The Gold Hydrogen Program, a coalition of organizations seeking to support the scale of this clean energy resource, announced its launch — and the debut of a pilot microbial Gold Hydrogen Process — during this week’s 2nd American Hydrogen Forum.

A joint industry partnership to commercialize clean, gold hydrogen, the program’s founding members include Cemvita Factory and Chart Industries Inc. Other collaborators include EXP and The Center for Houston’s Future.

Hydrogen can be naturally occurring or manufactured and when burned, its only byproduct is water. At almost double the efficiency of conventional fuel, it is a prized source of clean energy. However, conventional hydrogen production is energy-intensive; thus, hydrogen products are classified by colors — green, blue, grey, brown, and more — that describe the process used for creation (including electrolysis, steam-methane, oil, or coal production methods).

Found naturally deep in the Earth, “gold hydrogen” is an unparalleled resource that until now, has been cost-prohibitive to extract and not commercially viable. However, this could change with new subsurface biomanufacturing techniques, spearheaded by Cemvita, that hold the promise for efficient and clean extraction.

With the potential to revitalize and remediate thousands of depleted, abandoned oil and gas reservoirs around the country, the extraction techniques meld existing infrastructure with cutting-edge microbiology to scale clean energy solutions quickly while creating new revenue streams for heavy industry companies.

"Gold Hydrogen presents a unique opportunity for innovative companies who would like to lead the energy transition, not follow," said Moji Karimi, CEO of Cemvita Factory. "Especially the legacy Oil and Gas companies with existing assets and infrastructure, skilled workforces, and global footprints."

"Reservoir microbiology has incredible potential for unlocking the promise of Gold Hydrogen in a clean, efficient way," said Zach Broussard, Head of Petroleum Microbiology at Cemvita and Gold Hydrogen Program Manager. "Through this program, we are looking forward to collaborating with companies who value true disruptive innovation and are committed to pioneering the clean energy transition, not just talking about it."

"The need for innovative energy solutions is paramount as the world continues to shift towards green energy. To help clients achieve their goals of outcome-focused, safe, and achievable energy solutions, we joined Cemvita and partners on this important initiative," said EXP’s Business Development Director, Energy Services L.J. Guillotte.

Through the Gold Hydrogen Program, member companies will collaborate to generate gold hydrogen cleanly, efficiently, and at scale to meet rising global demand. Program members receive early access to IP at preferential rates, and participation in the group is capped at ten members.