A deep reservoir for hydrogen drives intense degassing in the Bulqizë ophiolite
Laurent Truche, Frédéric‐Victor Donzé, Edmond Goskolli, Bardhyl Muceku, Corinne Loisy, Christophe Monnin, Hugo Dutoit, Adrian Cérepi
Abstract
Deep crustal production of hydrogen (H 2 ) is a potential source of primary energy if recoverable accumulations in geological formations are sufficiently large. We report direct measurements of an elevated outgassing rate of 84% (by volume) of H 2 from the deep underground Bulqizë chromite mine in Albania. A minimum of 200 tons of H 2 is vented annually from the mine’s galleries, making it one of the largest recorded H 2 flow rates to date. We cannot attribute the flux solely to the release of paleo-fluids trapped within the rocks or to present-day active and pervasive serpentinization of ultramafic rocks; rather, our results demonstrate the presence of a faulted reservoir deeply rooted in the Jurassic ophiolite massif. This discovery suggests that certain ophiolites may host economically useful accumulations of H 2 gas.