Researchers discover natural hydrogen trapped in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Chinese researchers have uncovered natural hydrogen gas trapped in microscopic pockets within ancient rocks on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a finding that presents possibilities for clean energy production.

This "gold hydrogen" formed through Earth's geological processes. It offers a zero-carbon, low-cost option to help combat climate change.

Led by experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Geology and Geophysics, the team found hydrogen trapped inside tiny pockets of liquid within olivine crystals, rocks that come from pieces of ancient seafloor.

A process called serpentinization, which is when water reacts with iron- and magnesium-rich rocks, is thought to be the main way hydrogen is produced underground, the study noted in the academic journal Science Bulletin.

Building on more than a decade of research into the ancient ocean rocks scattered across the plateau, the team zeroed in on a specific site for their study: the Dingqing ophiolite.

Located in the central-eastern part of the plateau, this area exposes massive stretches of rock that originally came from deep within the Earth's mantle.

Analysis revealed hydrogen and methane coexisting with minerals, proving ongoing or past hydrogen production. The findings connect hydrogen trapped deep inside rocks with gas that later escapes at the surface, mapping out how it travels underground.

The plateau's vast ophiolites hold "superior geological conditions for forming large-scale hydrogen resources", according to the study, which describes the finding as a new "clean energy treasure map" for China's energy security.

Globally, natural hydrogen is gaining traction as renewable and carbon-free. As said in the study: "The Earth's mantle fuels our future by hosting and emanating natural hydrogen."