Alaska scientists and policymakers look to hydrogen as power source of the future

U.S. Geological Survey geologist Geoffrey Ellis stands on Oct. 29 by a poster diplayed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks that explains how pure hydrogen can be pooled in underground formations. Ellis is the leading USGS expert on geologic hydrogen. He was a featured presenter at a three-day workshop on geologic hydrogen that was held at UAF. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

The key to decarbonization may be all around us.

Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe , is in the ocean, in the sky, in the stars, in the bodies of living beings and – of particular importance to energy developers – in the ground.

And it is getting increasing attention globally.

Governments, industry and scientific institutions are now investigating how they might be able to switch from drilling for petroleum, which produces planet-warming carbon dioxide when burned, to drilling for zero-emissions hydrogen .

There are good reasons for that, said Geoffrey Ellis, the U.S. Geological Survey's geologic hydrogen research leader.

Ellis, who said he was once "in the wilderness" on the subject but who is now leading a wide-ranging research group, was one of the main speakers at a geologic hydrogen workshop held in late October the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The event was hosted by the U.S. Arctic Research Commission and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and co-sponsored by the Office of the Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs, Mike Sfraga .

Shifting to renewable sources like solar, wind and geothermal energy is crucial to addressing climate change, but there is no way those types of energy can power big industrial users like manufacturers and agriculture, Ellis told the workshop attendees.

In the future, Ellis said, there will likely be a need for 400 million tons of hydrogen, compared to the approximately 100 million tons currently used. And the hydrogen currently used is not the type that is pulled from the ground. Rather, it is produced through an energy-consuming process that pulls the element out of other compounds, separating it from methane in natural gas or using electricity to separate it from oxygen in water.

In contrast, the hydrogen in the ground accumulates when water encounters iron or radiation. Through a process known as serpentinization , the reaction with those other elements in the earth separates the water's hydrogen from its oxygen – without human intervention. In contrast with oil and natural gas, which take millions of years to form, geologic hydrogen forms quickly. It can even be stimulated through injection of water.

Initial estimates, Ellis said, are that the earth could hold about 5 million megatons of geologic hydrogen, or 5 billion tons. While much of that is in impossible-to-reach sites like the deep ocean, accessing just 2% of that would meet the anticipated global hydrogen demand for more than 200 years, he told the workshop attendees.

"It's likely that there are large amounts of hydrogen in the subsurface. And so, the question is not: 'Is it down there.' But it's: 'Is it in places where we can find and produce it?'" Ellis said.

For Alaska, where traditional fossil fuels can be expensive as well as environmentally burdensome, hydrogen energy could underpin development of other non-fossil-fuel energy. Geologic hydrogen could be an important part of the solution, said Mark Myers, a geologist and member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission .

"It's a new resource that could be combined with renewables, but superior in many ways," said Myers, who served in the past as the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, as director of the USGS and as vice chancellor for research at UAF, among other positions.

As he explains it, the physical characteristics that make Alaska prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and rich with mineral deposits also signal potential for reserves of valuable hydrogen in the ground. There is already one company, for example, that is investigating the potential for hydrogen in the same Southeast Alaska geologic belt that holds the better-known Bokan critical minerals deposits currently being explored.

Alaska is far from the only prospective region. Any spot on the earth where the ocean floors have been pulled apart has the potential to hold geologic hydrogen, Myers said.

One region of keen interest is the Midcontinent Rift , a geologic feature that runs from Lake Superior to Kansas in the U.S. Midwest. Exploratory drilling there has already begun .

Still, Alaska has some characteristics that could make it a key area for hydrogen research and development, Myers said.

Alaska, unlike other parts of the nation and the world that are connected to power grids, has some acute energy needs, he said. And it has permafrost, which could be an advantage because microbes that consume hydrogen are less active in cold environments, he said.

There are myriad challenges to geologic hydrogen beyond finding the resource, said experts at the UAF workshop. One is that hydrogen molecules are small, meaning they are not easily trapped in the pores of underground rocks. Another is that hydrogen molecules tend to attach quickly to those of other elements, potentially making separation ephemeral.

For now, there is only one place in the world being powered by geologic hydrogen : Bourakebougou , a small village in Mali. There, hydrogen was discovered in 2011, at a site where in 1987 an errant cigarette touched off an explosion at what was intended to be a water well.

Since then, there have been about two dozen hydrogen wells drilled, and the village's electricity runs off the hydrogen produced from those wells.

The idea of replicating anything like that in Alaska is enticing, said a state lawmaker who has been following the subject closely.

Senate President Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, has immersed herself in the subject of hydrogen. For example, she has been participating in meetings held by the Alaska Hydrogen Working Group , founded in 2022 by UAF's Alaska Center for Energy and Power and the Department of Energy's Arctic Energy Office.

Geologic hydrogen could be a new source of state revenue, she said. It could provide energy for communities and economic development, she said. If it is found within Native-owned lands, it can enrich Native corporations around the state through the revenue-sharing provisions in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, she said.

But for now, no one should expect any legislation on it, other than potentially some insertions of the word "hydrogen" into existing resource-related statutes if applicable, Giessel said. The subject is too new and there are too many unknowns, she said.

"I don't envision the need for legislation at this point, until we know what the potential resource is," she said.

She does intend to hold at least one informational hearing to help her colleagues and the public get more familiar with the subject, she said.

Providing information is the most important thing the state can do to promote development of geologic hydrogen, Giessel said.

"Probably our biggest help to any industry is if we go out and map what the resource availability is. We are an under-mapped state," she said,

Other information could come from the state's Geologic Materials Center , the collection of cores and other geologic samples that are available for the public to peruse and study, she said. The center, located in Anchorage, is operated by the state Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.

Myers, speaking to the experts gathered at the workshop, also emphasized the need to build knowledge – and to do so quickly. That will take a new way of doing science, likely a whole new structure involving government, industry and academia.

"The challenge is great. But it's going to be fun. And you're on the edge of discovery," he told the group.