This Canadian Mine Might Release Enough Natural Hydrogen Each Year to Power 400 Homes, Hinting at an Untapped Source of [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

This Canadian Mine Might Release Enough Natural Hydrogen Each Year to Power 400 Homes, Hinting at an Untapped Source of Clean Energy



Many of the country’s metal mines are embedded in an ancient rock formation that probably also houses a lot of the resource, referred to as “white hydrogen”

Margherita Bassi | Daily Correspondent
May 21, 2026 10:00 a.m.



Researchers collected groundwater in boreholes up to 1.8 miles underground. The water contains dissolved natural hydrogen. Barbara Sherwood Lollar


Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. We commonly use it to manufacture fertilizer and to make certain foods shelf-stable, among other applications. What’s more, the element doesn’t produce planet-warming greenhouse gases when burned, so it’s considered a tantalizing source of “clean energy.”

But humans are currently generating most of our hydrogen from fossil fuels; we release roughly one billion U.S. tons of carbon dioxide to create 107 million U.S. tons of the sought-after substance. Hydrogen can be produced from renewable energy sources, too, but the process is often costly.

The Earth creates its own natural hydrogen, called “white hydrogen,” via chemical reactions in the crust. Now, using data collected at a metal mine in Ontario, Canada, for over a decade, researchers have found that the site annually discharges enough hydrogen to power more than 400 households each year.

More than 70 percent of the continental crust can potentially produce hydrogen, so accessing the rock layer via mines might be a way to obtain a substantial amount of the element, according to a study published May 18 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-canadian-mine-might-release-enough-natural-hydrogen-each-year-to-power-400-homes-hinting-at-an-untapped-source-of-clean-energy-180988773/