Gold H2, a climate tech energy company, has announced the successful completion of the world’s first field trial demonstrating subsurface bio-stimulated hydrogen production.
Conducted in a legacy oilfield in California’s San Joaquin Basin, the trial represents a landmark advancement in the energy transition, one that leverages microbiology and existing infrastructure to produce clean hydrogen directly from the subsurface.
The project marks the first-of-a-kind application of Gold H2’s proprietary biotechnology, which harnesses microbiology, depleted oil reservoirs, and existing infrastructure to generate hydrogen in situ, eliminating the need for new drilling, electrolysis, or energy-intensive surface facilities. ChampionX LLC, a global leader in highly engineered technologies that help companies drill for and produce oil and gas safely, efficiently, and sustainably around the world, served as the oilfield services provider, playing a critical role in the efficient deployment and field validation of this breakthrough process.
“Gold H2 exists to do what no one ever has: produce clean hydrogen directly in the subsurface using biology, engineering, and existing energy infrastructure,” said Prabhdeep Singh Sekhon, CEO of Gold H2. “This field trial is tangible proof. We’ve taken a climate liability and turned it into a scalable, low-cost hydrogen solution. It’s a new blueprint for decarbonisation, built for speed, affordability, and global impact.”
Gold H2’s subsurface hydrogen biotechnology represents a transformative shift in clean energy development. California’s depleted oilfields alone could yield up to a quarter trillion kg of low-carbon hydrogen, enough to provide clean power to Los Angeles for over 50 years and avoid roughly 1 billion t of CO2 equivalent. The global potential is far greater.
“This breakthrough isn’t just a step forward, it’s a leap toward climate impact at scale,” said Jillian Evanko, CEO and President at Chart Industries, Inc., Gold H2 investor and advisor. “By turning depleted oil fields into clean hydrogen generators, Gold H2 has provided a roadmap to produce low-cost, low-carbon energy using the very infrastructure that powered the last century. This changes the game for how the world can decarbonise heavy industry, power grids, and economies, faster and more affordably than we ever thought possible.”
“ChampionX is proud to have supported this pioneering effort,” said Deric Bryant, COO and President of Chemical Technologies at ChampionX. “As a technology-focused company that supports sustainable energy production through the entire lifecycle of a well, we’re excited by the results of Gold H2’s field trial and what it could mean for the future of clean hydrogen production.”
Field trial highlights
- Achieving a global first: first-ever demonstration of biologically stimulated hydrogen generation at commercial field scale with unprecedented results of 40% H2 in the gas stream.
- Reimagining clean hydrogen: demonstrates how end-of-life oilfield liabilities can be repurposed into hydrogen-producing assets.
- Repurposing infrastructure: conducted using existing wells and infrastructure, enabled by ChampionX’s technical and operational support. This demonstrates the feasibility of leveraging existing infrastructure for scalable hydrogen generation in mature oilfields.
- Scalable and cost-efficient: this field trial marks a critical milestone in system-level validation, elevating the technology to advanced readiness for commercial deployment with targeted hydrogen production costs below US$0.50/kg.
- Delivering decarbonisation: ideal for large-scale clean power needs including grid power, data centres, and for heavy industry.
Proving operational viability: the trial achieved 400 000 ppm of hydrogen in produced gases, an unprecedented concentration for a huff-and-puff style operation and a strong indicator of just how robust the process can perform under real-world conditions.
Following the trial, Gold H2 will continue advancing commercial deployment with additional pilots, asset partnerships, and strategic infrastructure owners across North America and internationally.