U.S.-based clean tech company GeoKiln Energy Innovation executed a Memorandum of Understanding – MoU with the Ras Al Khaimah Energy Authority – RAKEA to explore and create subsurface hydrogen resources in the UAE at Ras Al Khaimah.
The agreement promotes technology demonstration and scale-up by GeoKiln and signifies the deployment of its proprietary Manufactured Subsurface Hydrogen – MSSH™ technology in the Middle East. According to the MOU, GeoKiln and RAKEA will work together on technical studies and subsurface data analysis as well as the design of a potential pilot program so as to validate hydrogen production in the field. Work will focus on evaluating geological conditions, optimising stimulation parameters and establishing a path when it comes to future commercial development.
Under the partnership, RAKEA will offer access to relevant subsurface data and support for local coordination, and GeoKiln will implement its sophisticated subsurface heating technology and engineering workflows along with operational expertise in order to evaluate and carry out pilot activities.
GeoKiln takes advantage of decades of subsurface thermal experience and implements established industrial techniques in an innovative manner to uncover a scalable, low-carbon energy source from the Earth. This strategy could enable a reduction in capital expenditure and time-to-deployment compared to traditional hydrogen pathways by utilising current infrastructure alongside supply chains.
Notably, GeoKiln happens to be a proud participant in the highly competitive international Breakthrough Energy Fellows program, which encourages early-stage concepts and innovations with the potential to significantly decrease emissions of greenhouse gases at scale.
According to CEO and Co-Founder of GeoKiln Energy Innovation, Dr Alexei Tcherniak, “This is a defining moment for GeoKiln as we bring our technology into a region with exceptional geological potential and a clear vision for the future of energy. “Our approach builds on decades of subsurface thermal and reservoir experience technologies that have been proven at scale in oil and gas and applies them in a new way to manufacture hydrogen directly in the subsurface. This collaboration allows us to move from advanced subsurface modelling and engineering design into real-world validation in a setting that has the potential to support large-scale deployment. We are opening a fundamentally new pathway to hydrogen production, one that leverages geology, engineering, and existing industrial capabilities to create a scalable and economically viable solution.”
The MOU on the advancement of subsurface hydrogen resources in the UAE provides a structure for GeoKiln to assess one of the Middle East’s most promising geologic hydrogen areas with a potential path toward obtaining preferred commercial rights over up to 100 km2 in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. As worldwide demand for dependable, low-cost and low-carbon energy continues to rise, GeoKiln is strategically placed at the front lines of an emerging field of hydrogen production a type that transforms the subsurface into a scalable manufacturing system.