Editorial Comment 

TYLER CAMPBELL, Managing Editor 

Advances in hydrogen (H₂) production and utilization technologies are still accelerating despite market uncertainty. While thoroughly discussed methods of H₂ production—electrolysis and steam methane reforming with carbon capture—are still crucial to the sector, lesser-known methods may be worth exploring. Companies like HyTerra are focused on white H₂, which is naturally found in underground reservoirs and has a much lower production costs and carbon emissions than man-made H₂. The company’s Nemaha Project in Kansas (U.S.) covers approximately 72,500 acres and is 100% owned and operated by HyTerra. The region has historic wells with more than 10 H₂ and helium occurrences, some up to 92% H₂ and 3% helium (FIG. 1). The project can be connected via railways, roads and pipelines to several potential offtakers, including ethanol and ammonia manufacturers and petrochemical plants. 

In July 2025, ENEOS Xplora announced a $2.9-MM investment in Gold Hydrogen Ltd., a natural H₂ and helium exploration company. The company recently completed a field trial of subsurface bio-stimulated H₂ production in California’s San Joaquin Basin (U.S.). This innovation utilizes microbiology and legacy oilfield infrastructure to produce clean H₂ underground. The trial achieved 400,000 parts per million (ppm) of H₂ in produced gases and is projected to reduce H₂ production costs to below $0.50/kg. 

To further research the geological H₂ method, H2Au, a natural H₂ exploration and production company, and the British Geological Survey, a geological survey and global geoscience organization, have begun a new PhD project at Heriot-Watt University aimed at advancing the understanding of natural H₂ systems. The initiative focuses on how natural H₂—like oil and gas—accumulates in underground reservoirs. The research will employ agent-based modeling, an artificial intelligence (AI) method, to simulate subsurface H₂ behavior. 

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