Great Scott! Natural Hydrogen: Is This the Next 'Accio' for Clean Energy?

The Hype is Real (Even More Real Than House Elves)

Blimey! It seems even the giants of industry are finally catching on to something we wizards have known all along: magic... I mean natural hydrogen is the future! Who needs Felix Felicis when you've got the potential to reshape the entire global energy landscape with this 'white gold'? Apparently a growing number of sizable companies from mining giants to energy majors are embracing the hype for natural hydrogen. It comes as buzz continues to build over the potential for a resource that advocates say could radically reshape the global energy landscape. Natural hydrogen sometimes known as white gold or geologic hydrogen refers to hydrogen gas that is found in its natural form beneath Earth's surface. Even Muggles like Bill Gates are throwing Galleons at this stuff! Makes you wonder if they've finally figured out how to use Floo Powder.

A Discovery Almost as Accidental as Neville's Herbology Skills

Picture this: some Muggle stumbles upon a treasure trove of pure carbon free energy completely by accident! It's like Neville Longbottom finding a rare magical plant he wasn't even looking for. This long overlooked resource first discovered by accident in Mali nearly 40 years ago contains no carbon and produces only water when burned. And the best part? No pesky emissions to pollute our air. Investor interest in the nascent natural hydrogen sector has been intensifying in recent months fueling optimism initially driven by research startups and junior exploration companies. Over the past year or so some of the sector's established backers include mining giants Rio Tinto and Fortescue Russia's state owned energy giant Gazprom the venture capital arm of British oil giant BP and Bill Gates ' clean tech investment fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures .

Muggles and Their Magical Thinking

Eric Toone chief technology officer at Breakthrough Energy seems to think natural hydrogen is some sort of miracle cure all. "We can use it to make metals make fuels you could even make food and all with far fewer emissions than conventional approaches." Sounds like a charm from Professor Flitwick if you ask me. Exploratory efforts are currently underway in several countries across the globe with Canada and the U.S. leading the way in terms of project counts over the last year according to research published by consultancy Rystad Energy. Analysts expect the year ahead to be a pivotal one with industry players hoping their exploration campaigns can soon locate the elusive gas.

Not Everyone's a Believer (Even Hermione Has Doubts Sometimes)

Of course not everyone's convinced. Some folks are worried about environmental concerns and distribution challenges. It's like trying to herd Hippogriffs – complicated and potentially dangerous. Not everyone's convinced about the clean energy potential of natural hydrogen however with critics flagging environmental concerns and distribution challenges. For its part the International Energy Agency has warned there is a possibility that the resource "is too scattered to be captured in a way that is economically viable."

The 'White Gold Rush' – More Like a 'White Elephant'?

Minh Khoi Le head of hydrogen research at Rystad Energy is hedging his bets saying it's difficult to predict whether natural hydrogen can live up to its promise in 2025. "I guess last year was the year that things got really interesting for the natural hydrogen space because that's when many companies started to plan drilling campaigns extraction testing and we started to see some major players start to get involved as well," Le told CNBC by video call. "Since then I would say the progress has been relatively slow. There are only a few companies that have actually started drilling," he added. Rystad's Le who characterized the global pursuit of natural hydrogen as a " white gold rush " last year said that while there'd been no major progress over the last 12 months an upswing in investor interest could help to deliver some meaningful results. "Now we are starting to see companies getting investment so they have money to fund their drilling campaigns. So if we are to get an answer of whether this thing will work we'll get to that conclusion a bit faster this year," Le said.

Still in Its 'Embryonic Stage'

The Hydrogen Science Coalition a bunch of smart cookies trying to keep things real reckons exploration for natural hydrogen is still in its "embryonic stage." The Hydrogen Science Coalition a group of academics scientists and engineers seeking to bring an evidence based view to hydrogen's role in the energy transition said exploration for natural hydrogen is still at an "embryonic stage" — but even so the likelihood of locating large finds of nearly pure hydrogen that can be extracted at scale look "relatively slim." The world's only producing hydrogen well in Mali for example supplies "just a fraction of the daily energy output of a single wind turbine," Arnout Everts a geoscientist and member of the Hydrogen Science Coalition told CNBC via email. "Taking the evolution of US shale gas as an analogy even if large finds are made it will likely take decades to achieve industrial production," Everts said. Ultimately the Hydrogen Science Coalition said the pursuit of natural hydrogen risks distracting focus from the renewable hydrogen needed to decarbonize industries today. They worry it might distract us from the good stuff like renewable hydrogen. Seems like we'll just have to wait and see if this 'white gold' is more Gryffindor or Slytherin in the long run!