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Discover The Climatic Risk Of Extracting Underground Hydrogen. This Sustainable Fuel Could Accelerate Global Warming?
Global warming is a constant threat that, thanks to the search for new fuels like hydrogen and unprecedented energy sources, we are beginning to face — although the speed at which we are advancing is another matter.
The world is in a complicated situation regarding fuels. Pollution has generated difficult situations for the planet to assimilate. In this context, an energy reservoir capable of lasting millennia has just been discovered (as you read). However, opening it could accelerate climate change instead of enriching our energy mix with a clean and sustainable source. Why do we say this? It is not only about what we seek but also about how we access it and, above all, how we extract it.
We Have A Fuel That Would Last Centuries: You Hear About It Every Day, Hydrogen
The fuel we are talking about is one that you hear about every day, especially in the automation field: hydrogen. Sufficient hydrogen reserves have been found to power entire civilization for centuries.
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A report from the U.S. Geological Survey argues that there is enough natural hydrogen trapped underground to meet demand for hundreds of years. Geoffrey Ellis from the U.S. Geological Survey stated at a recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science held in Denver that there are up to 5.5 trillion tons of H in underground deposits scattered around the world.
Hydrogen is an element that is on the list of great promises to combat the energy crisis and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, a few months ago, it came to light that the chromite mine in Bulqizë, Albania, is capable of producing over 200 tons of hydrogen per year.
Exploring the naturally found hydrogen (geological or golden hydrogen) may represent the cleanest and most economical way to obtain it.
Global Warming Remains A Threat
Ellis has spent a long time conducting a study that has yet to be published. In it, he will detail the surprising findings he has now glimpsed, although he indicates that accessing this gas may not be easy. “Most of the hydrogen is likely to be inaccessible,” he commented to the Financial Times.
“But a small percentage of recovery would still satisfy the entire projected demand (500 million tons per year) for hundreds of years,” he stated. According to him, hydrogen deposits are exceptional and may have been generated by the contact of certain iron-rich materials with underground water. However, in some cases, the H may not be in its purest form.
In those cases, it may come accompanied by other gases, such as methane, which would have to be separated. Its extraction releases methane into the atmosphere, which is the “dark” part of the news. It is important to remember that methane is a greenhouse gas 85 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a two-decade cycle.
Despite this data, the scientist argues that it has great potential to be more environmentally friendly than green hydrogen itself.
The Problem: Extracting It Improperly Could Accelerate Climate Change
Indeed, no one ignores that this hydrogen reservoir lies within the Earth’s depths. What can we do to access it? Previous explorations in similar deposits have been conducted in two very different ways:
- With huge drilling machines that end up generating polluting emissions into the atmosphere.
- With heavy machinery, but powered by renewable fuels (hydrogen or electric).
As for the processing plant — which you may remember we have discussed before — the only sustainable solution is for it to operate on renewable energy. Only then would we be talking about green, blue, or golden hydrogen, and not fuchsia or brown, which are by no means suitable.
For this reason, although this fuel may have an abundant reserve, the possible acceleration of global warming discourages some specialists.
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