Basic information about the H2-QUEST project

Project name:

Exploration and Evaluation of European Natural Hydrogen Potential

Shortened project name:

H2-QUEST

Project status:

Project in progress

Financing Program:

Horizon Europe – Research and Innovation Programme Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Call: HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2025
Topic: HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2025-01-07 – Towards Exploration and Evaluation of European Natural Hydrogen Potential

Project number:

101251033 

Project implementation period:

30 months (January 2026 – June 2028)

Cooperation partners and contact persons:

• Project coordinator: Stéphane Polteau, Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Norway
• TUL project coordinator: Mgr. Kateřina Černá, Ph.D.

Objectives and content:

Natural hydrogen (H₂) represents a potentially clean and sustainable energy resource that could contribute to Europe’s energy independence and transition towards a low-carbon economy. The H2-QUEST project aims to advance methods for natural hydrogen exploration and deliver a first evaluation of natural H₂ resource potential across Europe.

The project investigates the geological, geochemical and microbiological processes controlling H₂ generation, migration, accumulation, preservation and seepage. By integrating multidisciplinary surface and subsurface data, H2-QUEST aims to improve our ability to distinguish geological from non-geological H₂, link surface H₂ anomalies to subsurface processes, and identify areas with potential for economically viable natural hydrogen accumulations.

The project is coordinated by the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Norway, and brings together European research institutes, universities, companies and an associated research partner with expertise spanning geology, geochemistry, geophysics, microbiology, modelling and hydrogen exploration.

TUL contributes primarily to the microbiological investigation of natural H₂ systems:

• Microbiological characterization of natural H₂ field sites – collecting and analysing microbiological samples from selected European field sites and linking microbial community composition with H₂ and geochemical observations.
• Distinguishing geological and biological H₂ signals – investigating the contribution of microorganisms to H₂ production and consumption to support interpretation of H₂ anomalies detected at the surface.
• Understanding microbial H₂ cycling – assessing microbial processes that may influence the preservation or degradation of natural H₂ and therefore its accumulation in geological systems.
• Integrating microbiology into H₂ exploration – combining microbiological observations with geochemical and geological data to improve multidisciplinary approaches for identifying and evaluating natural H₂ systems.

Through H2-QUEST, TUL will gain access to and characterize unique natural H₂ field sites, generating new microbiological data and strengthening its expertise in natural hydrogen research and exploration.

FUNDING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The H2-QUEST Project has received funding from the European Union Horizon Europe Research and Innovation program under grant agreement No. 101251033. The project is supported by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and its members.