Bill Gates-backed startup sparks global gold rush for buried hydrogen | Real Time Headlines

Koloma, a U.S.-based clean fuel startup founded by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezossaid it hopes to leverage expertise that has traditionally served the hydrocarbon industry to fuel the global gold rush for buried hydrogen.

As the potential for clean energy continues to heat up, geological hydrogena long-neglected resource that advocates say could be used in Move away from fossil fuels.

Geological hydrogen—sometimes called white hydrogen, gold hydrogen, or natural hydrogen—refers to hydrogen that exists in its natural form beneath the Earth’s surface. This is idea Produced by high-temperature reactions between water and iron-rich minerals.

Koloma CEO and co-founder Pete Johnson told CNBC that geological hydrogen is fundamentally an exploration and production business.

“We can leverage the expertise and service providers that have traditionally served the oil, gas and mining industries and quickly engage them in driving the discovery of carbon-free resources. Leveraging and modifying existing resources will allow us to more quickly Let the industry mature,” he said.

Denver, Colorado-based Koloma has raised more than $305 million since its founding several years ago, the company told CNBC.

The startup’s backers include US venture capital firm Khosla Ventures; Amazonof the Climate Commitment Fund, United Airlines Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate and technology fund founded by Bill Gates in 2015.

Investors in Breakthrough Energy include Bridgewater Associates’ Ray DalioVirgin Group Richard Branson with Alibaba Jack Ma.

The number of companies actively searching for geological hydrogen deposits has increased dramatically in recent years, prompting analysts at Rystad Energy describe This pursuit is called “platinum fever.”

The hype stems from hopes that this previously overlooked resource can become a “game changer” in the energy transition, the consultancy said in a research note released in March.

The United States, Canada, Australia, France, Spain, Colombia, South Korea and other countries are currently exploring low-carbon energy.

Coloma’s Johnson said that as the industry “gains momentum and gains traction,” there is also greater focus on what he calls the “intrinsic benefits” of geological hydrogen as a primary energy source rather than a derivative.

Primary energy, such as coal, oil, wind or solar energy, is natural energy that has not been altered or converted.

“Geological hydrogen should have a very low carbon impact and a very low impact on land and a very low impact on water,” Johnson said.

Asked about the prospects for the rapidly emerging industry, Johnson said the U.S.’s untapped geological hydrogen resources could play an important role in the country’s decarbonization efforts.

“Both Russia and Ukraine are large exporters of hydrogen ammonia, which is a component of most modern fertilizer products, and since the conflict between the two countries began, the world has become more aware of the importance of domestic ammonia supplies,” Johnson said.

“The U.S.’s geological hydrogen resources will allow us to scale domestic ammonia production and become a net exporter, even as we significantly reduce the carbon footprint of our products,” he added.

Hydrogen has long been billable It is one of many potential energy sources that could play an important role in the energy transition, but most of them are produced using fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas through processes that produce significant greenhouse gas emissions.

It is against this background that the potential of geological hydrogen continues to grow.

Geoffrey Ellis, research geologist, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Energy Program told CNBC Earlier this year, it was revealed that large quantities of naturally occurring hydrogen may be buried in underground reservoirs around the world.

Ellis said a small fraction of geological hydrogen recovery would be enough to meet all expected demand for 200 years.

Not everyone is convinced of its clean energy potential.

The Hydrogen Science Alliance is a group of academics, scientists and engineers dedicated to providing evidence-based perspectives on the role of hydrogen in the energy transition, explain In a blog post published on March 14, the discovery of geological hydrogen now provides the world with less daily energy than a single wind turbine.

Additionally, the alliance said there are environmental concerns with the extraction process, while transportation and distribution challenges mean geological hydrogen is unlikely to be found where it is most needed.

Koloma’s Johnson said that while there are still many hurdles to overcome, the company is “well capitalized, which allows us to approach these challenges in the right way, with thoughtfulness and patience.”

“Coloma is fortunate to have support from a diverse range of investors – some investors are more focused on the technology and data advantages Coloma is building, some investors see huge potential returns from large resource discoveries, and some Investors are most keen to build positions around cost-competitive low-carbon derivatives that can use geological hydrogen,” Johnson said.

“As with any exploration operation and any new technology, there are still many challenges we need to overcome to unlock the potential of geological hydrogen,” he added.