Updates from the project, longer reads from the team, and moments from the field.
Project Shweta moves from a single prospectivity index to two engines, adding a multi-signal trageting tool that pinpoints soil-gas sampling sites. This new platform significantly reduces the number of sampling sites in a region which has been validated. With the new tool, the team was able to achieve more than 50% accuracy in sampling.
Our abstract has been accepted for H-NAT 2026. The title of presentation is Mapping Subsurface Natural Hydrogen Accumulation Windows: A Hybrid Quantum-Chemical and Kinetic Modelling Framework
The platform is undergoing significant overhaul to include new tools for identifying soil-gas sampling sites.
The natural-hydrogen Prospectivity Index now spans states and districts across the country. This tool can help identify the users if they are looking at right places for the natural hydrogen or not in India
Natural hydrogen accumulation in subsurface ophiolitic settings is emerging as a low-carbon energy source which is governed by coupled mineral redox processes. However, the exploration of such resources requires understanding and accurate prediction of depth-temperature window in which hydrogen-producing serpentinization overtakes hydrogen consuming hematite reduction. The understanding of mechanistic origin of temperature-dependent hydrogen release remains limited.
This paper develops a semiquantitative GIS-based framework to identify promising geological hydrogen exploration targets associated with iron ore deposits in India. The method assumes that hydrogen generation is favored where iron-rich rocks interact with water, while faults provide migration pathways and suitable geological settings may support accumulation. Iron ore locations across Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu were evaluated using Euclidean distances to positive Bouguer gravity anomalies, faults, and surface water bodies. Each parameter was scored from 0.1 to 1.0 and combined through a weighted favorability index, assigning weights of 0.6 to Bouguer anomalies and 0.2 each to faults and water bodies. Magnetic anomalies, mafic or ultramafic lithologies, and aquifer conditions were then used as qualitative checks. Karnataka emerged as the most prospective state, with the highest average favorability index of about 0.92, and several sites approaching or reaching 1.0. Odisha and Jharkhand also contained strong targets, while selected locations in Tamil Nadu showed local promise; Andhra Pradesh ranked lowest overall. The study provides a first-pass national screening tool rather than proof of hydrogen resources, emphasizing that soil-gas surveys, geochemical analyses, improved geophysical data, reservoir characterization, and exploratory drilling are required to robustly validate the identified prospects.
How a prioritised shortlist becomes a real soil-gas campaign on the ground.
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