Earthquakes could be an overlooked source of underground hydrogen fuel

Earthquakes may generate huge volumes of hydrogen within the planet by fracturing rocks that then react with water molecules. This hydrogen could be an overlooked source of energy for life deep underground, as well as for people aiming to extract the gas as an alternative fuel.

The past few years have seen an explosion of interest in finding large deposits of hydrogen gas underground to use as a clean-burning fuel. For the most part, companies searching for these deposits…