Latest news with #RoyalSociety
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The British wildcatters drilling for hydrogen
British drilling companies are pioneering a new industry they hope will trigger a green energy gold rush: seeking vast reserves of natural hydrogen hidden within the Earth's crust. Billions, maybe trillions, of tonnes of the lighter-than-air gas are thought to lie trapped in rock formations deep underground – once out of reach but nowadays accessible with modern drilling techniques. If the suspected reserves are proven, it could provide a plentiful new source of ready-made, low-carbon fuel that can be extracted straight from the earth just like oil and gas – but with one key difference. 'When hydrogen burns, it does not produce carbon dioxide, just water vapour,' says Prof Barbara Sherwood Lollar, who recently led a study for the Royal Society, the UK's most august scientific body, into natural hydrogen's potential. Her report suggests that the Earth is effectively a giant hydrogen factory, with various common rock types undergoing reactions that have been releasing hydrogen for billions of years. Those reactions are estimated to produce millions of tonnes of the gas a year, a process that has continued for billions of years. Some of that hydrogen will have risen to the surface and escaped into space; much more will have accumulated underground. 'It's just a matter of finding it,' says Sherwood Lollar. A recent research paper in Science estimated the amount of hidden hydrogen to be in the trillions of tonnes. If even a tiny fraction could be recovered it 'would supply the hydrogen needed to reach [global] net zero for 200 years', the paper said. One of the companies trying to turn this promise into reality is Sound Energy, listed on London's Aim market and hunting for hydrogen beneath Morocco's deserts along with joint venture partners Getech, a British firm specialising in crunching geological data. They have surveyed the whole country seeking out the rocks most likely to hold trapped hydrogen. Now they want to start drilling. 'We are securing hydrogen exploration permits in Morocco to enable ground-based surveying and drilling to validate potential hydrogen deposits,' says John Argent, Sound Energy's vice president for geoscience. Rivals include university spin-out Snowfox, co-founded by professors Chris Ballentine and Mike Daly, from the University of Oxford, and Prof Jon Gluyas, from Durham University, now scientific advisers to the company. Snowfox's AI-based 'hydrogen search engine' crunches geological data gathered from all over the planet to find potential hydrogen mines. A patent is pending so Snowfox is cautious about publicity. But at a conference on natural hydrogen held at London's Geological Society last month Mike Lawson, Snowfox's chief exploration officer, claimed natural hydrogen could soon become a globally important energy source. 'Natural hydrogen has the potential to provide cost-competitive supply at a fraction of the carbon footprint of alternative hydrogen sources,' he said. Gold rush Translating the promise of hydrogen as a fuel source into reality has been fiendishly difficult to date, however. Stellantis, the car giant that owns Vauxhall and Fiat, last week abandoned plans to develop hydrogen-powered vehicles because the product remained too 'niche'. A Lords report in 2023 dismissed the prospect of fuelling boilers with hydrogen as 'not a serious option'. Pilot 'hydrogen towns' across Britain have failed to get off the ground, scrapped after local opposition. Hydrogen's problems stem from its physical properties: it is expensive to produce and store, and can be dangerous if not handled properly given it is easily flammable. It would be easy to dismiss Britain's crop of hydrogen wildcatters as little more than day-dreamers. But serious players are paying attention. Natural hydrogen has the potential to change the economics of production, which could transform the market. Snowfox's recent share offering inspired BP's venture capital arm to lead investment into the company, along with mining giant Rio Tinto and investment firm Oxford Science Enterprises. In America the search and potential for natural hydrogen has inspired at least two of the world's richest men with Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos investing in Denver-based Koloma, which is prospecting for hydrogen in North America. Gates's fund has also invested in France's Mantle8, which is prospecting in the Pyrenees mountains and has pledged it will find 10 million tonnes of hydrogen by 2030. It claims to be able to use seismic imaging to 'see' hydrogen-producing rocks deep underground. 'Our science-first approach makes hydrogen discovery more scalable, accurate, faster and profitable,' said Emmanuel Masini, Mantle8's chief executive, in a fundraising round in March. Geologists have long known of natural hydrogen. It is often found mixed into natural gas (methane), but the amounts were considered small and uneconomic. That changed in 1987 when well-diggers drilling for water in the village of Bourakébougou, Mali, discovered wind rushing from the hole they had made in the ground. When one driller peered into the hole while smoking a cigarette, the wind exploded in his face and then caught fire, burning for weeks till it was capped. The 'wind' was pure hydrogen. Years later, in 2012, Denis Brière, a petrophysicist at Chapman Petroleum Engineering, a Canadian energy consultancy, interviewed witnesses, took samples and reported that the gas was 98pc hydrogen. Within a few months the well was hooked up to a generator that gave Bourakébougou its first electricity. All over the world the hunt for more such 'white hydrogen' sources, as the natural gas is known, began. Hydrogen is made naturally by two main processes. One involves water reacting with iron rich rocks, the other is radiolysis, when radioactive elements like uranium smash water molecules apart. Both processes turn water into hydrogen and oxygen. Geologists seeking hydrogen must hunt for the right rocks – either iron-rich or radioactive – deep underground. That would once have been a tough task, but the mass of global geological data now available, plus the advent of AI, has made it much easier. In Australia Gold Hydrogen has drilled the Yorke Peninsula near Adelaide, reporting finds of natural hydrogen up to 96pc purity plus helium, another valuable gas, with more test drilling under way this year. 'Successful results will lead to completion of a pilot project with the aim of commercialising both gases,' the company said. France is also progressing – its government has issued several exploration licences, covering areas from the Pyrenees to Lorraine in the north-east, as are companies in the US, Canada and Brazil. Cautious promise Why, though, do we need hydrogen? It's most widely known for its use as a rocket fuel and in balloons but its most vital use is in helping feed us. Hydrogen is essential to make the ammonia-based fertilisers on which crops depend. There are also the clean-energy implications if it cannot be reliably sourced and safely handled. The problem is that it's expensive and dirty to make. About 74m tonnes of hydrogen is produced annually, mostly from blasting coal or gas with superheated steam. That process generated 800m tonnes of CO2 last year, roughly 2pc of the 38bn tonnes humanity poured into the atmosphere. That total is set to triple by 2050 when global hydrogen demand is predicted to reach 220m tonnes, the Royal Society estimates. Unless, that is, new sources can be found. Environmentalists enthuse about green hydrogen, where renewable electricity is used to electrolyse water - breaking it down to hydrogen and oxygen. It sounds perfect till you look at the price: the electricity to make just one kilo of hydrogen could cost up to £9. That compares with £1-3 for making it from gas, and maybe double that if a CO2 capture system were added to limit environmental damage. By contrast, Sherwood Lollar estimates that natural hydrogen could be extracted for under £1 per kilo if it could be found in large quantities. Such suggestions make natural hydrogen sound like Energy Secretary Ed Miliband's dream fuel: cheap, clean and as renewable as it gets. Bizarrely, despite the UK being a global leader in exploiting underground energy assets such as coal, oil and gas, the search for natural hydrogen has only just started. But the results are already offering cautious promise. The British Geological Survey is mapping the radioactive or iron-rich rocks that might be worth drilling with Cornwall, Dartmoor, the Pennines and Scotland all being likely prospects. 'This could offer a strong foundation from which to expand [natural] hydrogen as a possible UK resource,' said the Royal Society report. The wildcatters may just be on to something. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Sign in to access your portfolio
Telegraph
13 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
The British wildcatters on the hunt for hydrogen
British drilling companies are pioneering a new industry they hope will trigger a green energy gold rush: seeking vast reserves of natural hydrogen hidden within the Earth's crust. Billions, maybe trillions, of tonnes of the lighter-than-air gas are thought to lie trapped in rock formations deep underground – once out of reach but nowadays accessible with modern drilling techniques. If the suspected reserves are proven, it could provide a plentiful new source of ready-made, low-carbon fuel that can be extracted straight from the earth just like oil and gas – but with one key difference. 'When hydrogen burns, it does not produce carbon dioxide, just water vapour,' says Prof Barbara Sherwood Lollar, who recently led a study for the Royal Society, the UK's most august scientific body, into natural hydrogen's potential. Her report suggests that the Earth is effectively a giant hydrogen factory, with various common rock types undergoing reactions that have been releasing hydrogen for billions of years. Those reactions are estimated to produce millions of tonnes of the gas a year, a process that has continued for billions of years. Some of that hydrogen will have risen to the surface and escaped into space; much more will have accumulated underground. 'It's just a matter of finding it,' says Sherwood Lollar. A recent research paper in Science estimated the amount of hidden hydrogen to be in the trillions of tonnes. If even a tiny fraction could be recovered it 'would supply the hydrogen needed to reach [global] net zero for 200 years', the paper said. One of the companies trying to turn this promise into reality is Sound Energy, listed on London's Aim market and hunting for hydrogen beneath Morocco's deserts along with joint venture partners Getech, a British firm specialising in crunching geological data. They have surveyed the whole country seeking out the rocks most likely to hold trapped hydrogen. Now they want to start drilling. 'We are securing hydrogen exploration permits in Morocco to enable ground-based surveying and drilling to validate potential hydrogen deposits,' says John Argent, Sound Energy's vice president for geoscience. Rivals include university spin-out Snowfox, co-founded by professors Chris Ballentine and Mike Daly, from the University of Oxford, and Prof Jon Gluyas, from Durham University, now scientific advisers to the company. Snowfox's AI-based 'hydrogen search engine' crunches geological data gathered from all over the planet to find potential hydrogen mines. A patent is pending so Snowfox is cautious about publicity. But at a conference on natural hydrogen held at London's Geological Society last month Mike Lawson, Snowfox's chief exploration officer, claimed natural hydrogen could soon become a globally important energy source. 'Natural hydrogen has the potential to provide cost-competitive supply at a fraction of the carbon footprint of alternative hydrogen sources,' he said. Gold rush Translating the promise of hydrogen as a fuel source into reality has been fiendishly difficult to date, however. Stellantis, the car giant that owns Vauxhall and Fiat, last week abandoned plans to develop hydrogen-powered vehicles because the product remained too 'niche'. A Lords report in 2023 dismissed the prospect of fuelling boilers with hydrogen as 'not a serious option'. Pilot 'hydrogen towns' across Britain have failed to get off the ground, scrapped after local opposition. Hydrogen's problems stem from its physical properties: it is expensive to produce and store, and can be dangerous if not handled properly given it is easily flammable. It would be easy to dismiss Britain's crop of hydrogen wildcatters as little more than day-dreamers. But serious players are paying attention. Natural hydrogen has the potential to change the economics of production, which could transform the market. Snowfox's recent share offering inspired BP's venture capital arm to lead investment into the company, along with mining giant Rio Tinto and investment firm Oxford Science Enterprises. In America the search and potential for natural hydrogen has inspired at least two of the world's richest men with Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos investing in Denver-based Koloma, which is prospecting for hydrogen in North America. Gates's fund has also invested in France's Mantle8, which is prospecting in the Pyrenees mountains and has pledged it will find 10 million tonnes of hydrogen by 2030. It claims to be able to use seismic imaging to 'see' hydrogen-producing rocks deep underground. 'Our science-first approach makes hydrogen discovery more scalable, accurate, faster and profitable,' said Emmanuel Masini, Mantle8's chief executive, in a fundraising round in March. Geologists have long known about natural hydrogen. It is often found mixed into natural gas (methane), but the amounts were considered small and uneconomic. That changed in 1987 when well-diggers drilling for water in the village of Bourakébougou, Mali, discovered wind rushing from the hole they had made in the ground. When one driller peered into the hole while smoking a cigarette, the wind exploded in his face and then caught fire, burning for weeks till it was capped. The 'wind' was pure hydrogen. Years later, in 2012, Denis Brière, a petrophysicist at Chapman Petroleum Engineering, a Canadian energy consultancy, interviewed witnesses, took samples and reported that the gas was 98pc hydrogen. Within a few months the well was hooked up to a generator that gave Bourakébougou its first electricity. All over the world the hunt for more such 'white hydrogen' sources, as the natural gas is known, began. Hydrogen is made naturally by two main processes. One involves water reacting with iron rich rocks, the other is radiolysis, when radioactive elements like uranium smash water molecules apart. Both processes turn water into hydrogen and oxygen. Geologists seeking hydrogen must hunt for the right rocks – either iron-rich or radioactive – deep underground. That would once have been a tough task, but the mass of global geological data now available, plus the advent of AI, has made it much easier. In Australia Gold Hydrogen has drilled the Yorke Peninsula near Adelaide, reporting finds of natural hydrogen up to 96pc purity plus helium, another valuable gas, with more test drilling under way this year. 'Successful results will lead to completion of a pilot project with the aim of commercialising both gases,' the company said. France is also progressing – its government has issued several exploration licences, covering areas from the Pyrenees to Lorraine in the north-east, as are companies in the US, Canada and Brazil. Cautious promise Why, though, do we need hydrogen? It's most widely known for its use as a rocket fuel and in balloons but its most vital use is in helping feed us. Hydrogen is essential to make the ammonia-based fertilisers on which crops depend. There are also the clean-energy implications if it cannot be reliably sourced and safely handled. The problem is that it's expensive and dirty to make. About 74m tonnes of hydrogen is produced annually, mostly from blasting coal or gas with superheated steam. That process generated 800m tonnes of CO2 last year, roughly 2pc of the 38bn tonnes humanity poured into the atmosphere. That total is set to triple by 2050 when global hydrogen demand is predicted to reach 220m tonnes, the Royal Society estimates. Unless, that is, new sources can be found. Environmentalists enthuse about green hydrogen, where renewable electricity is used to electrolyse water - breaking it down to hydrogen and oxygen. It sounds perfect till you look at the price: the electricity to make just one kilo of hydrogen could cost up to £9. That compares with £1-3 for making it from gas, and maybe double that if a CO2 capture system were added to limit environmental damage. By contrast, Sherwood Lollar estimates that natural hydrogen could be extracted for under £1 per kilo if it could be found in large quantities. Such suggestions make natural hydrogen sound like Energy Secretary Ed Miliband's dream fuel: cheap, clean and as renewable as it gets. Bizarrely, despite the UK being a global leader in exploiting underground energy assets such as coal, oil and gas, the search for natural hydrogen has only just started. But the results are already offering cautious promise. The British Geological Survey is mapping the radioactive or iron-rich rocks that might be worth drilling with Cornwall, Dartmoor, the Pennines and Scotland all being likely prospects. 'This could offer a strong foundation from which to expand [natural] hydrogen as a possible UK resource,' said the Royal Society report.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Royal Society suggested Elon Musk resign science fellowship
The Royal Society suggested to Elon Musk he should consider resigning his fellowship if he felt unable to help mitigate the Trump administration's attacks on research, the Guardian has learned. The owner of X, who is also CEO of Tesla and Space X, was elected a fellow of the UK's national academy of sciences in 2018 for his contribution to the space and electric vehicle industries. But over the past year, fellows and other scientists have repeatedly called on the Royal Society to take action over Musk's comments and behaviour, saying he has violated the academy's code of conduct, with open letters, resignations and the return of awards among their acts of protest against the academy's apparent inertia on the matter. Among other causes of the outcry was Musk's role as head of the US department of government efficiency (Doge), a body that has slashed research funding and has been accused of imposing a regime of censorship on academia. In March, the Guardian revealed the Royal Society decided Musk would not face an investigation for allegedly violating the code. It has now emerged that the president-elect of the society, Sir Paul Nurse, suggested to Musk in May that he should consider resigning his fellowship. In an email sent to the Fellowship, the current president of the Royal Society, Sir Adrian Smith, revealed Nurse first wrote to Musk on 19 March regarding the 'extensive damage' the Trump administration was inflicting on science in the US, and asking for Musk to 'step in and reverse this tragedy'. Smith added Musk replied immediately, 'emphasising his strong commitment to science, and asking for specific details regarding Paul's concerns'. Nurse then sent a further letter on 27 March suggesting Musk consult public sector scientists in the US to hear about the impact of the administration's actions. 'Paul did not receive a response to this communication nor a subsequent reminder,' Smith wrote. On 20 May, Nurse sent a letter raising concerns that had been shared with him by scientists in the US, including that 'some of the proposed budget reductions appeared nonsensical'. Smith wrote: 'Paul also suggested in that letter – in sorrow – that 'if you do not feel able to help, perhaps you should consider if you want to continue to be a Fellow of the Royal Society, the purpose of which is to promote and support science, and think whether you should resign your Fellowship.'' Musk did not respond, however, until providing a short reply only when Smith and Nurse informed him that the substance of the correspondence would be shared with the fellowship. A spokesperson for the academy confirmed Musk did not address the suggestion he should consider resigning his fellowship, stating: 'Elon Musk remains a Fellow of the Royal Society.' Smith's email to the fellowship went on to say: 'Officers and council of the society concluded that it was not in the interests of the Royal Society to pursue disciplinary action against Mr Musk,' adding that 'sharp and opposing' differences of views were aired at a previous meeting of the fellowship, but that all agreed the global defence of science is the most important activity of the all fellows have supported calls to censure Musk, with some concerned it could raise questions about the position of other fellows who have aired controversial views. However, one fellow with knowledge of Smith's email described the society's stance as 'terrible cowardice'. Another fellow with knowledge of the email said the leadership appeared to be taking the pragmatic rather than ethical view. 'Musk's opening of a new party, if it happens, predicts future fireworks, and that may also influence the closing of his [Royal Society] file at the time being,' they said. Stephen Curry, an emeritus professor of structural biology at Imperial College London, who is not a fellow of the Royal Society but organised the earlier open letter welcomed the correspondence but said the academy should have taken a clearer and stronger stance. 'They have received no indication from Elon Musk that he shares the declared values of the Royal Society, so it should have been put to him that, absent this commitment, his fellowship would be terminated,' he said. 'I'm afraid once again the Royal Society has failed to stand by its own code of conduct, which must now be regarded as a meaningless document.' Musk's representatives were approached for comment.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Royal Society suggested to Elon Musk he consider resigning science fellowship
The Royal Society suggested to Elon Musk he should consider resigning his fellowship if he felt unable to help mitigate the Trump administration's attacks on research, the Guardian has learned. The owner of X, who is also CEO of Tesla and Space X, was elected a fellow of the UK's national academy of sciences in 2018 for his contribution to the space and electric vehicle industries. But over the past year, fellows and other scientists have repeatedly called on the Royal Society to take action over Musk's comments and behaviour, saying he has violated the academy's code of conduct, with open letters, resignations and the return of awards among their acts of protest against the academy's apparent inertia on the matter. Among other causes of the outcry was Musk's role as head of the US department of government efficiency (Doge), a body that has slashed research funding and has been accused of imposing a regime of censorship on academia. In March, the Guardian revealed the Royal Society decided Musk would not face an investigation for allegedly violating the code. It has now emerged that the president-elect of the society, Sir Paul Nurse, suggested to Musk in May that he should consider resigning his fellowship. In an email sent to the Fellowship, the current president of the Royal Society, Sir Adrian Smith, revealed Nurse first wrote to Musk on 19 March regarding the 'extensive damage' the Trump administration was inflicting on science in the US, and asking for Musk to 'step in and reverse this tragedy'. Smith added Musk replied immediately, 'emphasising his strong commitment to science, and asking for specific details regarding Paul's concerns'. Nurse then sent a further letter on 27 March suggesting Musk consult public sector scientists in the US to hear about the impact of the administration's actions. 'Paul did not receive a response to this communication nor a subsequent reminder,' Smith wrote. On 20 May, Nurse sent a letter raising concerns that had been shared with him by scientists in the US, including that 'some of the proposed budget reductions appeared nonsensical'. Smith wrote: 'Paul also suggested in that letter – in sorrow – that 'if you do not feel able to help, perhaps you should consider if you want to continue to be a Fellow of the Royal Society, the purpose of which is to promote and support science, and think whether you should resign your Fellowship.'' Musk did not respond, however, until providing a short reply only when Smith and Nurse informed him that the substance of the correspondence would be shared with the fellowship. A spokesperson for the academy confirmed Musk did not address the suggestion he should consider resigning his fellowship, stating: 'Elon Musk remains a Fellow of the Royal Society.' Smith's email to the fellowship went on to say: 'Officers and council of the society concluded that it was not in the interests of the Royal Society to pursue disciplinary action against Mr Musk.' He added that 'sharp and opposing' differences of views were aired at a previous meeting of the fellowship, but that all agreed the global defence of science was the most important activity of the Society. Not all fellows have supported calls to censure Musk, with some concerned it could raise questions about the position of others who have aired controversial views. However, one fellow with knowledge of Smith's email described the society's stance as 'terrible cowardice'. Another fellow with knowledge of the email said the leadership appeared to be taking the pragmatic rather than ethical view. 'Musk's opening of a new party, if it happens, predicts future fireworks, and that may also influence the closing of his [Royal Society] file at the time being,' they said. Stephen Curry, an emeritus professor of structural biology at Imperial College London, who is not a fellow of the Royal Society but organised the earlier open letter, welcomed the correspondence but said the academy should have taken a clearer and stronger stance. 'They have received no indication from Elon Musk that he shares the declared values of the Royal Society, so it should have been put to him that, absent this commitment, his fellowship would be terminated,' he said. 'I'm afraid once again the Royal Society has failed to stand by its own code of conduct, which must now be regarded as a meaningless document.' Musk's representatives were approached for comment.
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Britain has a rare opportunity to lure American talent
Americans like Britain. Ask restless American graduates where they would most like to move, and it often tops the list. So it is no surprise that, as the Trump administration has attacked America's top universities and slashed funding for research, American interest in British-based science and tech jobs spiked. Britain has a rare opportunity to snap up disillusioned American boffins, as well as global talent that might once have chosen America. Will it seize it? It faces competition. In April Canadian and European institutions pledged tens of millions of dollars to fund international talent. In May Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, urged researchers to 'choose Europe for science', with a package worth €500m ($580m) over three years. Britain was late to the party. On June 22nd it unveiled the Global Talent Fund, a £54m ($72m) scheme to support 11 'world-class' researchers to relocate to Britain with their teams, with funding for five years. Groups such as the Royal Society have set up their own schemes too, taking the UK's total commitments to around £115m. The point of such programmes is to lure the sort of researchers who might one day win Nobel prizes. But plenty of less-established talent is also up for grabs. Many American universities are cutting places on graduate programmes and have frozen hiring for postdocs. Academics in America also report that young researchers from overseas are turning down job offers there. Britain has some advantages to attract such people. Language is one. In data from Indeed, a jobs site, Anglophone countries have seen the biggest jumps in American interest in science and tech roles (see chart). In June more than a quarter of American clicks on international science positions went to Britain (Canada got more than a third). English-speaking countries also appeal to the same globally mobile cohort who like America. According to Studyportals, a directory of university courses, students who search for America-based bachelor's and master's degrees are most likely to browse for British ones too. Brand is another advantage. Britain has more stellar institutions than any other European country or Canada. It produces just 3.4% of the world's academic papers, according to one measure, but 6.1% of those in the top 1% of citations (the only country which does better by this criterion is Singapore). Britain's handicaps are cost and red tape. Moving there means a lengthy visa process, high visa fees and a hefty NHS surcharge—all to be paid upfront. For a family of four relocating for five years, the sum can exceed £20,000. Some British research funders will pay for the applicants' moving expenses, but few cover partners and dependents. And after all that a professor at Oxford may be paid half as much as one at Harvard. Alongside the Global Talent Fund, Britain has announced a task force to target and support incoming researchers. There is talk of fast tracks for some. But the world's best scientists won't come if they have to pay for the privilege.
