White hydrogen, also referred to as the “infinite oil of the future,” can potentially aid the global push for more sustainable energy adoption owing to its natural form and abundance.
Fuel Cells Works reported that certain natural gas quests in Lorraine, France, found a potential white hydrogen deposit underneath an old coal mine. If proven true, it may be the biggest reserve of the mineral worldwide.
For context, it has an estimated size of 46 million metric tons, which equates to over 50% of the annual hydrogen production globally.
Why is white hydrogen dubbed “the infinite oil of the future”?
White hydrogen is basically a natural form of hydrogen, which does not need to undergo the electrolysis process (conversion from gas to hydrogen).
“White hydrogen is naturally found uderground and there is a lot of it available. It can be used as it is, and it could be the oil of the future.”
Plastic Omnium CEO stated after the deposit discovery
That said, white hydrogen is called the infinite oil of the future because it is readily available for consumption and is widely abundant underground.
Moreover, it is also cleaner and more sustainable than green or gray hydrogen that people produce from converting gas.
Top three advantages of white hydrogen
White hydrogen has three main advantages over any other hydrogen type, including the following:
- Less CO2 emissions – White hydrogen does not need to undergo reforming processes, which usually generate substantial carbon footprints.
- Less renewable energy consumption – It eliminates the need for significant amounts of renewable energy sources, unlike green hydrogen undergoing water electrolysis.
- Three times more energy than oil – It is a natural renewable energy source, allowing for large-scale or even endless consumption. It also has three times more energy than oil.
Challenges
Energy Advice Hub indicated some of the challenges in advancing white hydrogen adoption, such as follows:
- Scientific understanding and mechanisms – The industry has yet to discover strategic ways and technologies to efficiently extract and utilize natural hydrogen from the Earth’s crust.
- Commercial viability and scalability – The industry has also yet to learn the commercialization of white hydrogen through cost-effective approaches.
- Environmental and ethical considerations – White hydrogen extraction can also pose an environmental impact, so the industry must first verify that it has more benefits than drawbacks.
See Also:
- Union Minister launches first-ever green hydrogen fuel cell bus in India
- Nikola officially launches its hydrogen fuel cell e-truck in Arizona
- Maruti Chairman promotes ethanol or hydrogen vehicles over EVs in India’s shift to clean mobility
- H2FLY launched the world’s first manned flight of liquid hydrogen electric aircraft
- WAE Technologies debuts EVRh platform for hydrogen-electric supercars
Apart from France, white hydrogen also has deposits in the US, Australia, and Mali. Interestingly, the latter is the sole nation to exploit natural hydrogen globally as of today.
That said, countries with white hydrogen reserves must look into how to take advantage of the abundant mineral. It can sufficiently supply the world’s energy demand in the future.
