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VergeMAR 15 2023
World's Biggest 'White Hydrogen' Reserve Discovered in France
Image copyright: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
This discovery of white hydrogen is like the holy grail of renewable energy sources. Hydrogen production is a highly energy-intensive process that frequently uses fossil fuels. While its sibling "green hydrogen" is made from renewable energy, its production remains small-scale and expensive. Finding large amounts of white hydrogen would open up previously unexplored renewable energy sources that could supercharge the effort to address the climate crisis.
Narrative B
White hydrogen isn't the miracle cure for a clean energy economy. There's a long way to go before the deposit in Lorraine can be extracted, as scientists must first confirm its size and extent by drilling more boreholes and drilling deeper. There are major challenges in terms of feasibility, logistics, and cost-effectiveness — any silver bullet for solving the complex climate crisis must be taken with skepticism.