Letter on hydrogen: Gold rush
Excitement over natural hydrogen is building, but its potential to contribute meaningfully to global supply is unclear
Significant volumes of natural hydrogen could be sitting in the subsurface waiting to be extracted at lower costs than even the most competitive electrolytic or natural gas-based projects currently under development. Or, in hydrogen sector parlance, gold could be better than green or blue. That is the claim of a growing number of companies exploring for natural (gold) hydrogen around the world with an eye on developing supply to feed the global decarbonisation project. Production at under $1/kg has been mooted, though that should be seen in the context of the cost of exploration and drilling, which makes direct comparisons with green hydrogen costs difficult. At least six projects are at th
![](/images/white-fade.png)
Also in this section
26 July 2024
European offtakers and strategic investors start to unlock North African country’s vast potential as a green hydrogen and ammonia supplier
25 July 2024
Investment in 100MW green hydrogen facility in Germany comes as oil major’s wider transition strategy comes under scrutiny
24 July 2024
World’s largest green fertiliser supply agreement puts Villeta project in Paraguay on track for FID later this year
23 July 2024
Awards experience 20% increase in nominations this year, with submissions from 27 countries