DRAFT
Integrating Technologies to Maximize Impact:
Combining Geologic Hydrogen with Biomass to Produce
Reliable Electricity, Biochar, Hydrogen and Methanol

PDF Version of Slideshow to access links in the video: A Climate Solution Combination to Produce Hydrogen, Electricity, Biochar & Methanol

The presentation video shown above briefly outlines a combined set of climate solutions that can be implemented on a large scale in many countries worldwide. This set is comprised of a group of proven technologies that, when combined, produce reliable electricity, biochar, hydrogen, and renewable methanol.

1) Introduction:

Recently, a US government agency prepared a major report about a relatively new clean energy resource that can be utilized on a very large scale.  This clean energy resource is extracted directly from the earth and has been given multiple names, including geologic, natural, white and gold hydrogen.  This agency is called the US Geological Survey and has estimated that the earth holds over five trillion tonnes of this type of hydrogen in underground pockets, which is an extremely large amount.  They also indicated that a few percent recovery of this amount would still supply all the projected demand for hundreds of years. 

There is already a commercial site producing geologic hydrogen near Bourakébougou, Mali.  It started production in 2014. Geologists have reported that they have found or are soon expecting to find geologic hydrogen reserves in various locations, including Canada, the US, Australia, France, Albania, and Spain.  As a result, geologists are predicting a natural hydrogen Gold Rush!

The progress in extracting hydrogen directly from the Earth is significant. For example, the Managing Director of Gold Hydrogen Limited, Neil McDonald, indicates that they can produce hydrogen at AUD$1 per kilogram (US$0.66/kg, which appears to be less than one-quarter of the cost of making hydrogen from renewable energy. To view his presentation, visit: Gold Hydrogen at the Noosa Mining Investment Conference in Australia – Jul 19, 2024.

Other exploration companies in the U.S. and Canada are also working on geologic hydrogen. One of these companies, Denver-based Koloma, is backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures and the Vancouver clean-tech venture capital firm Evok Innovations. Koloma recently raised $330 million in a Series B raise this February.

2) This low-cost hydrogen can produce renewable methanol using the combination of technologies shown in the schematic below. In addition, a few key points about this combination of technologies are outlined below:

a) Renewable (green) methanol is currently being made in several places around the world on a commercial scale from hydrogen and CO2. For example, Carbon Recycling International has built a plant in China in 2022 that has a capacity of 110.000 tons of renewable methanol per year.

b) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed a low-cost system to capture carbon and produce renewable methanol simultaneously. To view a video recording of a presentation about their technology, visit: Integrated Carbon Capture and Conversion: A Roadmap for Economically Capturing and Recycling CO2.

c) As shown in the sketch below, geological hydrogen would be transferred to buffer storage tanks, feeding the hydrogen to an electricity generator and the methanol production system.

d) The biomass power plant produces electricity, biochar and CO2. This biochar generates revenue by selling carbon credits and the product to farmers to make their soil more productive and grow more fuel. To view an example of a biomass power plant, visit: ICM’s Gasifier Plant. 

e) PNNL’s technology can capture CO2 from the biomass power plant and transfer it directly to the methanol production system, enabling very cost-effective methanol production.

f) The electricity from the biomass power plant can be combined with power generated directly from hydrogen via a fuel cell, internal combustion engine or turbine. To maximize the revenue, stored energy can be included to help sell electricity to the local electrical grid when prices are elevated.

3) The demand for green methanol is growing very rapidly. For example, BIS Research indicates in their 2022 Green Methanol Market Industry Overview that the global green methanol market is projected to reach $3.15 billion by 2031 from $122 million in 2021, growing at a CAGR of 39.63% during the forecast period 2022-2031.  

4) Besides commercial customers, the militaries in NATO countries could also become potentially large customers since they have all committed to transitioning to net zero by 2050. For more information about this methanol-related opportunity, visit: Opportunity for the Militaries in NATO Countries to Substantially Reduce Their Carbon Emissions.

8) Example Renewable Methanol Production Plants:

a) Carbon Recycling International’s (CRI’s) new commercial methanol from a CO2 plant in China.

b) Enerkem, with Shell, Suncor, Proman, and Hydro-Quebec, will produce 100,000 tonnes of methanol annually. Operational activities are scheduled for 2023.

c) Maverick Synfuels – Oasis Methanol Plants – small-scale modular methane-to-methanol production plant that can be co-located at the source of the methane

d) Renewable methanol world map

9) To view some reports about the renewable (green) methanol market, visit: 

a) Renewable Methanol Report by Methanol.org

b) IRENA: Innovation Outlook: Renewable Methanol, January 2021:

“Methanol is essential for the chemical industry and represents an emerging fuel for a wide range of uses. Although largely produced from fossil fuels, it can also be made from sustainable, renewable-based energy sources.
Around 98 million tonnes (Mt) are produced per annum, nearly all of which is produced from fossil fuels (either natural gas or coal). • The life-cycle emissions from current methanol production and use are around 0.3 gigatonnes (Gt) of CO2 per annum (about 10% of total chemical sector emissions). • Methanol production has nearly doubled in the past decade, with a large share of that growth being in China. Under current trends, production could rise to 500 Mt per annum by 2050, releasing 1.5 Gt CO2 per annum if solely sourced from fossil fuels. • The cost of producing fossil fuel-based methanol is in the range of USD 100-250 per tonne (t).”

c) Renewable Methanol by Blue Technologies, BLUE AALBORG, Denmark

10) Methanol is a very versatile fuel. Given below are two example use cases:

a)  Existing internal combustion engines can upgraded to run on methanol. For example, Man Energy Solutions upgrades existing hydrocarbon-fueled engines to run on methanol.

b) Methanol can provide reliable power to remote Electric Vehicle (E.V.) charging stations. For an example, visit this article by InnovationNewsNetwork: Affordable and efficient hydrogen production (from methanol) on-site and on-demand Energy, Mar 30, 2023. Wind and solar energy can be added to this charging station to reduce the cost of the electricity used for charging electric cars.

11) To visit the page via a short link, click on this link: www.climatesan.org/rmgh