New Natural Hydrogen Discovery Announced in The Lorraine Mining Basin in Eastern France

 

     French low carbon energy company FDE announced a new natural hydrogen discovery in the Lorraine mining basin in Eastern France. The presence of natural hydrogen was known in the basin but new measurements in an old test well in the basin have confirmed a high purity percentage of natural hydrogen at depth. I did a deep dive into natural hydrogen on this blog a few months ago which can be read here. The Lorraine Mining Basin has produced both iron ore and coal in the past.

     The natural hydrogen is dissolved in a Carboniferous aquifer. The new measurements at the  Folschviller well site were done in collaboration with the University of Lorraine and the CNRS, France’s National Center for Scientific Research. Researchers reported “a measured concentration of 15% at 1,093-meter depth and estimated at 98% at 3,000-meter depth.” The deeper high purity hydrogen is likely a significant find. There are several different mechanisms for H2 outgassing and many involve continuous natural production of the gas. FDE has submitted an application for an exclusive mining permit to explore for natural hydrogen that covers an area of 2,254 km², in the Grand-Est region. The prospective area is the hydrogen ecosystem of the Greater Region (Grand Est, Wallonia, Luxembourg, Sarre, and Rhineland-Palatinate). Thus, parts of Germany and Luxembourg are also prospective. A planned 100% H2 cross-border pipeline being commissioned to pass through the area can provide for transport of the gas. The next step in the project is to select a site for a pilot drilling project. 

     Some of those same researchers from the University of Lorraine and the CNRS in a paper in October 2016 proposed a new interpretation of the Lorraine-Saar Basin of France and Germany as “a thin-skinned asymmetrical parallelogram-shaped pull-apart basin.” Extensional basins have been associated with H2 outgassing but I am unsure of the H2 generation mechanism here. The basin is bounded on the north and west by the Metz fault which parallels the basin. There are also associated wrench faults which have influenced deposition after reactivation.

     

Structural Features and Sedimentation in the Lorraine-Saar Coal Basin France-Germany. Source: A NEW TECTONIC MODEL FOR THE LATE PALEOZOIC EVOLUTION OF THE LORRAINE-SAAR COAL-BEARING BASIN (FRANCE/GERMANY. Vitaliy Pryvalov, Jacques Pironon, Alain Izart, Raymond Michels, Olena Panova. October 2016. VitaliyPryvalov1.pdf

References

FDE Discovers Natural Hydrogen in Eastern France. Pipeline and Gas Journal. May 16, 2023. FDE Discovers Natural Hydrogen in Eastern France | Pipeline and Gas Journal (pgjonline.com)

Natural Hydrogen: Exploring for H2 Through the Drillbit: Reserves and Economic Estimations. Kent C. Stewart. Blue Dragon Energy Blog 2.0. March, 27, 2023. Blue Dragon Energy Blog 2.0: Natural Hydrogen: Exploring for H2 Through the Drillbit: Reserves and Economic Estimations (bdeb2.blogspot.com)

A NEW TECTONIC MODEL FOR THE LATE PALEOZOIC EVOLUTION OF THE LORRAINE-SAAR COAL-BEARING BASIN (FRANCE/GERMANY. Vitaliy Pryvalov, Jacques Pironon, Alain Izart, Raymond Michels, Olena Panova. October 2016. VitaliyPryvalov1.pdf