From Fastcompany · · 3m
Houston startup turns old oil wells into clean hydrogen
Eclipse uses microbes to extract hydrogen from abandoned oil fields, potentially creating cheap clean energy for decades.
In brief
Eclipse uses microbes to extract hydrogen from abandoned oil fields, potentially creating cheap clean energy for decades. Eclipse, a Houston startup, is using microbes to produce clean hydrogen from end-of-life oil wells in West Texas, offering a potentially cheaper alternative to other hydrogen production methods…
Old oil field becomes hydrogen source
Eclipse, a Houston startup, spent a month at an old oil field in West Texas producing clean hydrogen using microbes to break down remaining oil in end-of-life wells.
Hydrogen can flow for decades
The company says old oil field projects like this have the potential to produce hydrogen for ten to twenty years and could make it cheap enough for clean baseload power.
Abundant hydrogen already exists
Eclipse CEO Prabhdeep Singh Sekhon says when oil fields are produced, only forty percent of the oil is extracted. The remaining hydrocarbon in the ground also means hydrogen is present.
“When you produce these oil fields, you're lucky if you produce 40% of the oil. There's still a tremendous amount of hydrocarbon in the ground; it's just not economic to produce.”
Other hydrogen methods struggle
Green hydrogen using renewable electricity is expensive and water intensive. Hydrogen from natural gas requires expensive carbon capture. Natural or geologic hydrogen has not yet proven viable.
Microbes unlock the hydrogen
Eclipse built a database of microbes found in oil fields and created its own mix to capture hydrogen from remaining oil.The microbes are injected into reservoirs where they eat the oil and release hydrogen gas.
Hydrogen flows through reservoirs
The lightweight hydrogen molecule flows through reservoirs and can be produced through existing wells. In the pilot, hydrogen injected in one well also flowed to a second well around six hundred feet away.
Texas pilot proves the process works
Eclipse performed a smaller pilot last year in California but says the Texas pilot proves the process works under more challenging geological and chemical conditions.
No expensive exploration needed
Unlike natural hydrogen, this approach does not require expensive exploration. It is already clear where the hydrogen is located in known oil fields.
Existing infrastructure cuts costs
The method uses existing wells, surface facilities and rights-of-way already deployed in oil fields. Sekhon says billions of dollars in infrastructure are already in place, reducing deployment time and production costs.
“You have billions of dollars in a field that's already been deployed, the wells are drilled, the surface facilities are installed, the [rights-of-way] are there.”
Carbon dioxide is also released
The process releases carbon dioxide alongside hydrogen. Eclipse says some carbon dioxide stays underground and emissions can be captured.
Hydrogen burns clean
Hydrogen emits only water vapor when burned and could slash emissions in steel production, ships and other heavy industries that are difficult to decarbonize.
Potential for data centers and trucks
The clean hydrogen produced could power everything from data centers to heavy-duty trucks, offering a new source of low-carbon energy for multiple industries.
The key point
Eclipse, a Houston startup, is using microbes to produce clean hydrogen from end-of-life oil wells in West Texas, offering a potentially cheaper alternative to other hydrogen production methods.
