuture Hydrogen Energy Technology is a national high-tech company with global hydrogen energy technology and equipment. It has a number of core patented technologies. The international expert team has more than 30 years of hydrogen energy research and development and technology accumulation.
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BlogFuture Hydrogen Energy Technology is a national high-tech company with global hydrogen energy technology and equipment. It has a number of core patented technologies. The international expert team has more than 30 years of hydrogen energy research and development and technology accumulation.
Gold Hydrogen: The New Clean Fuel Treasure Hunters Are Racing to Find
2026-02-25
未来氢能
Leaving Muscat behind, the white buildings of Oman’s capital give way to an open desert in front of the Hajar Mountains. In the desert lies a quiet spring, surrounded by golden grass and date palms. Bubbles rise from the spring—and this is exactly the “treasure” a group of geophysicists are searching for.
According to the British website New Scientist, prospectors around the world are racing to explore reserves of “gold hydrogen” (natural hydrogen). The mountains of Oman are at the global forefront of the search for this new, potentially transformative fuel. Gold hydrogen is a naturally occurring gaseous fuel, colorless, odorless, and environmentally friendly, producing nothing but water when burned.
The rush to find natural hydrogen sources was listed by Science magazine on December 14, 2024, as one of the top 10 scientific breakthroughs of 2023. The dream of a hydrogen-powered economy has existed for decades. Using this form of hydrogen would greatly accelerate the world’s transition to net-zero emissions.
Yet nearly all the hydrogen produced globally each year is made by reacting natural gas with steam, a process that releases large amounts of carbon dioxide. Cleaner ways to produce hydrogen exist, but they currently make up only a small share of the industry.
I. Gold Hydrogen: A New Treasure of Clean Fuel
The discovery of gold hydrogen can be traced back to Bourakébougou, Mali. In 2012, a well near the village was found to contain large quantities of hydrogen. Tests confirmed that hydrogen was continuously being generated deep underground.
This hydrogen goes by several names: white hydrogen, natural hydrogen, and gold hydrogen, but its formal name is geologic hydrogen.
Since that discovery, scientists have conducted extensive exploration of underground hydrogen reservoirs in France, Spain, and Australia. In 2022, researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey revised their estimates of underground hydrogen reserves. Their models suggest there could be trillions of tons of gold hydrogen underground—far more than previously thought. Recovering even a small fraction would meet humanity’s hydrogen needs for centuries.
On the other hand, caution surrounds the so-called “gold hydrogen rush.” How much hydrogen actually exists on Earth, and how much is extractable, remains unknown. The formation mechanism of gold hydrogen is also unclear.
Researchers believe at least some hydrogen slowly seeped from the mantle into the crust during Earth’s formation. Some may form when radioactive rocks split water into oxygen and hydrogen. Another pathway is serpentinization: groundwater reacts with iron-rich minerals in rocks, such as olivine, to form iron oxide and hydrogen.
II. Emerging Methods to Locate Gold Hydrogen
Most “gold hydrogen hunters” target areas where serpentinization occurs. For example, Denver-based Natural Hydrogen Energy is searching for gold hydrogen in Kansas. The company aims to identify iron-rich rock formations capped by impermeable layers, where the valuable fuel may be trapped and accumulated underground.
U.S. hydrogen startup Koloma and Australian investment firm HyTerra are using similar approaches. In Oman, such iron-rich geology is widespread due to the region’s unique tectonic history.
Another method is emerging to identify viable hydrogen zones. Last December, a session at the American Geophysical Union meeting focused on using machine learning to detect bare-soil rings—sometimes called “fairy circles”—in satellite images. Researchers have detected hydrogen in more than 50 such circular soil features, though the relationship between hydrogen and these mysterious landforms remains unclear.
Despite the excitement, gold hydrogen still has drawbacks as a fuel, especially for long-distance transport. First, the gas is flammable. Second, hydrogen has a large volume and must be compressed or converted into other chemicals such as liquid ammonia for practical transport.
III. Stimulating Geologic Gold Hydrogen Production Could Be Faster
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is preparing to invest $20 million to stimulate reliable production of natural hydrogen from geological formations.
Doug Weeks, the program lead, said the goal is to explore ways to accelerate the serpentinization process and generate hydrogen underground. With well-understood geology, iron-rich peridotite, and clear evidence of hydrogen seeping to the surface, the Hajar Mountains are an ideal place to test this idea.
Later this year, researchers will drill the world’s first hydrogen stimulation well here.
The team will test a new strategy to fracture deep underground rocks and increase the surface area available for injected water. Developed by U.S. green energy firm Eden GeoPower, the method is similar to hydraulic fracturing for natural gas but uses electricity instead of water.
According to the company, sending high-voltage electric current between electrodes buried underground heats tiny pores in the rock, causing them to expand.
External researchers say the target of boosting hydrogen production by 10,000 times is feasible, though success is not guaranteed. The method also carries environmental risks: the amount of water required remains unclear, and precautions must be taken against small earthquakes triggered by water injection.
If all goes well, Oman—a country famous for oil and gas—could become a major green energy power thanks to gold hydrogen.
Source: Science and Technology Daily
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