The hydrogen color label "White" refers to natural (geological) reserves of underground hydrogen. 

Geological hydrogen exploration technologies

Natural hydrogen has been found in many geological environments, including ocean spreading centres, transform faults, passive boundaries, convergent margins and intraplate settings, etc. But hydrogen exploration is currently in its infancy, similar to oil and gas exploration in the late 19th century. Hydrogen exploration is likely to use many of the same technologies as oil and gas exploration, with some additional mineral exploration and geothermal technologies. As with exploration, new cost-effective technologies need to be developed to produce efficient hydrogen.

The search for potential hydrogen deposits requires approximately the same skills as in the oil and gas industry, and drilling rigs for exploration are needed to extract hydrogen from underground or at sea. However, unlike the final deposits of oil and gas, natural hydrogen is formed constantly. There are different theories about exactly how this happens. For example, iron-rich water pockets near tectonic faults. Scientific studies of hydrogen-resistant rocks (which do not allow hydrogen to reach the surface), such as volcanites, salt domes and fine-grained shales, have been completed. The natural degassing of hydrogen from the Earth occurs constantly. With increasing stresses in the Earth's crust, the release of gases in mid-oceanic ridges and faults increases, which account for up to 90% of the hydrogen released from the bowels of the Earth. The remaining geological hydrogen degassing is distributed between volcanoes 2% and ring structures 8%. There are potentially huge reserves of geological hydrogen in the world, but the search for large accumulations of geological hydrogen has not been resolved. Using stimulated mineralogical processes could lead to the production of more underground hydrogen, which could become a significant source of clean energy. For example, as a result of microbial activity in depleted oil wells.

Detection methods used in hydrogen exploration are critical for production natural hydrogen from deep layers and reservoirs. Most used method – presence of hydrogen in soils or aquifers horizons near the earth's surface. These detection methods are limited. White and gold (geological) hydrogen is difficult to detect due to its high volatility in the atmosphere and due to absorption by microbes living in the soil and on the seafloor. Hydrogen-eating organisms include AM1116 Caminibacter Hydrogeniphilus (habitat - hydrothermal vents of the East Pacific Rise), Kol5a Aquifex pyrophilus (habitat - hydrothermal vents of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge), TK-6 Hydrogenobacter thermophilus (habitat - soil of Izu sharp), MA-48 Hydrogenibacillus schlegelii (habitat - mud surface of the Alps) and many others.

It is not surprising that White and gold (geological) hydrogen has been overlooked because it is a colorless, odorless gas, and microbes are very efficient at eating it below the soil surface as it rises to the top.

Geological hydrogen is constantly being formed. Most likely various underground conditions that lead to the appearance of hydrogen, but are often accompanied by the release of inert gases that do not absorb geological formations and microorganisms.

HydITEx is developing a geological exploration concept for detailed searches over large areas for hydrogen deposits, where the likelihood of their geological discovery has received sufficient geological justification, by analyzing the biomass of hydrogen bacteria, the presence of noble gases and their isotopes, as well as their composition.

The project is under development