Could mountains hold the key to clean fuel solutions?
In the race to find a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, so-called "white hydrogen" is a very attractive prospect. It occurs naturally, and the only byproduct of burning it is water. Historically, however, climate scientists have not been very interested in white hydrogen as a potential ally in the fight against climate change: it has a reputation for being difficult to source and even trickier to scale. According to a recent study, however, that may be about to change.
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Existing sustainable resources
Today, everyone is familiar with the concept of wind, solar, and geothermal energy sources. However, none of these can single-handedly offer a solution to the energy crisis.
Issue with the current method
However, the majority of commercial hydrogen is produced using fossil fuels, which considerably reduces its climate-friendliness.
Natural formation
As previously mentioned, the gas forms naturally via a number of different processes, such as radioactive decay in the Earth’s crust.
Coming to the surface
However, they can be pushed towards the Earth’s surface by geological processes that happen over the course of millions of years.
Mountain range hot spots
They found that certain mountain ranges, such as the Pyrenees, the European Alps, and parts of the Himalayas, could be hot spots.
Stimulating serpentinization
According to the study’s authors, it may also be possible to artificially stimulate the process of serpentinization, rather than relying on it happening naturally.
Early exploration
Early exploration of white hydrogen is already happening in various countries, including France, the US, and in the Balkans.
