Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has invested in Colorado-based geological hydrogen exploration company Koloma.
The company’s American subsidiary, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHA), executed the investment, joining the likes of Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and United Airlines.
Koloma is actively engaged in exploration and is evaluating potential assets in the US.
Pete Johnson, CEO of Koloma, said that partnerships, such as the one with MHI, will help to maximise the impact of geological hydrogen as a clean primary energy source.
The announcement fits into MHI’s strategy, too.
Takajiro Ishikawa, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, explained, “Building a hydrogen solution ecosystem is one of the core strategies in the energy transition business for MHI.”
“MHI hopes to accelerate the hydrogen economy by both offering cutting-edge technologies and enabling breakthrough innovations in the hydrogen space through investments into startups.”
Geological hydrogen, also known as white hydrogen, describes the gas when it is formed by natural processes within the Earth’s crust, where it can accumulate as well as keep being produced in underground reservoirs.
Read more: Natural hydrogen is gaining ground – and political interest
Geological hydrogen has come under scrutiny from some companies, however.
Earlier this year (Feb 2024), Air Products dismissed the opportunity to source natural, geological hydrogen – so-called white hydrogen – as ‘pie in the sky’.
Read more: Air Products CEO says opportunity in natural hydrogen is ‘pie in the sky’
The company’s Chairman, President, and CEO, Seifi Ghasemi, was asked about the opportunity in an earnings call and said the company doesn’t have any involvement in the geological hydrogen space.
He added that the notion that there was geological hydrogen just sitting there waiting to be tapped, and that it could be easily extracted, was not realistic.
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