fbpx
01 / 05
Reserves of “Gold” Hydrogen May Be Lurking Beneath 30 US States

Live Science | Energy & Natural Resources

Reserves of “Gold” Hydrogen May Be Lurking Beneath 30 US States

“A first-of-its-kind map of the United States has revealed the likely locations of huge, naturally occurring hydrogen reserves.

The map, which you can explore here, is the first to show prospective locations for hydrogen on such a huge scale, marking areas where hydrogen gas may be lurking beneath the surface in quantities large enough to extract.

The researchers who created the map already suspected there could be more hydrogen buried in Earth’s crust than scientists previously thought. But now that the results are out, even the team that created the map can’t quite believe their eyes, according to a statement.

‘For decades, the conventional wisdom was that naturally occurring hydrogen did not accumulate in sufficient quantities to be used for energy purposes,’ Sarah Ryker, associate director for energy and mineral resources at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), who did not participate in the research, said in the statement. ‘This map is tantalizing because it shows that several parts of the U.S. could have a subsurface hydrogen resource after all.'”

From Live Science.

Science | Water Use

Devices That Pull Water Out of Thin Air Poised to Take Off

“More than 2 billion people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water, with global warming and competing demands from farms and industry expected to worsen shortages. But the skies may soon provide relief, not in the form of rain but humidity, sucked out of the air by ‘atmospheric water harvesters.’ The devices have existed for decades but typically are too expensive, energy-hungry, or unproductive to be practical.

Now, however, two classes of materials called hydrogels and metal-organic frameworks have touched off what Evelyn Wang, a mechanical engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, calls ‘an explosion of efforts related to atmospheric water harvesting.’ …

In 2023 [University of California, Berkeley chemist Omar Yaghi] and his colleagues reported an aluminum-based MOF that was cheap to make in bulk and that could wring water from desert air. In preliminary, unpublished tests, Yaghi says, prototype devices using a tweaked version of his team’s MOF can produce 200 liters of water per kilogram per day with only small amounts of added heat.

Yaghi has licensed the technology to Atoco, which is exploring using it to generate water to cool data centers, harnessing their waste heat to speed the cycling. Atoco plans to open pilot scale facilities in Texas and Arizona next year to test scaled-up versions.”

From Science.

Mining Weekly | Mineral Production

Japan to Begin Test Mining Rare-Earth Mud in Early 2026

“Surveys have confirmed the presence of rare-earth-rich mud at depths of 5 000 to 6 000 meters within Japan’s exclusive economic zone near Minamitori Island, Ishii said.

The mud is believed to contain dysprosium and neodymium, which are used in electric vehicle motor magnets, as well as gadolinium and terbium, used in various high-tech products, Ishii said.

Pipes from a deep-sea exploration vessel operated by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology will be used to extract the mud, which will then be transported to the mainland for analysis to determine its rare earth content.

If successful, the project aims to launch trial operations of a system capable of recovering 350 metric tons of mud per day in January 2027.”

From Mining Weekly.

World Health Organization | Energy Consumption

Energy Access Has Improved across the world

“Almost 92 percent of the world’s population now has access to electricity, in contrast to 87 percent in 2010. In 2023, increases in the number of people with access to electricity outpaced population growth, raising the rate of global access to 92 percent and reducing the number of people without electricity to 666 million—19 million fewer than the previous year…

The greatest growth in access between 2020 and 2023 occurred in Central and Southern Asia, while the pace of progress in Sub-Saharan Africa calls for significant acceleration.”

From World Health Organization.

Curiosities | Energy Prices

Firewood in the American Economy: 1700 to 2010

“Beginning in the last decade of the 18th century, firewood output increased from about 18% of GDP to just under 30% of GDP in the 1830s. The value of firewood fell to less than 5% of GDP by the 1880s. Prior estimates of firewood output in the 19th century significantly underestimated its value.”

From National Bureau of Economic Research.