Is ‘Gold’ hydrogen the next clean fuel?
The Biden administration and several companies are eyeing a new way to produce hydrogen: drilling for it underground.
“Gold” hydrogen got a boost in September from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, which announced a $20 million funding opportunity. The agency currently is selecting projects. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Colorado School of Mines launched a gold hydrogen research consortium that includes Chevron and BP the same month.
Multiple startups, meanwhile, are moving forward this year on projects. Australia-based HyTerra is planning to soon drill for hydrogen at a well in Kansas on its own. Koloma, which publicly discussed its activities last summer for the first time and is backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy, is actively looking for places in the U.S. to drill for gold hydrogen.
