Natural Hydrogen 101 with Owain Jackson, CEO of H2Au
By: Nadine Guerfi, KAP Business Development Executive
Featuring: Owain Jackson - CEO of H2Au
Natural Hydrogen is a carbon-free primary energy source that naturally occurs in the Earth’s crust. Often called ‘white’ hydrogen, it offers a cheaper and cleaner alternative to fossil fuels, with the potential to accelerate the global transition to net zero. Yet, despite this promise, it remains one of the least talked-about energy solutions. Why? And what is slowing down its potential commercialisation and mainstreaming?
To explore these questions, we spoke with Owain Jackson, CEO of H2Au, a UK-based pioneer in Natural Hydrogen to get insider insights outlined below.
Natural Hydrogen in the Middle East
Owain’s journey into natural hydrogen began by chance. In 2008, while working in Mali as a geologist in the oil and gas industry, his project team encountered a well producing 98% hydrogen, a discovery that hinted at a new frontier in clean technology. This eventually led to the formation of H2Au in 2022.
H2Au is a UK-based, science-led explorer bringing together expertise from the oil, gas, and mining sectors. Today, the company holds some of the largest and most valuable lease holdings for natural hydrogen in the world, including projects in key industrialised regions of the USA and Africa.
Image from Owain’s field trip to South Africa in February 2025
What Exactly is Natural Hydrogen?
Unlike manufactured hydrogens, like green, blue, or grey, Natural Hydrogen is produced by the Earth itself, which offers a scale unachievable by human-made methods. It can be extracted using established drilling techniques, similar to the ones used in oil and gas. This distinction is crucial, as natural hydrogen does not rely on energy-intensive production methods, it has the potential to achieve cost parity with fossil fuels, something that manufactured hydrogen still struggles with.
Extraction Process and De-risking
The extraction process, as Owain explains, is straightforward: 1) locate the hydrogen deposit, and 2) drill and extract using proven technologies. This is done using existing drilling and separation technologies, negating the need for new "first-of-kind" innovations.
Furthermore, to de-risk natural hydrogen exploration and production, more drilling and testing of hypotheses are necessary to demonstrate sustainable flow rates at commercial levels. Encouragingly, this work is already underway in several regions.
H2Au’s sampling of rocks at Iowa Geological Survey in August 2024
Market Potential: A $6 Trillion Opportunity
In discussing the energy transition, and the global search for cleaner fuels which would meet the world’s sustainability targets as well as its immense energy needs - natural hydrogen has immense market potential, with studies suggesting twice as much recoverable energy available globally as natural gas, translating into a potential $6 trillion market in energy terms alone.
The primary competitive advantage of natural hydrogen is its cost-effectiveness, with production costs potentially falling below $1 per kilo at the wellhead. By comparison, other forms of clean hydrogen are currently five to six times more expensive. In other words, natural hydrogen does not only meet the climate imperative of decarbonisation, but also its cost-competitiveness.
Challenges and Barriers to Mainstreaming
Beyond the incredible benefits of natural hydrogen, it faces challenges familiar to other natural resources.
Regulation: In many countries, existing laws only cover petroleum or mining rights. Updating these frameworks to allow leasing for hydrogen takes time.
Capital: Many investors remain unaware of natural hydrogen’s advantages, creating funding hurdles for exploration.
Awareness: As a relatively new energy category, natural hydrogen still suffers from a lack of visibility compared to solar, wind, or battery storage.
Geography and the Role of Academia
When asked why much of today’s exploration is focused on places like the U.S. and Australia, Owain pointed to two key factors: geology and regulation. Natural hydrogen projects can only thrive where leasing frameworks allow it, and the U.S. in particular benefits from favourable mineral rights laws alongside promising geological conditions.
Academic institutions are also proving to be pivotal players in this emerging industry. By conducting unbiased research, advancing R&D, and advising governments, universities not only help shape regulation but also attract new talent into the sector: a crucial step in building awareness and credibility for natural hydrogen worldwide.
Community Concerns and Responsible Extraction
As with all types of extractions, communities can often raise legitimate concerns about the impact of on their wellbeing, livelihood and their ownership of their community resources. To address this, Owain emphasised the importance of working closely with stakeholders and landowners to ensure sustainability. He noted that natural hydrogen extraction does not typically require fracking and uses well-established, safe drilling techniques, and that hydrogen handling is already a global industry practice. Moreover, explorers such as H2Au are looking to develop projects that will remain for multi-decade timeframes and so working closely with local stakeholders to ensure projects benefit the communities they are in just makes good business sense.
Image from H2Au’s field trip to South Africa in February 2025
Closing Remarks
As Owain Jackson emphasised: ‘Natural hydrogen is here’ and has the potential to transform the world's energy landscape by displacing fossil fuels as a primary energy source. The challenge now is to accelerate awareness, adapt regulations, and scale scientific research to unlock its full potential.
For H2Au, building intellectual property and securing a strong portfolio of leases are key steps toward scaling the industry. By leveraging its existing ‘in-flight’ projects in the U.S. and Africa, the company is positioning itself at the forefront of what could be a transformative energy revolution.
