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55 min ago 1 min read
A growing number of companies are hoping to breathe new life into assets left behind by the oil industry, betting that depleted wells could generate hydrogen at prices rivalling fossil fuels withoutelectrolysers, grid power, or new drilling.
Whether the economic and subsurface realities could deliver on the concept remains unproven.
Known as microbial hydrogen, the process involves repurposing depleted oil and gas reservoirs as underground bioreactors. Hydrocarbon-consuming bacteria, either native to the wells or selectively introduced, are used to break down residual oil into hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2) through anaerobic microbial processes.
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