Geological Reservoirs for an Efficient Energy Transition

A growing body of scientific literature has explored the potential of utilizing geothermal brines as secondary sources of critical elements needed for the energy transition. Numerous studies have demonstrated that these brines contain substantial amounts of metals, including copper, lithium, and cobalt, as well as critical elements such as hydrogen and helium. Hydrodynamic simulations demonstrated that 10,000 years of magma degassing can generate a Cu-rich brine lens containing up to 1.4 million tons of Cu in a rock volume of a few kilometers at 2 kilometers depth. Measured fluxes of gold and silver in Taupo, New Zealand, are so high as to supply enough metal in ∼50,000 years to match the inventories of the largest hydrothermal ore deposits in the world. In general, most of the studies are data-mining-oriented and focused on compiling terrestrial inventories. The underlying controlling mechanisms of metal enrichment in these systems remain poorly understood. If data mining is certainly a crucial first step in understanding which geodynamic environments favor the enrichment of critical metals, understanding the enrichment processes in these geothermal brines will guide the sustainable exploration of the resource. Here, we review the potential sites on the Canadian craton where brines could have enhanced their metallic load or have accumulated critical elements such as hydrogen or helium, and their economic potential.

Hydrogen is considered to be a key component of the decarbonization strategy of many countries targeting domains such as mobility, as well as heavy and chemical industries.

The hydrogen demand is expected to increase sixfold by 2050, creating a $1.4 Tn market. But there’s a fundamental issue: current hydrogen production technologies come either with exorbitant capital costs and prohibitive operational expenditures, or with unsustainable carbon impact, up to 10 kg CO₂/kg H₂ for the main hydrogen technology today: steam methane reforming.

Here, we explore an alternative option and highlight the benefits of rock-based hydrogen. We show that the exploitation of subsurface hydrogen not only has the capacity to answer the growing demand for decarbonized hydrogen, but can do so at a competitive price, without requiring subsidies or green premium.

Helping accelerate the hydrogen economy, Orange Hydrogen holds the key to bridging pricing and demand.

Climate change demands a significant transformation of the energy sector, where hydrogen can play an essential role. Natural hydrogen emerges as a primary energy source, whereas other forms of hydrogen are mainly vectors produced from other resources. Green hydrogen, generated by electrolysis using renewable electricity, is also considered for temporary underground energy storage. In both scenarios, accurate measurement and interpretation of hydrogen emissions at the surface are crucial to identify exploration zones and to monitor storage sites for potential leaks.

However, these measurements remain sensitive to artifacts that may mislead interpretations. Anthropogenic hydrogen can be generated during drilling for sampling through various mechanisms such as “drill metamorphism”, tool corrosion, or mechanoradical reactions.

This study developed a comprehensive protocol to evaluate how soil conditions and sampling techniques influence artificial hydrogen generation. Laboratory simulations on different soil types and probe installation methods show that certain parameter combinations can produce over 1000 ppm of hydrogen. Such a signal is comparable to or even exceeds natural anomalies observed in soils worldwide.

These findings highlight the necessity for robust protocols to distinguish genuine anomalies from artifacts. Enhancing surface sampling methods is now vital, both for exploration of natural hydrogen and for monitoring geological reservoirs involved in the energy transition.

This session explores the uses of hydrogen, distinguishing between applications where it is directly consumed (e.g., green explosives, clean fuels) and those requiring large-scale storage, particularly for balancing the power grid. Two underground storage technologies are highlighted: salt caverns and lined hard-rock caverns. Québec has limited salt formations, except in the Magdalen Islands, which present a unique case with a high-emitting thermal plant, planned wind projects, and an underlying salt dome. On the mainland, lined hard-rock caverns remain costly, hence the interest in collaborations with Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

The Quest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) facility, operated by Shell Canada on behalf of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP) Joint Venture—comprising Canadian Natural Upgrading Limited, 1745844 Alberta Limited, and Shell Canada Limited—is a fully integrated, commercial-scale CCS operation. Since startup in 2015, Quest has successfully injected ~one million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) annually. To date, the facility has safely stored over nine million tonnes of CO₂ in a deep saline aquifer known as the Basal Cambrian Sandstone (BCS), located approximately two kilometers beneath the surface.

The Quest site was carefully selected to ensure safe, long-term CO₂ storage in a saline aquifer. Key criteria included geological containment, injectivity, monitoring capability, pore space access, cost efficiency, and scalability. The Thorhild area in Alberta was chosen due to its minimal legacy well penetrations, multiple geological seals above the injection zone, and absence of conflicts with oil, gas, or salt cavern operations. These factors, combined with extensive risk mitigation measures, make Quest one of the safest CCS sites globally.

In CCS terminology, the “storage complex” encompasses the injection zone and surrounding geological formations that prevent CO₂ migration. This includes top, base, and lateral seals, as well as internal flow barriers. The specific injection site was selected to optimize the thickness and integrity of the primary seals—two substantial salt layers—which provide robust containment and enhance long-term storage security. This talk will share Quest’s story with a focus on the geological framework that underpins why this a world class storage facility.