Just as President Trump has declared a ‘state of energy emergency’, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has unveiled a map detailing potential natural hydrogen resources across the United States.
We’ve previously reported on the USGS’s research, which, in one study, estimated that the Earth holds enough natural resources to meet energy demands for the next 200 years. Now, the same organization has released the first-ever map of the U.S., highlighting areas that could be explored for geologically-generated hydrogen. This publication comes just before Trump’s inauguration.
The map shows potential hydrogen deposits in several key regions, including central areas covering Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan, as well as the Four Corners states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Additionally, the Californian coast and parts of the East Coast are highlighted.
To create the map, the USGS examined regions with the necessary geological conditions—such as hydrogen sources, reservoir rocks, and natural traps to store the gas—suitable for hydrogen accumulation. The map assigns a relative prospectivity score between 0 and 1, with darker blue areas indicating more promising prospects.
“This map is significant because it suggests that several parts of the U.S. could have underground hydrogen resources after all,” said Sarah Ryker, Deputy Director for Energy and Minerals at the USGS.
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