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Where hydrogen is found

What is it found in, and where on Earth?

Almost all hydrogen used today is made from natural gas, coal and oil, which are its working "ores". Natural hydrogen gas forms where water reacts with iron-rich rock, but only one well, in Mali, produces it.

Last updated 3 October 2026.

Minerals and ores

Hydrogen has no ore in the mining sense. Industry gets it from compounds. In 2025 between 60% and 65% of the world’s hydrogen was made from natural gas, which is mostly methane (CH4). The IEA gives both numbers in its 2026 review and does not explain the difference1.

In 2023 about 20% came from coal, mostly in China. More than 15% was a by-product of refineries and petrochemical plants2. The Congressional Research Service, which reports to the US Congress, uses older US Department of Energy data. It gives 76% from gas and 22% from coal3. The two estimates cover different years. Also, some estimates include by-product hydrogen and some do not3.

So the “ore grade” of hydrogen is the hydrogen content of its feedstock. Methane is one quarter hydrogen by mass, and water about one ninth. The feedstock sets the emissions. Hydrogen from coal releases about twice as much greenhouse gas per kilogram as hydrogen from natural gas2.

How deposits form

Natural hydrogen forms underground through several processes. The IEA names serpentinisation as the most important: water reacts with iron-rich rock and releases hydrogen1. For a long time, scientists thought that this reaction needs temperatures above about 200 °C. In 2024, two U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists reported growing evidence that it also happens at much lower temperatures, so more rock may make hydrogen4. Ophiolites are groups of mafic and ultramafic rocks (rocks rich in iron and magnesium) whose iron-bearing minerals can make hydrogen in this way1.

Geologists long gave natural hydrogen little attention. They thought it was too reactive and too mobile to collect1. In 1987, drillers looking for water at Bourakébougou, Mali, found hydrogen by accident1. The USGS authors write that the find in Mali is evidence against the long-held view that such fields do not exist4. In 2024 researchers found a reservoir in Albania’s Bulqizë ophiolite. It releases at least 200 tonnes a year from an underground mine1.

The IEA states that it is not known whether some reservoirs refill as they are produced1.

Where the deposits are

No country has proven reserves of natural hydrogen. Exploration covers almost 30 countries, and only one well, in Mali, operates1. The USGS authors expect most hydrogen underground to be too deep, too far offshore or too small to recover at a profit4.

The United States has drilled the most exploration wells, mostly along the Midcontinent Rift1. Explorers have drilled four wells in South Australia since 20231. France drilled a 3,665 m well in March 2026, the deepest so far. China drilled its first well in Inner Mongolia in 20251. Oman and the United Arab Emirates target the Semail Ophiolite1.

For hydrogen made from fossil fuels, the “deposits” are the world’s gas and coal fields. Most hydrogen is made close to where it is used, because little hydrogen is traded5.

What it comes with

Some hydrogen is a by-product of other processes. In refineries in 2025, 36% of the hydrogen used was a by-product, mostly from catalytic naphtha reforming1. The amount of this hydrogen depends on the refinery’s other work, not on hydrogen demand.

Natural hydrogen can occur with helium. Some explorers, such as Gold Hydrogen in Australia and HyTerra in the United States, look for both. Helium sells for more than hydrogen, so it can help pay for a project1.

Sources

  1. 1

    International Energy Agency, 2026. Global Hydrogen Review 2026 , Executive summary pp. 9-14; Middle East effects p. 21; Box 1.1 p. 20; targets p. 31; geological hydrogen pp. 36-42; demand pp. 44-57; transport p. 62; production pp. 83-85, 106; costs pp. 110-116; RED transposition p. 133; trade p. 143; policy p. 194; definitions pp. 257-258.

    Hydrogen demand, production routes, costs, emissions, trade and natural hydrogen for 2025.

    • mostly natural gas (accounting for roughly 60% of output)
    • in 2025, almost 65% of hydrogen produced globally was produced from natural gas
    • serpentinisation is considered the most significant: reactions between water and iron-rich rocks that generate hydrogen
    • ophiolites are a distinctive assemblage of mafic and ultramafic rock formations whose iron-bearing minerals can generate hydrogen through serpentinisation
    • high reactivity and diffusivity were thought to limit accumulation
    • The accidental discovery of a natural hydrogen well in Bourakébougou, Mali, during water drilling in 1987
    • in 2024, researchers identified a hydrogen reservoir in Albania’s Bulqizë ophiolite … outgassing at least 200 tpa H2 from an underground mine
    • The extent to which some natural hydrogen reservoirs may be replenished during production remains unknown
    • geological hydrogen exploration spans almost 30 countries, but remains at an early stage, with only one operating well in Mali
    • The United States accounts for the most exploration drilling … concentrated along the Midcontinent Rift, with ongoing drilling in Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa
    • drilling began in South Australia in 2023, with four wells drilled to depths of up to 855 m
    • in March 2026, a 3 665 m well was drilled, the deepest globally for natural hydrogen. China drilled its first natural hydrogen well (800 m) in Inner Mongolia in 2025
    • In Oman, interest focuses on the Semail Ophiolite … a national oil company is targeting first drilling in 2026 in the Semail Ophiolite
    • hydrogen obtained as a by-product in processes (36%) such as catalytic naphtha reforming
    • Gold Hydrogen’s Ramsay project in Australia and HyTerra’s Nemaha project in the United States … it commands a higher market value than hydrogen
  2. 2

    International Energy Agency, 2024. Global Hydrogen Review 2024 , p. 61 (production by route); p. 203 (emissions intensities).

    Shares of natural gas, coal and by-product hydrogen in 2023, and emissions per kilogram by route.

    • unabated coal gasification accounted for 20% of the global total in 2023, and is predominantly located in China. In addition, more than 15% of hydrogen globally is produced as a by-product in refineries and in the petrochemical industry
    • unabated natural gas, which emits 10-12 kg CO2equivalent (CO2-eq)/kg H2 … unabated coal, which can have emissions of 22-26 kg CO2-eq/kg H2
  3. 3

    Congressional Research Service, 2024. Hydrogen Production: Overview and Issues for Congress (R48196) , Summary; pp. 2-4 and Figure 1; pp. 14-18.

    World production estimates and route shares from US DOE; the 45V tax credit, the hydrogen hubs and the debate in Congress.

    • 76% of hydrogen produced globally … 22% of hydrogen globally
    • Estimates of hydrogen production may cover onpurpose hydrogen, or they may cover both on-purpose and byproduct hydrogen combined
  4. 4

    Geoffrey S. Ellis and Sarah E. Gelman (U.S. Geological Survey), Science Advances, 2024. Model predictions of global geologic hydrogen resources , Abstract; Results, Fig. 3.

    Model estimate of natural hydrogen in place in the Earth's subsurface.

    • have generally been regarded as requiring high temperatures … there is growing evidence that these reactions can take place at much lower temperature conditions
    • a recent discovery of a substantial accumulation of natural hydrogen in Mali, Africa … has challenged the long-held view that such fields do not exist
    • recovery of most subsurface hydrogen can be expected to be in accumulations that are too deep, too far offshore, or too small to be economically recovered
  5. 5

    International Energy Agency, 2025. Global Hydrogen Review 2025 , pp. 42, 80, 112, 218.

    Production in 2024, refining uses and the US 45V deadline.

    • production remains largely co-located with demand, with minimal international trade today