World's first drilling project to seek natural hydrogen hits a snag

1 year ago 50

Earth

A well in Nebraska is the first in the world to have been drilled in search of naturally occurring geologic hydrogen, but tests to determine how much of the gas it might supply are on hold because of a broken pump

By James Dinneen

A well for hydrogen production in Geneva, Nebraska

Digital Sky, LLC/HyTerra

In mid-March, workers began pumping water out of a 3.5-kilometre-deep hole drilled in the middle of a Nebraska corn field. It would have been an unremarkable scene if they had been in search of oil or natural gas. But the well is the first in the world drilled in search of naturally occurring hydrogen, which some think could become a significant source of clean fuel.

“We want to make a new discovery from scratch,” says Viacheslav Zgonnik at Natural Hydrogen Energy, the …

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