Is the exploitation of natural hydrogen just a pipe dream? Especially when you consider the European Union's ambition to produce 20 Mt of RFNBO (Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin) hydrogen by 2030? And can natural hydrogen even be classified as a ‘renewable’ fuel of ‘non-biological’ origin, and to what extent can its extraction meet the EU's demand for ‘clean’ hydrogen?

These questions were posed by Hans Rasmusson, Secretary General of the European Research Institute for Gas and Energy Innovation (ERIG), provoking participants at the international conference and trade fair NetZero & H2Poland, which took place in Poznań on 8-10 April 2025. Among the European experts participating in the debate ‘Natural Hydrogen – an opportunity to meet EU RFNBO hydrogen production targets, or just a pipe dream’ was also a representative of our Institute, Krystian Wójcik (PhD).

He controversially emphasised that the search for natural hydrogen continues to be accompanied by considerable enthusiasm, fuelled by reports of large discoveries of this raw material in Europe.

Participants in the debate 'Natural Hydrogen – an opportunity to meet EU RFNBO hydrogen production targets, or just a pipe dream' during NetZero & H2Poland in Poznań. From the left: Paweł Poprawa (AGH), Teppo Arola (GTK, Finland), Hans Rasmusson (ERIG, Belgium), Carmen Font (Font Corporation, Spain), Krystian Wójcik (PGI-NRI)

Participants in the debate with Leszek Lankof (IGSMiE PAN; first from the left)

Research into natural hydrogen, which occurs in the Earth's crust in a similar way to natural gas, is still at a very early stage. However, it is fascinating for one simple reason: we are witnessing the development of a completely new and untouched branch of geology.

The Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute, together with the AGH University of Science and Technology, the Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences and ORLEN S.A., signed the ‘Polish Initiative for Natural Hydrogen’ in October 2024. Under the patronage of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, these institutions have entered into a scientific and technical cooperation agreement – the seed of a Polish consortium focused on raising funds for geological research on natural hydrogen. This will be a scientific development and implementation of the knowledge on natural hydrogen in Poland collected and systematised by the state geological service, starting in 2025 with the project ’Potential for the exploration and development of natural hydrogen deposits in Poland – STAGE I’, initiated by the Department of Geology of the Ministry of Climate and Environment and financed by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

Participants of the plenary session at NetZero & H2Poland in Poznań

ORLEN S.A.'s hydrogen booth in the exhibition area of the NetZero & H2Poland trade fair in Poznań

Text: Krystian Wójcik
Photos courtesy of Szymon Płoński, Vice President of the Board of the Lower Silesian Hydrogen Valley Association