A bit late getting to this but something that might be worth the wait.
From EU-Startups, February 7:
Natural hydrogen exploration startup Mantle8 raises €3.4 million to scale
Mantle8, a Grenoble-based natural hydrogen exploration company, has announced today the close of its €3.4 million Seed financing round to run a technological pilot to image and quantify hydrogen systems in the ground.
The funding round saw participation from Kiko Ventures and Breakthrough Energy Ventures Europe (BEV-E), with additional participation from prominent angel investors.
“Our science-first approach represents a paradigm shift in hydrogen exploration. It makes hydrogen discovery more scalable, accurate, faster and profitable,” said Emmanuel Masini, Founder and CEO of Mantle8. “Our technology was founded on broad and intimate collaboration with the scientific community. The next step was finding the right partners that would enable us to deliver this technology boldly. With the support of our investors, we now have the fuel to move at the necessary pace.”
Mantle8 was founded in 2024 and comprises a team of geologists with 20 years of experience in the field. Mantle8 has developed geological models and imaging technologies that detect the best natural hydrogen locations with “world-first accuracy“. The company’s validated technologies visualise the entire hydrogen generating system – including the amount and quality of hydrogen present.
This technology enables Mantle8 to identify optimal natural hydrogen reservoirs and target hydrogen production at €0.77/kg – a price point that could “revolutionise the clean energy market“.
The new funds will be used to run a technological pilot to image and quantify hydrogen systems in the ground. Mantle8 will also further develop the cross-border scalability of its technology and expand its team by hiring new AI and geochemistry experts.
Natural hydrogen is produced by nature when water reacts with iron rich rocks underground. Unlike conventional hydrogen production methods, natural hydrogen does not require energy-intensive separation processes.
While low-carbon alternatives such as electrolysis from renewable energies have emerged, Mantle8 argues that they remain costly. As industries worldwide seek sustainable alternatives for hard-to-decarbonise sectors like steel, cement and aviation, natural hydrogen has the potential to eliminate the green premium and become the sustainable solution for achieving net-zero goals.
“Most existing approaches to natural hydrogen extraction are based on trial and error, but Mantle8’s proprietary technology is based on rigorous science,” added Rob Trezona from Kiko Ventures. “We are big believers in the hydrogen economy and exited our last investment in hydrogen at over a billion; this could be even more valuable.”....
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Previously:
Meanwhile, In Albania: Hydrogen"
Want To Be A Hydrogen Tycoon? Maybe Prospect For Ophiolite And Chromite Ore
"There's hydrogen in them thar hills"
Grizzled prospector intently looking for hydrogen.
just kidding, that's Tom Waits in the Coen brothers film “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.”
