A new global gold rush is emerging around natural hydrogen as there are enough reserves to meet potential demand, while the world's five biggest asset managers distance themselves from sustainable investments.
The Financial Times Information The door opens to a new gold rush. This is based on an unpublished report by the US Geological Survey, which says there are five trillion tons of natural hydrogen underground, although the project's leader, Geoffrey EllisAdding that most of this hydrogen is inaccessible.
But it is is not a questionA small fraction of buried hydrogen could supply the projected hydrogen demand of 500 million tons a year for hundreds of years, Ellis explained at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver last week.
Better than blue or green: golden hydrogen
Ellis's prediction comes as the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates in its latest report that global demand for fossil fuels – petrol, diesel and kerosene – will stagnate from 2026 onwards.
Natural hydrogen, Ellis notes, has advantages over hydrogen produced industrially from fossil fuels such as natural gas, which release carbon dioxide into the environment.
FT calls it Hydrogen Dorado And it highlights that it is cleaner and cheaper than blue or green hydrogen. This is another key to a possible energy revolution, as until now green hydrogen has been the preferred option for renewable industries.
However, it has not yet been proven that natural hydrogen can be used commercially, as it seems to always be mixed with other gases such as methane, from which it must be separated, and partly due to the amount of reserves found. To date, warns Hydrogen intelligence. The term of that equation has changed.
Turn on Wall Street
In parallel with this confusion surrounding natural hydrogen, five of the world's largest asset managers have announced that they will fully or partially withdraw from investor alliances. Climate Action 100+ Citing legal and political pressure from Republican elected officials, major corporations have been pressured to reduce their pollutant emissions since 2017. This gesture reflects A complete turnaround in Wall Street strategy Divestment from investments in fossil fuels.
The atmosphere is very exciting, as Highlights Politics: The withdrawals from the Climate Action 100+ highlight the enormous challenges in creating an effective mechanism to unite major financiers in the fight against global warming, the paper explains.
And it adds fuel to the fire: No US insurer has joined Net-Zero Insurance Alliance. And the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero was forced to reduce its demand by 2022, with its members including JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley divesting all fossil fuels.
Controlled explosion
Blowing climate commitment from high places is important, but limited According to Morgan Stanley, Globally individual investors are interested in sustainable investing (77%), and 54% plan to increase sustainable investing in the next year.
Financial institutions and large insurance companies are not in that situation, showing how far they are from reality, although not all is considered lost: New York may announce A major shift away from fossil fuels. There is also Chicago Cory For the world's five largest oil companies, they accused them of fraud and destroying climate change.
Split at the crossroads of energy
However, we see two parallel and contradictory processes that have a major impact on the global economy, divided between those committed to the new energy frontiers that natural hydrogen can provide on the one hand. On the other hand, people who oppose abandoning fossil fuels ignore the planetary devastation this race is causing.
