Excavation rigs often stir curiosity in fields dotted with grazing cattle. Although we are in Kansas, these rigs proudly display both American and Australian flags, indicating the origins of their owner. Hyterra, an Australian company, has been exploring for natural hydrogen fuels lurking in deep fractures of North America.

“I believe behind us is the kitchen where hydrogen is produced,” said Avon McIntyre, the company’s executive director. The surge in activity has drawn numerous businesses to the Midwest, positioning eastern Kansas as a pivotal area in the global quest for “geological hydrogen.”

This tale began about 1.3 billion years ago when the continent that is now North America began to fragment into two parts. While the continent eventually stopped separating, the fracture left a 2,000-kilometer-long mark of iron-rich mantle rock. Presently, this cleft lies buried beneath farms and ranches in the Midwest.

In eastern Kansas, older oil and gas wells have recorded high concentrations of hydrogen as solid rocks surrounding these fractures are pushed near the surface. To explore potential harvesting, several companies have secured hydrogen drilling rights over more than 100,000 hectares in the region, according to McIntyre’s analysis of public court documents. Hyterra and its competitor Koloma are advancing their efforts by drilling deeper into the earth.

“It’s like a gold rush, with everyone eager to find it,” stated Kristen Delano from the Colorado-based company Coloma. While she refrained from disclosing their drilling locations in Kansas, she noted that public opinion has indicated their recent excavations. Additional companies, such as the Australian firm Top End Energy, are acquiring mineral rights based solely on where Koloma is active.

“There has been considerable discussion within the community,” remarked Shawn McIntyre, who has no relation to Hyterra’s executive director. As a rancher from Waterville, Kansas, he has leased thousands of acres for hydrogen drilling. “This could revitalize the industry in small towns that have suffered economically in this region.”

The global pursuit of underground hydrogen escalated following updated assessments of global reserves several years ago. Companies investigating gas deposits are hopeful that it could become an alternative to the fossil fuels currently dominating heavy industry, fertilizer production, and electricity generation. “Natural hydrogen fits seamlessly into that narrative,” stated Jay Calbus from the Kansas Geological Survey. “If we are sitting atop a substantial supply of hydrogen that can be harnessed… it could transform not only the state but also the wider region, and the nation.”

As Avon McIntyre and I traverse the muddy terrain to the drilling platform southwest of Manhattan, Kansas, he shouts above the din of the rig, “It’s crucial to understand what’s happening down there.”

The company hypothesizes that water from the underground aquifer interacts with iron-rich mantle rocks within the Middle Continent fractures, resulting in the production of hydrogen through a process known as meandering. This reaction generates hydrogen molecules in the water, which subsequently migrate to the surrounding rocks.

This year, plans include drilling five exploratory wells aimed at identifying hydrogen concentrations along subsurface rises in bedrock known as Nemahalridge. Earlier reports revealed that the first well, drilled at a prominent location on this ridge, recorded hydrogen concentrations of 96%.

Currently, the second well is deepening, surpassing 1600 meters and operating continuously. At the rig, workers sift through the mud, which contains granite scraps from the excavated hole, extracting gas from the liquid for analysis.

In the Mud Shack, a makeshift office at the site’s periphery, a team of contractors monitors and reports in real-time the gas composition from varying depths of the well. While gas levels remained low in solid rock, hydrogen concentrations began measuring over 800 parts per million.

“[The first well] had an impressive peak, but this one is continuously producing hydrogen,” noted Hyterra’s Josh Whitcom.

While these measurements alone carry limited meaning, more precise evaluations require gas samples sent from the site. Moreover, high hydrogen concentrations do not indicate how much gas can actually be extracted or the duration of flow.

Even if hydrogen ultimately flows from any of these wells, numerous questions remain, such as how it will be isolated from other gases, transported, stored, and who will be its consumers.

However, McIntyre is thrilled by the detection of hydrogen and encourages the crew to work through the night. “Our goal is to gather information,” he stated. “And now we have some.”