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Natural Hydrogen Fuel

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May 05, 2025

Prelims - General Science | Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World

Why in News?

According to research firm Rystad Energy, by the end of 2023, 40 companies, including start-ups, were searching for deposits of natural hydrogen around the world, up from just 10 in 2020.

  • Hydrogen – It is a gas of diatomic molecules with the formula H2, officially called "dihydrogen", but also called molecular hydrogen.
  • It is a colorless, odorless, flammable gas.
  • Natural Hydrogen – It refers to hydrogen gas that is found in its natural form beneath Earth’s surface.

Natural Hydrogen is sometimes known as white Hydrogen or gold Hydrogen or geologic Hydrogen.

  • Generation – It occurs as a free gas in geology, produced by
    • Serpentinisation, the interaction of water and iron-containing rocks.
    • Radiolysis of water by radioactive rocks, and from organic matter at depth.
  • Helium co-exists with hydrogen in a few reserves points that radiolysis plays a role in its generation.

hyd fuel

  • Discovery – It was 1st discovered by accident in Mali, contains no carbon and produces only water when burned.
  • Areas for geological hydrogen generation – Gas seeps, volcanic outgassing, mines and in also in active mountain ranges with tectonic activity
    • Examples: The Pyrenees, Alps, and Himalayas
  • Current reserves – Hundreds of hydrogen seeps have been in various countries, including Spain, France, Albania, Colombia, South Korea, Canada and
    • Australia - Eyre Peninsula and Kangaroo Island
    • United States - Kansas, Nebraska

Favourable Geological Structures for Natural Hydrogen in India

  • Hard rock formations of diverse ultramafic/mafic and basaltic assemblages
  • Andaman and Himalayan ophiolite complexes
  • Greenstone volcanic-sedimentary sequences in cratons (Dharwar, Singhbhum)
  • Sedimentary basis (for example, in Vindhyan, Cuddapah, Gondwana and Chhattisgarh)
  • Basement rocks with fractures
  • Areas where active hydrothermal systems as represented by hot springs exist
  • Current production – It is manufactured mostly from natural gas through an energy-intensive and polluting process.

Production of Green Hydrogen involves a process that involves splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity.

  • Significance – If harvested in a sustainable manner, it may provide a clean and potentially low-cost fuel.

Quick Facts

  • Serpentinization – It is a geological process where ultramafic rocks, rich in minerals like olivine and pyroxene, are altered by water and converted into serpentine minerals which releases hydrogen gas during the process.
  • Radiolysis – It is the process in which subatomic particles naturally emitted by radioactive rocks such as granite cause certain molecules to break apart, releasing hydrogen.

Reference

The Hindu| Potential of Natural Hydrogen Fuel

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