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Minnesota could be sitting on millions of dollars of clean energy as possible hydrogen reserves may be lying underneath the surface. The North Star State is in the middle of a large region of the US that may be hiding geologic hydrogen - a gas that burns without producing carbon dioxide, like other fossil fuels. The area with the biggest potential is the Southeast corner of the state and along its Western border. America's Dairyland is one of the states across the Midwest and Great Plains - including Kansas, Iowa, Michigan, Arizona, Colorado, and more - that are thought to be sitting on the valuable resource, the US Geological Survey (USGS) predicted. 'This map is tantalizing because it shows that several parts of the US could have a subsurface hydrogen resource after all,' Sarah Ryker, USGS associate director for energy and minerals, said in a statement. 'For decades, the conventional wisdom was that naturally occurring hydrogen did not accumulate in sufficient quantities to be used for energy purposes.' With the prospect that there is significant amounts of hydrogen beneath the surface, drilling companies across Minnesota are hoping to begin exploring for the gas. Three companies have purchased mineral rights and applied for permits in the Iron Range of the state, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune. The production and use of hydrogen gas can help lower carbon emissions, especially if used by heavy industries like manufacturing, and could make Minnesota a key player. 'We're talking about directly powering data centers… also sustainable aviation fuel. We're talking long-haul shipping and trucking. So, it's really like this Swiss-Army-knife resource that can clean up multiple large sectors that are hard to clean up,' Kristen Delano, an executive for hydrogen exploration company Koloma, told The Tribune. 'We're raring and ready to go.' Pulsar Helium, a Canadian company, and Orvian Natural Resources are also talking to Minnesota officials, the outlet said. Mike Liljegren, assistant director of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' lands and mineral division, told The Tribune that companies have the green light to start exploring for hydrogen. However, they cannot extract the gas quite yet. America's Dairyland doesn't have regulations in place for gas extraction - something lawmakers are currently working on. The final draft of the new rules aren't expected until late 2026 or early 2027, leaving companies a long time to sit on the potential gold mines. The US produces 10 million metric tons of hydrogen per year. Most of it is a byproduct of petroleum refining. Creating hydrogen gas artificially is expensive and requires a lot of labor, making it a nonviable endeavor. Extracting it naturally not only helps the environment, but is cost-effective. The Biden Administration set aside billions to fund production hubs in the Midwest. The Inflation Reduction Act also currently offers a credit for hydrogen production, which will end in 2028. Despite the positive environmental impact, some experts are worried extracting hydrogen could become like fracking, the method used to extract natural gas and oil from rock formations. Fracking has been controversial for years over concerns it will contaminate water and release methane gas. However, state officials and hydrogen companies said there should be no worry as it is a different process, The Tribune reported.
