Cleaner Tech
Hydrogen Wildcatters Are Betting Big on Kansas to Strike It Rich
A growing number of startups are searching for geologic hydrogen from the US Midwest to Australia and hoping for a “Spindletop moment.”
A new Gold Rush is taking shape on a quiet stretch of Kansas prairie. There, a clutch of startups backed by the likes of Bill Gates are searching below the surface for naturally occurring hydrogen, a fuel that can generate power without adding to climate change.
Finding it in vast quantities would revolutionize the energy transition. But the hunt is clean energy wildcatting, with a real possibility of failure — and the added risk of diverting limited climate venture capital at a time when the world needs proven emissions-cutting technologies.