Earth’s crust may hold clues to a near-unlimited renewable energy source

As laid out in a new study, scientists from Canada and the UK have created a first-of-its-kind recipe to find white hydrogen, an element that represents a near-unlimited source of renewable energy, in deposits around the Earth. Or in other words—now they’re cooking with gas.

Let them cook: Discovering such reservoirs could help accelerate a global energy transition. But up until now, scientists have lacked much understanding of where natural hydrogen is located.

Why hydrogen?

The No. 1 element on the periodic table is widely considered the cleanest source of natural fuel upon being burned, since it produces pure water as a by-product. In theory, hydrogen could replace fossil fuels in factories, trucks, ships, and planes, eliminating up to half of all global carbon emissions.

But…The gas (or liquid) warrants a “handle with care” warning—it’s extremely flammable, opening the door to accidents. Plus, most naturally occurring hydrogen exists in combination with other molecules and requires energy-intensive processes to extract, which is counterproductive to reducing emissions.

• However—natural hydrogen (called white hydrogen because of its purity) could be a game-changer, since it doesn’t require any extra energy to refine before burning.

Big picture: The Earth's crust contains enough hydrogen to meet our current energy needs for ~170,000 years, according to the study’s authors. And while it’s still unclear how much can be accessed and profitably extracted, the researchers’ new recipe will make it easier to hunt for hydrogen reservoirs.

In other energy-transition news: EVs replaced ~1.3 million barrels of oil/day last year, with that figure expected to grow to ~5 million barrels/day by 2030, according to new International Energy Agency figures.