Global mineral systems search space generation
Prepare G&M data and proxies from globe database
Geological analysis - generate genetic proxies
Validate play map using Getech Mineral Occu r rence Database
Spatial analysis of proxies
Create play map from all proxy players
DG1
Regional evaluation
Exploration
Geophysical surveys, mapping, satellite analysis
Soil gas sample
Infrastructure analysis
Exploration drilling
DG2
DG3
Well testing phase on successful well(s)
Well completion
Flow and H quality testing
DG1 = Decision gate
Economic resource
H
Figure 1 Workflow of natural hydrogen exploration
( Source: Getech, 2024)
natural hydrogen at concentrations greater than 10% (Zgonnik, 2020). The discovery has led to worldwide exploration and production activities, a few of which are summarised below. Most of these projects are at an early stage, which entails a high degree of uncertainty: • Africa – Mali: Gas analysis data from a pioneer well and geochemical data from additional exploratory wells has confirmed the presence of an extensive hydrogen reservoir in the Bourakébougou field in Mali. The first well started production in 2014 and is producing 5 Mt/a (Prinzhofer & Cacas-Stentz, 2023) . • Australia – South Australia: In the 1920s and 1930s, oil exploration activity in South Australia found gas reservoirs rich in hydrogen. More recently, 35 permits have been granted for exploratory drilling for natural hydrogen (Alcimed, 2024) . In 2023, test drilling in exploratory wells found gas with concentrations of up to 86% natural hydrogen and 6.8% helium, also a valuable substance (Gold Hydrogen, 2023) . Then, in 2024, hydrogen at a purity of up to 95.8% was confirmed in the Ramsay 2 well (GoldHydrogen, 2024) . • Europe: Several European countries have geological formations associated with natural hydrogen. In France, the second phase of an exploration project, Regallor II, was initiated in 2024, with the goal of evaluating the size and potential for exploitation of a natural hydrogen reservoir in the coal basin in the Lorraine region of France. Reported estimates for the size of the
Lorraine reservoir vary from 46 Mt of natural hydrogen (Meillaud & King, 2023) to as much as 250 Mt (Waltham, 2024; Bakx, 2024). • North America – Canada: Much of Canada is covered with the type of rocks associated with the formation of natural hydrogen. The Geological Survey of Canada began building a database of potential deposits in 2022. While mapping will take several years, the process has prioritised several sites for detailed exploration in Northern Ontario and Quebec (Sejourne, et al., 2024), and test drilling in Northern Ontario is developing a global resource model for natural hydrogen, using analogues such as natural gas to help develop the scientific understanding of the subsurface behaviour of hydrogen. This model was used to predict the mean volume of hydrogen globally of 5.5 trillion tonnes. However, the USGS scientists note that most of this planned to start in 2024 (Bakx, 2024) . • North America – USA: The USGS is hydrogen is probably inaccessible, as it is either too deep or too far offshore or in accumulations too small for exploitation (Ellis & Gelman, 2023) . Even then, there may be sufficient hydrogen that is economically accessible to constitute a primary energy source. As elsewhere, the USGS is mapping the regions in the US most likely to contain natural hydrogen. One area of interest stretches along most of the Atlantic Coast, while a second area is in central US, including parts of the Great Plains and Upper Midwest (Ellis & Gelman, 2023) .
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