Kim, Husker researchers explore hydrogen energy potential of underground rift

Some 1.1 billion years ago, the North American continent nearly split in two, leaving behind a 1,200-mile swath of volcanic rocks known as the Midcontinent Rift that may be able to produce enough natural hydrogen to yield vast amounts of clean energy.

University of Nebraska–Lincoln researchers are studying the rift — which runs from beneath Lake Superior through parts of Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas — to determine how best to access that hydrogen.

Hydrogen is potentially a key player in the effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. It produces no carbon emissions and, unlike oil and gas that can take millions of years to generate from organic deposits, it is constantly renewing underground when water interacts with the volcanic rock. 

But there is much to learn.

“Our understanding of processes governing the production, migration and accumulation of evasive natural hydrogen in the continental deep subsurface is still in its infancy,” said Seunghee Kim, Charles J. Vranek Associate Professor of civil engineering and one of the project’s principal investigators.