Natural Hydrogen
Natural hydrogen is the first new primary energy source the world has found since nuclear power was developed in the 1950s. Watch how it forms, where it’s found, and why it’s gaining attention as a low-carbon energy source.
What is Natural Hydrogen?
Natural hydrogen is hydrogen gas that forms naturally beneath the Earth’s surface. It is a clean primary energy resource where the Earth has already done the work of generating the hydrogen molecule.
Studies suggest the Earth vents more than 20 million tons of hydrogen each year and has done so for millions of years. If even a small fraction is trapped underground, it could represent future years of low-carbon energy potential.
Unlike manufactured hydrogen, natural hydrogen starts with exploration: where it formed, where it accumulated, and how it can be responsibly accessed.
Why Natural Hydrogen Matters
This resource represents a different way to think about clean energy. It is not simply another manufactured hydrogen pathway. It is a primary energy source that already exists underground.
That difference matters because many low-carbon hydrogen pathways require major inputs, including electricity, heat, land, water, infrastructure, or carbon management systems. Natural hydrogen starts from a different premise: the hydrogen molecule already exists. Where viable accumulations are found and responsibly accessed, natural hydrogen could help support energy systems that need clean, affordable, reliable power and fuel.
Broad Practical Applications
Continuous Resource Potential
Clean, Affordable, Reliable
Low Carbon, Low Input
How Natural Hydrogen Forms
Natural hydrogen forms when the right subsurface conditions come together. Iron-rich source rock forms first, creating the foundation for the reactions that can later generate hydrogen. Over millions of years, that rock is buried, broken, and shaped by geologic forces. Groundwater then moves through fractures and faults, reaching the source rock.
When water reacts with minerals like olivine and pyroxene, those minerals transform into serpentine through a process called serpentinization. This reaction generates hydrogen gas. As hydrogen moves through cracks and pores, it may become trapped beneath dome-shaped rock formations, creating natural underground reservoirs.
How Koloma Finds Natural Hydrogen
Natural hydrogen has the potential to be a primary energy source that is clean, cost-effective and requires minimal land, water, and energy to extract. The challenge is finding the right locations to access natural hydrogen accumulations underground. Koloma brings together world-class hydrogen scientists, geochemists, advanced science, proprietary technology, and decades of exploration data to identify where it may have formed, migrated, and accumulated.
The exploration process systematically narrows broad regions with hydrogen source rock into increasingly precise locations for potential drilling operations. Each step helps Koloma focus on the most promising areas, with exploration plans tailored to each region’s unique geology and environmental conditions.
Uses for Natural Hydrogen
Because hydrogen can act as a fuel, feedstock, and energy carrier, this resource could support a wide range of energy and industrial applications, especially in sectors where clean, reliable energy is difficult to replace.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): Natural hydrogen provides a clean, cost-effective fuel source for aviation
1 of 6Grid-Friendly AI and Data Centers: Natural hydrogen provides clean, affordable energy for AI and data centers, keeping them off the grid which helps maintain stable, lower energy prices for families and businesses.
2 of 6Domestic Fertilizer Production: Natural hydrogen enables cost-effective, clean ammonia production for fertilizer, supporting local farmers, lowering food costs, and allowing fertilizer to be produced domestically.
3 of 6Reliable 24/7 Grid Support: Natural hydrogen supports low-emission power and grid stability 24/7, working with existing energy sources to deliver reliable and affordable power to homes, schools, and businesses.
4 of 6Hard to Abate Sectors: Natural hydrogen allows for clean, domestically produced solutions for hard to abate sectors like steel, cement, and glass manufacturing, resulting in reduced production costs.
5 of 6Heavy Transport Fuel: Natural hydrogen is a clean and cost-effective source for long-haul trucking and cargo shipping.
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How Natural Hydrogen Fits into the Energy Landscape
Natural hydrogen is not simply another hydrogen color. It is a different category of resource. Manufactured pathways start with production: how to make hydrogen from electricity, natural gas, biomass, or other inputs. This pathway starts with exploration: where has the Earth already generated hydrogen, where has it accumulated, and how can it be responsibly accessed?
Natural hydrogen
A naturally occurring underground energy resource.
Core question:
Where has the Earth generated hydrogen, and how can it be accessed?
Manufactured hydrogen
Hydrogen produced through industrial processes.
Core question:
How can hydrogen be manufactured affordably and with lower emissions?
Responsible Natural Hydrogen Development
This is not only a scientific opportunity. It’s also an operational responsibility. Responsible development means pairing field science with public dialogue, environmental stewardship, gas monitoring, pressure management, careful well construction, groundwater protection, and land restoration.
How Responsible Development Takes Shape
Environmental impact assessments
Gas monitoring
Pressure management
Community engagement
Layered well construction
Groundwater protection
Land restoration commitments
FAQs
Is natural hydrogen the same as white hydrogen or gold hydrogen?
In the hydrogen color spectrum, natural hydrogen is often referred to as white hydrogen or gold hydrogen. These terms generally refer to hydrogen that occurs naturally underground, rather than hydrogen manufactured through an industrial process. Koloma uses “natural hydrogen” because it clearly describes the resource: hydrogen that forms naturally beneath the Earth’s surface.
How is natural hydrogen different from green hydrogen?
Green hydrogen is manufactured using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis. The key difference is that natural hydrogen already exists underground. It forms through natural geologic processes and is accessed through exploration and production rather than manufactured in an industrial facility.
If natural hydrogen forms underground, why has it not been widely used before?
This is an emerging energy category. Historically, most energy exploration focused on resources like oil, gas, coal, and geothermal energy, not naturally occurring hydrogen. Advances in geoscience, exploration data, sensing technology, and laboratory analysis are helping companies better understand where it may form and accumulate.
Can natural hydrogen be produced continuously?
Natural hydrogen may offer continuous resource potential where generation, migration, trapping, and responsible production align. The scale and behavior of each resource depend on local geology, which is why exploration and evaluation are essential.
Why is natural hydrogen considered low carbon?
Natural hydrogen has low-carbon potential because the hydrogen molecule is generated by the Earth rather than manufactured through an energy-intensive industrial process. Its overall carbon intensity still depends on how it is explored, produced, processed, and transported.