Title page 1

Contents 7

Executive summary 8

1. Introduction 15

2. What is white hydrogen? 17

2.1. White hydrogen generation mechanisms 18

2.2. White hydrogen existence 20

3. Why should India pursue white hydrogen? 22

3.1. Environmental benefits 22

3.2. Economic advantages 24

3.3. Energy security benefits 24

4. Global initiatives related to white hydrogen 25

4.1. National regulatory frameworks and policy initiatives 26

4.2. Government and public-sector-led research initiatives 28

4.3. Private-sector-led initiatives 31

5. White hydrogen exploration and extraction methods 35

5.1. Remote sensing and geophysical mapping techniques 36

5.2. Geochemical testing and monitoring 37

5.3. Subsurface geophysical mapping 38

5.4. Drilling 39

5.5. Commercial extraction processes 40

6. White hydrogen potential in India 41

7. Challenges with developing white hydrogen production 45

8. Recommendations 47

8.1. Policy, regulation, planning, and funding by government entities 48

8.2. Geological survey, mapping, and resource characterisation 50

8.3. Pilots, innovation, and research and development 50

8.4. International cooperation 51

8.5. Conclusion 52

Acronyms 53

Technical glossary 54

References 55

Table 1. White hydrogen has a lower carbon intensity, water requirement, energy consumption, and surface disruption than other production methods 23

Table 2. International collaboration should be anchored in public research institutions, geological surveys, and regulatory bodies, with clearly defined... 51

Figure 1. Unlike other types, white hydrogen does not need any external energy source for its production and has comparatively lower emissions 16

Figure 2. There are five prominent geological mechanisms that generate white hydrogen 18

Figure 3. More than 15 countries are actively working on white hydrogen exploration 26

Figure 4. Global research initiatives driving white hydrogen exploration 28

Figure 5. Companies worldwide are investing in white hydrogen exploration and drilling test wells 31

Figure 6. Stages of white hydrogen exploration to extraction 36

Figure 7. India has geological markers for white hydrogen 42

Figure 8. Building blocks for a white hydrogen ecosystem in India 48

Boxes 29

Box 1. USGS geologic hydrogen prospectivity map 29

Box 2. Bourakébougou hydrogen field, Mali 33

Box 3. Use of LiDAR and elevation mapping in identifying hydrogen seepage zones 37

Box 4. Innovations in hydrogen-detecting technologies 38

Box 5. Gold Hydrogen's 2023 exploration programme - Ramsay Project 39

Box 6. Geneva and Nemaha Projects 40