World’s biggest ever gold hydrogen flow found in Albania
February 16, 2024A team of geologists located and measured the natural flow of H2 at a chromium mine.
A geologist team affiliated with a number of French institutions teamed up with two Albanian colleagues and have measured the biggest gold hydrogen flow ever found.
The H2 was measured in a chromium mine and the study was reported in the Science journal.
According to the report, the teams measured the gold hydrogen bubbling up through some of the mine’s liquid pools.
Naturally occurring H2 in large quantities is an increasingly sought-after resource as it is being viewed as an important fuel source in the world’s transition away from fossil fuels. Using it in fuel cells does not produce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. Finding it in natural sources also helps to sidestep many challenges regarding the production of H2, as it is already available without the need to use other energy sources to make it.
Tapping natural H2 reserves such as the one under Albania’s Bulqizë chromium mine provides access to the fuel without any production requirements.
Research has previously indicated that there is a large gold hydrogen reservoir under the mine.
The researchers have now measured it and have found that it is now the largest natural H2 reservoir known in the world. They believe it was produced during shifts in the Earth’s crust millions of years ago.
The gas was pushed up into a rocky land belt formation known as ophiolite. There are a number of ophiolites that have been discovered in various parts of the world. Many of them are also believed to hold reservoirs of natural H2.
Bubbling up to the surface
In the Albanian case, the researchers came to examine the mine following reports that large quantities of hydrogen were making their way through the vents and were bubbling into the mine’s drainage pools. There have also been a number of explosions reported.
Measuring gold hydrogen at multiple locations.
The researchers measured the gold hydrogen seepage at several locations at the mine. They conducted an analysis of their measurements and produced an estimate of the total amount of H2 escaping from under the mine. What they found was that every year, the mine allows about 200 metric tons of H2 to escape, making it the largest natural hydrogen flow ever recorded.
Ready to test your knowledge on the most abundant element in the universe? Take our fun and engaging Hydrogen Quiz now!
HFN News is your leading source for fresh hydrogen and renewable energy updates. Amid the fast-paced growth of hydrogen companies, we provide top-notch news and insights about this exciting sector. Our coverage spans from hydrogen cars to global sustainable initiatives, and we highlight the latest in green jobs and developing hydrogen hubs. We invite you to share your local hydrogen news and explore today’s renewable energy job listings on our site. Thanks for choosing HFN News as your trusted guide to the hydrogen and renewable energy world!
Love confusing color charts for hydrogen. This article it is gold and then you have Bill Gates investing in white hydrogen. Electrolyzed water is a long way from going forward due to high energy costs. Pyrolysis of methane to structured carbon and hydrogen and waste gasification to hydrogen with CCS are better ways to get there. Turquoise, pink , some shade of blue some shade of green, just get a CI index and be done with it
This is from Dr. M.H. Rei of Green Hydrotec Inc (ght); we are a hydrogen production company by ONSITE or ONBOARD conversion of methanol/water to hydrogen with catalytic heating in distribute mode to have better safety, convenient and lower cost advantage. After reading your article on underground natural hydrogen, I would appreciate your help telling me (1), quantity of this natural hydrogen, (2), is it formed from catalytic reaction of the near-by chromium metal with water, (3), the temperature of the surrounding environment, (4), how will it be collected? Thank for your kind help.
Finding sources of “gold” hydrogen is very interesting from a scientific point of view, but the 200 tons of gold hydrogen(H2) escaping each year is hardly going to make any impact on the world’s clean energy sources; the big questions “how was this gold hydrogen produced?” It seems likely that it was produced by the thermal cracking of water or perhaps another hydride, but considering the very small size of the hydrogen molecule that can allow it to penetrate the structure of larger molecules, how was it captured in the subsrata of this mine in Albania; perhaps it hasn’t been captured at all but is being produced continuously?