The village of Bourakébougou, Mali, has been using white hydrogen to power itself cleanly for more than a decade, and companies are now starting to see the value of this type of underground zero-carbon emission fuel reserve. As a result, they’re now pouring massive investments into seeking out natural H2 reserves underground.

The well in Bourakébougou was first discovered in 1987 and was rapidly plugged because it was flammable.

Unfortunately, the initial discovery occurred in an effort to drill for water, but the odorless gas was released instead, lighting up due to the cigarette of a nearby smoker. The gas well was rapidly plugged and left for nearly 20 years until drillers seeking fossil fuels confirmed what had leaked out of the well during the dig for water. They found that hundreds of feet below the surface was a white hydrogen reserve.

Homes and shops in the village now use this green energy for power. That said, geologists are now saying that there could be massive reservoirs of natural H2 in other parts of the world such as the United States, Australia and parts of Europe. If this is the case, there is a chance that these reserves could provide clean H2 at scale far more quickly and efficiently than current green H2 production methods such as electrolysis powered by renewable energy (for example, solar and wind).

The discovery of large white hydrogen reserves could have substantial implications for reaching climate targets.

This clean-burning gas has the potential to be used to power difficult to decarbonize industries such as steel and chemical production, as well as transport and shipping.

Companies have already been eyeing the potential of H2 in global decarbonization and are now investing in research to discover the underground white hydrogen reserves believed to be under the surface of several countries worldwide. Though the expense associated with finding these resources is high, the potential rewards for having this amount of natural H2 available could be exceptional.