White hydrogen: the largest deposit in the world discovered in France?

It’s a discovery that could change everything in the future. What if researchers had found the largest hydrogen deposit in France? A resource which would be directly exploitable and which would give France a major asset.

Laboratory scientists GeoRessources, from the University of Lorraine, discovered what could be the largest deposit of white hydrogen on the planet. A discovery that could have a huge positive impact, especially when we know that this resource will become a priority in the future with the ever-increasing development of hydrogen vehicles.

The biggest in the world?

A few months ago, in a drilling program aimed at discovering methane deposits, scientists made a strange discovery in the mining basins of Lorraine. More particularly next to the Folschviller well, in Moselle. These are still only projections, but the potential reserve could reach more than half of the world’s annual production of hydrogen. Just that !

Some people talk about white hydrogen as the oil of the future, as it has many advantages that we will detail below. Many research projects are underway to search for possible hydrogen deposits on the planet. In France, research is also underway in Pyrenees as well as in the Jura. Internationally too, we are looking into the issue, particularly in Australia.

White hydrogen, the fuel of the future?

You should know that on the planet, several types of hydrogen are used. They are all made from the same molecule (H2). However, the differences are in the way of extracting this famous molecule and what other energieswe use to do this.

Firstly, you find gray hydrogen. It is the most polluting of the three because in its manufacturing process it requires the use of methane. To produce a single kilo of gray hydrogen, no less than nine kg of CO2 is required. The problem being that 95% of the world’s hydrogen is produced with this process, making this energy unecological despite the fact that it does not release any pollution once it is consumed. Doesn’t that remind you of anything?

Then you find green hydrogen. Like gray, it also has to be made. The difference is that green hydrogen is produced from green electricity derived from wind power or solar. The problem being that here too, a lot of energy must be consumed to produce only a small quantity of green hydrogen. THE yield is therefore not high enough.

You also have brown hydrogen produced with coal or pink hydrogen produced thanks to nuclear energy.

This is where it comes into account white hydrogen, the most interesting of all. It is the latter which has almost only advantages. White hydrogen is directly usabledirectly under our feet. It is pure hydrogen requiring no manufacturing process. The only problem being the extraction of the latter, because it is a process complex.

It is therefore this white hydrogen which was discovered in Lorraine.

No excitement

Be careful however, the quantities announced in Lorraine are only estimates. projections. However, we must realize that we are still in the early stages and that many questions still surround hydrogen. But it could be that this energy reveals itself indispensable in the future.

However, we don’t yet know how to make what currently works with fossil fuels work with hydrogen. There is the question of transport. We do not yet know if the latter will be easily transportable and at what prix. The biggest problem remains knowing how exploit 100% hydrogen. If scientists and companies answer all these questions, then it could be that white hydrogen replaces oil in the future. But again, Nothing is less sure.