Cemvita to produce Gold Hydrogen in situ using subsurface microbes

Cemvita Factory announced multiple developments with its Gold Hydrogen business producing hydrogen in situ.

After achieving a key milestone in microbe performance required to produce hydrogen at $1/kg in the lab, Cemvita successfully completed a field pilot program with positive results.

Following successful field trial results, Cemvita created a wholly owned subsidiary for the Gold Hydrogen business, Gold H2 LLC (GH2). It subsequently raised funding, led by founding investors Chart Industries and 8090 Industries.

Cemvita defines Gold Hydrogen as the biological production of hydrogen in the subsurface through the consumption of trapped or abandoned resources. Gold Hydrogen is a novel source of carbon-neutral hydrogen produced from depleted oil reservoirs ready for plug and abandonment, extending the life of wells that would otherwise be a significant burden.

Cemvita scientists increased microbe performance by six and a half times the rate needed to produce hydrogen at $1/kg, a key milestone to advance the program toward commercialization. The subsequent field trial was completed in the Permian basin with a partnering company, where the team successfully measured hydrogen concentrations three orders of magnitude above baseline.

Rayyan Islam, Co-Founder and General Partner at 8090 Industries, said, “8090 Industries is thrilled to be a founding investor in supporting Cemvita’s spin-out initiative Gold H2, which is pioneering a new dawn for the energy industry.”

Zach Broussard, Director of Gold H2 at Cemvita, added, “As we continue to use hydrogen producing microbes downhole, we anticipate we can achieve rates that will translate to hydrogen production at $1/kg or less.”

Jill Evanko, Chart Industries’s CEO and President, commented, “The commercialization and economics of the hydrogen economy will require technologies that produce the hydrogen molecule at a meaningful scale with no carbon emissions.”

Charles Nelson, Chief Business Officer of Cemvita, noted, “By deploying the business through the flexible subsidiary route, we can effectively maximize the commercial value of the program back to the parent company, Cemvita, through both licensing and enterprise value growth.”