A US startup called Cemvita Factory claims to use an innovative process to generate clean "gold" hydrogen for less than US$1/kg, reported first by Interesting Engineering.
This innovation may prove promising since Mitsubishi and United Airlines have backed the company.
A special bacteria will be injected into exhausted and abandoned oil and gas wells by the Texan corporation, where they will consume and excrete oxygen.
Gold Hydrogen is defined by Cemvita as the biological creation of hydrogen underground by digesting trapped or abandoned materials. Gold Hydrogen is a ground-breaking source of carbon-neutral hydrogen produced from exhausted oil reservoirs that are ready for plug & abandonment, extending the life of wells that would otherwise be a significant burden.
Gold Hydrogen
According to a news release from the startup, Gold Hydrogen is a revolutionary source of carbon-neutral hydrogen created from exhausted oil reservoirs prepared for plug and abandonment, prolonging the life of wells that would otherwise be a significant burden.
When oil wells are first tapped, their output is at its highest level. The procedure slows down when it requires more energy to remove the residual oil than it is worth when sold, as per Interesting Engineering.
As a result, excess remains in depleted wells. Cemvita intends to utilize this by converting each of these wells into a biological hydrogen farm.
The carbon in fossil fuels is consumed by naturally occurring subsurface microorganisms, generating 20 to 50 tonnes of hydrogen in every field, according to Cemvita Factory.
The startup further claims that this leads to the lowest-cost hydrogen production currently achievable, and key players in the energy and industrial sector "have taken serious notice."
Cemvita genetically modifies the microorganisms. Their scientists improved microbe performance by 6.5 times the rate required to generate hydrogen at $1/kg, which is a crucial step in moving the program closer to commercialization.
The business adds that it is "actively" interacting with regulatory bodies on the use of genetically modified bacteria.
According to its website, "In some cases, since we are only enhancing the natural ability of microorganisms (for example, by increasing the copy number of genes that already exist), the microbes are not considered genetically modified. Regulatory assessment is included as a deliverable for our projects."
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Enhancing Performance
The company tested the microorganisms in a real well after enhancing their performance. The researchers successfully assessed hydrogen concentrations three levels of magnitude above baseline in the West Texas Permian area where Cemvita, an oil production firm, operates.
The team quickly transferred the bacteria from the lab to the field. Zach Broussard, Director of Gold H2 at Cemvita, stated that the hydrogen generation in this trial surpassed their expectations.
"As we continue to use hydrogen-producing microbes downhole, we anticipate we can achieve rates that will translate to hydrogen production at $1/kg or less," Broussard said in a statement.
The company will then make an effort to commercialize its technology through a combination of licensing, joint partnerships, and asset ownership in the hydrogen industry.
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
