About this Research Topic

Background

Natural H2 occurring in the subsurface and leaking to the atmosphere via numerous seepages around the globe needs to be evaluated as a potential part of the solution for decarbonized energy. So called white (or gold) H2 systems need better understanding in order to enable exploration, production, storage and stimulation strategies. So far only one production field exists in Mali. However, many surface and drilling exploration efforts are beginning to take place on a larger scale in oil/gas, geothermal and dedicated H2 drilling. Lab experimental and modeling efforts have also begun to contribute to the understanding on how to tap and potentially accelerate the natural H2 system and how to protect underground storage.

In this Research Topic we welcome articles addressing the following problems:
- building representative models of subsurface reactive transport in H2 source rocks, migration, accumulation and leakage, as well as consumption reaction (geological and microbiological)
- designing lab and pilot field scale experiments to constrain the models and help exploration/production/stimulation/storage strategies (geological and microbiological)
- ranking and classifying H2 occurrences most promising for high flow rates or fluxes (e.g., over natural seepages such as the 'fairy circles' or smokers) that could enable economic production
- surface survey techniques and reports and how they pertain to the subsurface H2 systems
- use of gas and isotope geochemistry (including clumped isotopes) to characterize H2 origins
- geochemistry of fluids and host rocks in H2 'kitchens'
- engineering aspects of production and environmentally friendly stimulation strategies (e.g., increase of reactive surface area, water injections)

Overall this Research Topic aims at advancing our understanding of H2 systems in terms of sources, generation rates, loss and consumption rates, natural reaction rates and flow rates of seepages, fractures, volumes of potential accumulations, and finally studies on environmentally-friendly stimulating and enhancing the natural H2 generation (orange hydrogen) in the subsurface. Articles are welcomed to cover all scales from isotopic composition, reactive transport, modeling up to basin and regional scale and prospecting methods, as well as core flood and other lab experiments and pilot field tests.
We welcome a range of article types, including Original Research, Review, and Perspective.

The team declare the following affiliations:
Dr. Dariusz Strapoc with Schlumberger, SLB.
Dr. Viacheslav Zgonnik with Natural Hydrogen Energy LLC.
Dr. Eric Portier with 45-8 Energy.
Benoit Hauville with 45-8 Energy.
Dr, Mohinudeen Faiz with Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
The Topic Editors and Topic Coordinators declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic.

Keywords: natural hydrogen, white hydrogen, orange hydrogen, water radiolysis, serpentinization, exploration, stimulation, energy, geochemistry

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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