France hits the hydrogen motherlode: $92 billion of natural hydrogen unearthed
France may have stumbled across one of the most important hydrogen finds to date – a vast, naturally occurring underground deposit in the Moselle region, valued at up to $92 billion.
A team from the GeoRessources laboratory, working with France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), uncovered the deposit while conducting gas exploration near the town of Folschviller in northeastern France.
The researchers were originally searching for methane when they noticed rising concentrations of hydrogen instead.
$92 billion in carbon-free energy
The deeper they drilled, the more hydrogen they found – with concentrations increasing from around 1% at 600 metres, to 6% at 1,100 metres, and peaking at 20% at 1,250 metres.
According to some estimates, the deposit could contain up to 46 million tonnes of hydrogen, with a potential market value of around $92 billion.
That figure represents nearly half of current annual global production of legacy grey hydrogen, which is typically derived from fossil fuels.
What is white hydrogen?
The gas in question is white hydrogen – also known as natural hydrogen – which forms underground through geological processes like serpentinisation (where water reacts with certain types of rock) and radiolysis (where natural radiation splits water molecules).
Unlike green hydrogen or grey hydrogen, white hydrogen doesn’t need to be manufactured. It forms naturally and – crucially – does so without carbon emissions.
Natural hydrogen has been detected in the past in the United States, Mali, and Russia, but such finds are often small-scale surface seeps. The gas typically escapes into the atmosphere before it can be captured or used.
What makes the Folschviller site unusual is its depth, the high concentrations found, and early signs that the hydrogen may be produced continuously by deep geological processes.
According to CNRS geochemist Jacques Pironon, this production is likely driven by chemical reactions between water and iron-rich minerals underground – a mechanism which, if confirmed, would make the deposit particularly attractive for long-term energy supply.
Not quite ready for the pipeline
As promising as the numbers sound, there are still technical and regulatory hurdles to overcome.
White hydrogen hasn’t yet been extracted at commercial scale, and France currently lacks a permitting framework for natural hydrogen development.
The French ecology ministry is reportedly reviewing how best to regulate the sector.
Further drilling is expected to begin soon to determine the deposit’s true size and commercial viability – and whether this early data points to a long-term, scalable energy resource.
If even a fraction of the estimated 46 million tonnes proves extractable, it would position France as a major player in future hydrogen supply – without the need for electrolysers, imported gas, or emissions-intensive production methods.
Just clean hydrogen, made by the Earth, sitting where coal used to be.
