White Hydrogen: The hidden gas that could transform energy

"This is significant. That's 1,000 times more than in the air around us. For him, it indicates that he's found a hydrogen jackpot in this southern German forest. The gas can be burned to create the intense heat needed to power ships or heavy industries like steel. And unlike oil, gas or coal, it doesn't create planet-heating emissions."

"For years now, company CEOs and politicians such as the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen or Australia's Anthony Albanese have been hailing hydrogen as a way to decarbonize economies. The International Energy Agency says global demand could triple by 2050. But there's a catch. Hydrogen needs to be manufactured. And the process of making it relies heavily on fossil fuels."

Geologist Jurgen Grotsch, formerly with Shell and now at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, is searching for naturally occurring white hydrogen in Bavarian forests. His team uses gas sensors to detect hydrogen concentrations in the ground, recently finding levels 1,000 times higher than atmospheric air. While hydrogen is promoted globally as a clean energy solution for decarbonization and heavy industry, current production methods depend heavily on fossil fuels, with less than 1% generated from renewable sources through electrolysis. Natural white hydrogen represents a potential breakthrough in clean energy generation by eliminating reliance on carbon-intensive manufacturing processes.

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