A groundbreaking study suggests that trillions of tons of hydrogen gas may be buried beneath the Earth’s surface, enough to power the planet for over 1,000 years.
Led by Geoffrey Ellis, a petroleum geochemist at the U.S. Geological Survey, the research estimates around 6.2 trillion tons (5.6 trillion metric tons) of geologic hydrogen locked in rocks and underground reservoirs. If accessed, even a fraction of this vast resource could dramatically reduce humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels for nearly two centuries.
Formed through natural geochemical processes, geologic hydrogen is already known in places like Albania and Mali, but researchers believe reserves could be widespread.
While much of the hydrogen lies too deep or far offshore to be economically viable, the potential remains enormous.
According to the study in Science Advances, just 2% of this underground hydrogen could provide enough energy to meet global net-zero goals for 200 years, offering a cleaner alternative to traditional fossil fuels. However, experts caution that harnessing this resource at scale would require unprecedented global initiatives—an ambitious but potentially transformative step toward a sustainable energy future.
Image: A map of places in Australia best suited to green hydrogen production/ Geosciences Australia.
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