Teams from the company La Française de l’Énergie (FDE) have reportedly discovered colossal reserves of natural hydrogen in the Folschviller mining basin in Lorraine. A discovery that could support the energy transition in Europe.
The FDE company has revealed the discovery of an exceptional deposit of white hydrogen in the subsoil of the Folschviller well site in Moselle. Estimated at 46 billion tonnes, these reserves were discovered in collaboration with researchers from the CNRS and the University of Lorraine, as part of the Regalor (Lorraine Gas Resources) research project. Initially, this carbon-negative energy producer was carrying out drilling work there to detect possible pockets of firedamp.
Geologists have discovered not only methane, but also significant levels of dissolved white hydrogen in the Carboniferous aquifer. According to them, these levels amount to more than 15% at 1,100 m and could rise to more than 90% at a depth of 3,000 m. FDE has therefore filed an application for an exclusive mining exploration permit to explore natural hydrogen in this mining basin. The company Solexperts has analyzed the gases dissolved in the water in geological formations up to a depth of 1,200 m, using an environmentally friendly probe. Indeed, the miniaturization work of the SysMoG probe allows the subsoil to be examined from wells with an internal diameter of 6 cm.
The production of green hydrogen is in its infancy. In this context, the discovery of significant quantities of natural hydrogen in the subsoil around one of the wells in the Lorraine mining basin could improve the European and global energy landscape. Under this territory, still affected by deindustrialization and the shutdown of coal mines, could therefore be the largest global reservoir of natural hydrogen known to date.
Photo above: In Folschviller, the last coal mine closed in 1979. The town has since lost a fifth of its population. Today, the prospect of exploiting the hydrogen deposit is welcomed by local authorities. © A.BourgeoisP/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA
