A clean energy source may be lurking beneath mountain ranges

As the search for geologic hydrogen – a potential clean source of energy beneath the ground – continues, some researchers are turning to mountains

By Michael Le Page

6 May 2025

Is there hydrogen to be found beneath the Grisons mountains in Switzerland?

Thomas Stoiber / Alamy

Mountain ranges could be a potential source of clean energy in the form of as-yet untapped hydrogen. While previous research has suggested this “geologic” hydrogen could be found underground, researchers have only recently turned to mountains as a possible store.

“Certain minerals react with water and can generate hydrogen like a free green energy source,” says Frank Zwaan at the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Germany.

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There are vast amounts of such minerals on Earth, but they are mainly found deep below the surface in a layer known as the mantle, he says, where they don’t come into contact with water. But during the formation and uplift of mountain ranges, some mantle rock can be brought close to the surface, where it can react with water in a process called serpentinisation.

To get an idea of the potential for hydrogen formation, Zwaan and his colleagues modelled the uplift process, looking at how much mantle material reaches areas where there are optimum temperatures and enough circulating water for this to occur. Their results support the idea that large quantities of hydrogen could be generated under mountain ranges.

Serpentinisation also occurs at mid-ocean ridges – some think it drove the origin of life – but hydrogen formed there is unlikely to be trapped, says Zwaan.  That is because the temperature is lower than 122°C (252°F), and any trapped hydrogen will be “eaten” by bacteria, but under mountains it is possible to drill down to where the temperature is higher.