USGS estimates trillions of tons of hydrogen in crust; Kidd Creek releases 140 tonnes yearly
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US Geological Survey researchers estimate trillions of tons of hydrogen are produced within Earth's crust, but no commercially viable reservoir has yet been reported. University of Toronto geochemist Barbara Sherwood Lollar and colleague Oliver Warr report in PNAS that Kidd Creek mine in northern Ontario releases about 140 metric tons of hydrogen annually through venting. The finding is a modest local demonstration of geologic hydrogen's potential.
Key Facts
- The US Geological Survey has estimated that trillions of tons of H2 are produced within Earth's crust.
- At Kidd Creek mine, 35 boreholes each released an average of eight kilograms of hydrogen per year over more than a decade.
- Extrapolating that rate to the mine's more than 14,000 boreholes yields around 140 metric tons of hydrogen flowing unused out of vents each year.
- Australian firm HyTerra and Bill Gates–backed Koloma are exploring ancient oceanic rocks in the US Midwest for geologic hydrogen.
- The Kidd Creek tally was published earlier this year in PNAS.
Geologic Hydrogen Search
Researchers at the US Geological Survey have estimated that trillions of tons of hydrogen are produced within Earth's crust, and recovering a small fraction would meet global hydrogen demand for centuries. No one has yet reported finding a commercially viable reservoir of the gas, and public data on what has been found remains in short supply as companies jockey for position and seek investment. Exploration efforts have spread worldwide and engaged dozens of startups, including Australian firm HyTerra and Bill Gates–backed Koloma, which are probing the US Midwest for ancient oceanic rocks associated with hydrogen production. Conventional hydrogen production often generates large greenhouse-gas emissions and requires more energy than the gas contains, so ready-made underground reservoirs would change the equation.
Kidd Creek Measurement
Barbara Sherwood Lollar and Oliver Warr at the University of Toronto scrutinized hydrogen data collected from 35 boreholes at Kidd Creek mine in northern Ontario over more than a decade. Each borehole consistently released an average of eight kilograms of hydrogen per year. Extrapolating that finding to the more than 14,000 boreholes at Kidd Creek suggests around 140 metric tons of the gas flows unused out of the mine's vents each year. Sherwood Lollar said capturing all the hydrogen would provide at least a modest source of energy, perhaps enough to power a substantial portion of the mine's operations. The result was published earlier this year in PNAS.
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USGS estimates trillions of tons of hydrogen in crust; Kidd Creek releases 140 tonnes yearly
