[FISH] Qingwang Yuan (Pennsylvania State U.)

“Unlocking Earth’s Potential for Subsurface Hydrogen Production”

Subsurface hydrogen has recently emerged as a potentially low-cost and low-carbon source of energy. Depending on the host geological formation and the underlying generation mechanisms, subsurface hydrogen production can be broadly categorized into two pathways: (1) in-situ hydrogen generation from petroleum reservoirs through thermochemical reactions, and (2) natural and stimulated geological hydrogen (GeoH2) generation through water–rock reactions involving iron-rich formations.

In this talk, I will first provide a high-level overview of these two emerging research areas and then focus on stimulated GeoH2 production from subsurface iron-rich rocks. I will discuss the fundamental mechanisms governing GeoH2 generation through serpentinization, potential stimulation strategies, and ongoing research in our group aimed at enhancing and quantifying GeoH2 production under dynamic subsurface conditions.

Specifically, I will present results from a series of core-flooding experiments using both packed beds of rock powders and consolidated core samples containing engineered fractures over a range of temperatures. Experiments involving injection of pure water, nickel-containing catalyst solutions, and bicarbonate solutions were designed to investigate enhancement of GeoH2 generation through modification of fluid chemistry, catalytic acceleration of water-rock reactions, and increased reactive surface area. These flow-through experiments are complemented by autoclave-reactor studies, enabling systematic comparison between closed-system and open-system hydrogen generation.

Building on insights from these laboratory experiments, I will discuss a simplified modeling framework that incorporates the effectiveness of stimulations to estimate field-scale GeoH2 generation rates and cumulative hydrogen yields. The model is further used to quantify the sensitivity of hydrogen production to key geological, geochemical, and stimulations parameters. Finally, I will discuss how these results can guide experimental design, identify key controls on stimulated GeoH2 production, and inform the translation of laboratory-scale observations toward potential field-scale applications.

Dr. Qingwang Yuan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn State University starting from August 2026. In 2020, he joined Texas Tech University and established The Hope Group focusing on subsurface hydrogen production, enhanced geothermal recovery, and CO2 sequestration. He is a Co-founder and the President of the Association of Geological Hydrogen (AGH), a non-profit organization aiming to advance the global GeoH2 community. He worked as a Postdoc at Stanford University and University of Regina. He received his PhD degree from University of Calgary and MSc and BSc degrees from the China University of Petroleum (East China), all degrees in Petroleum Engineering.

Friday Informal Seminar Hour —

Postdoc-run seminar series within the Earth Resources Laboratory (ERL). Features talks by ERL members as well as special guests from academia and industry on earth science and energy transition topics including geothermal energy, carbon sequestration, geologic hydrogen, and critical minerals / in situ mining.

Contact:  fish_seminar_organizers@mit.edu