初创公司Eden GeoPower正在研发一项创新技术，通过高压电脉冲破裂地下岩石，诱发含铁岩层产生氢气。[1]该公司获得了美国能源部高级研究项目局(ARPA-E)的90万美元资助，属于ARPA-E在2024年向16支团队分配的2000万美元地质氢气刺激技术研发计划的一部分。[1]
Eden的技术在实验室测试中已展现显著效果，与未经断裂的岩石样本相比，能够产生四倍以上的氢气。[1]该公司的电脉冲方案在2025年于科罗拉多州一座废弃金矿的现场试验中成功将硬质火成岩的渗透性提高了十倍。[1]根据该公司的规划，破裂约10米深的硬岩需要约100次脉冲，总耗时从数小时到数天不等。[1]
为推进商业化进程，Eden在波士顿郊外设立了新的测试场地，预计明年底将与一家地质氢气初创公司进行实地试点。[1]理想的氢气产生温度范围约为200至300摄氏度。[1]Eden的顾问Douglas Wicks估计，若美国地质氢气的成功率能达到1%，其储量足以满足经济运转数千年之需。[1]
Startup Eden GeoPower is developing a technique to artificially generate geologic hydrogen by using high-voltage electrical pulses to fracture underground rock formations.[1] The company received a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) as part of a broader 2024 initiative that distributed $20 million across 16 teams working on hydrogen stimulation technologies.[1]
The core approach involves creating water-conductive networks in the subsurface by injecting water into iron-rich rock, where electrical pulses facilitate hydrogen production.[1] Laboratory tests demonstrated that the company's pulsed electrical technology generates four times more hydrogen compared to fractured rock samples that were not subjected to the treatment.[1] In 2025, Eden successfully increased the permeability of hard igneous rock by a factor of ten during field trials at an abandoned gold mine in Colorado.[1] The ideal temperature range for hydrogen generation is approximately 200 to 300 degrees Celsius.[1]
Fracturing hard rock to a depth of roughly 10 meters requires approximately 100 electrical pulses, a process that takes anywhere from several hours to several days.[1] The company has established a new test site outside Boston.[1] Field pilot operations with a geologic hydrogen startup are scheduled to begin by the end of next year.[1] According to Douglas Wicks, if the United States achieves a 1% success rate, geologic hydrogen reserves could sustain economic activity for thousands of years.[1]