US scientists explore hidden hydrogen treasure 5,000 feet below Lake Superior

Researchers state that the Midcontinent Rift may be a clean energy treasure trove.

The Midcontinent Rift stretches from beneath Lake Superior, covering some parts of Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas.

Now, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln researchers say that this rift may be a rich source of natural hydrogen.

The team is exploring ways to study and access the hydrogen produced in the rift. However, the knowledge pertaining to it is currently limited.

“Our understanding of processes governing the production, migration and accumulation of evasive natural hydrogen in the continental deep subsurface is still in its infancy,” said Seunghee Kim, one of the project’s principal investigators.

Growing demand for hydrogen

The demand for hydrogen is increasing as nations are shifting towards clean energy to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions.

Hydrogen offers a promising alternative to fossil fuels due to its potential to reduce carbon emissions.

It is constantly regenerated underground when water interacts with volcanic rock, making it a sustainable energy source.

The Midcontinent Rift —  a 1,200-mile stretch of volcanic rocks — was formed when the North American continent nearly split about 1.1 billion years ago.

Moreover, the rift is located 3,000 to 5,000 feet underground.

“It could be deep enough to be stored but shallow enough that we can access it. The geology is in our favor,” said Karrie Weber, professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences and biological sciences and another project investigator.

Five years ago, researchers drilled a well to assess the feasibility of hydrogen production in the Midcontinent Rift.

The data collected from this well has revealed promising signs of hydrogen accumulation, suggesting the potential for significant extraction.

$1 million grant

The U.S. Geological Survey has revealed that Earth’s crust contains tens of millions to tens of billions of megatons of hydrogen. It could help meet global energy needs for thousands of years.

However, the deep location makes it difficult to access and extract.

For this reason, rift sites have emerged as a promising alternative to tap into natural hydrogen.

There are possibilities that other subsurface rifts found in France, Germany, Russia, and the African continent could also be potential sources of hydrogen.

As per the press release , the team has been granted a $1 million grant for five years through the National Science Foundation’s Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (RAISE) initiative.

The grant will enable Kim and the team to delve into several aspects of hydrogen, including its flow and seepage from the subsurface, storage options, interactions with geological materials, and microbial consumption rates.

Researchers hypothesize that the specific geological and biogeochemical conditions within the Midcontinent Rift may contribute to the preservation of naturally generated hydrogen. This could result in a significant accumulation of hydrogen that is economically viable to extract.

The team will also create computer models to analyze the data.

For the coming years, the researchers will continue to unlock the secrets of this hydrogen -rich region.

If successful, this research could pave the way for a hydrogen economy , reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and combating climate change.