Vast amounts of hydrogen lie beneath the Earth's surface. Scientists have discovered that only a fraction would be enough to power the Earth for the next 200 years. This groundbreaking discovery could revolutionize energy production and replace coal, oil, or natural gas. Scientists once thought hydrogen could not accumulate underground, but recent findings suggest this assumption was incorrect. Researchers estimate that trillions of tonnes of hydrogen gas may be trapped in rocks and reservoirs beneath the Earth's surface, though the exact locations remain uncertain. Their latest research has been published in the journal Science Advances.

Hydrogen as a source of energy could replace coal, oil, and gas Hydrogen is a source of clean energy that can power vehicles, industrial processes, and electricity. Until now, it was thought that hydrogen in the natural environment could not accumulate significantly because, as a small molecule, it evaporates easily. Recent discoveries, including in West Africa and a chrome mine in Albania, prove hydrogen can accumulate in significant quantities.

Petroleum geochemist: energy from hydrogen is twice as much Geoffrey Ellis, a petroleum geochemist at the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the lead author of the new study emphasizes that even just a fraction of this amount could meet our energy needs for the upcoming 200 years and, importantly, take over the role of fossil fuels (coal, oil, or natural gas). It is an emission-free and clean energy source. Only 2 percent of the hydrogen resources found in the study, corresponding to 123 billion tonnes of gas, "would supply all the hydrogen we need to get to net-zero [carbon] for a couple hundred years," – conveyed Geoffrey Ellis in the article. As he explains, the energy released by this amount of hydrogen is about twice as much as the energy stored in all known natural gas reserves on Earth.

Watch for Top 5s of Today!

Highlights

---