Good news! Natural hydrogen, generated spontaneously within rocks, is increasingly being taken seriously as an alternative to grey hydrogen (produced from natural gas). In France, the Ministry of Energy and Industry has just announced that ‘native hydrogen flows have been detected on the surface in various regions of France’.
According to the press release, ‘the Aquitaine Basin, the Pyrenean Piedmont and the Lorraine coalfield appear to be areas with potential in mainland France’. ‘As a promising and sovereign energy source, the native hydrogen present in our subsurface could become a major asset for French energy sovereignty.’
This announcement follows the publication by the IFPN (French Institute of Petroleum and New Energies) of a summary report on natural hydrogen. This document is the result of collaboration between the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM), several universities (the University of Lorraine, the University of Montpellier, Bordeaux INP, Grenoble, Pau and Pays de l’Adour) and the Institut de Physique du Globe.
The press release emphasises that studies on this energy vector are still few and far between and need to be supplemented, and that exploratory drilling to ‘estimate the real potential of the areas of interest identified’ still needs to be carried out. Two exclusive research permits have already been granted in the Landes and Pyrenees regions this year. The press release notes that France is ‘one of the first countries to recognise native hydrogen as a mineral substance through the revision of the mining code in 2022’.
Sources:
Press release: Potential of native hydrogen in France – Press release from the Ministry of Industry and Energy (Bercy)
Read the IFPEN report on the potential of native hydrogen in France