Arctic Cold Seep Bacteria Eyed as Route to Hydrogen Fuel
In 2024, 2025, and 2026, Juan Galarza, a molecular ecologist at the University of Oulu, spearheaded research expeditions in the frigid Arctic region north of Svalbard, Norway, to locate cold seeps—cracks in the seafloor releasing methane—where bacteria could generate hydrogen. Supported by H2Future, the team operated deep-sea scanners in shifts, set up camp on deserted islands, and left behind computers during a storm. On the last day of their initial voyage, they validated the presence of a seep. Currently, samples from four active cold seeps are being analyzed in the lab, where Galarza is extracting hydrogen-producing enzymes for E. coli. He cautions that microbes face threats from Atlantification and diminishing sea ice. Over 800 new microbial species were identified. Naomi Boness describes viable natural hydrogen as an 'ultimate game changer.'
Key facts
- Juan Galarza is a molecular ecologist at the University of Oulu in Finland
- Fieldwork targeted cold seeps in the Arctic Ocean north of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway during summer 2024, with return trips in 2025 and 2026
- The project is funded by H2Future, a coalition of European governments and energy investors
- Chartering research vessels and crews costs roughly $20,000 per day
- Samples were collected from four active cold seeps under strict biosecurity measures
- More than 800 species of undescribed microbes were found near the cold seeps
- Galarza proposes splicing hydrogen-producing enzymes into E. coli that could grow on industrial waste like paper mill refuse
- Naomi Boness estimates 50 percent of the global economy will still depend on combustion engines by 2060
Entities
Artists
- Juan Galarza
- Henry Huntington
- Naomi Boness
- Igor Polyakov
- Zach Theiler
Institutions
- University of Oulu
- H2Future
- Ocean Conservancy
- Stanford University
- Center for Fuels of the Future
- Chevron
- University of Alaska Fairbanks
- Smithsonian Magazine
- NOAA Ocean Exploration
- Seascape Alaska
- Oceanic Society
- The New Humanitarian
- Devex
- Thomson Reuters Foundation
Locations
- Arctic Ocean
- Svalbard
- Norway
- Finland
- Longyearbyen
- Alaska
- Fairbanks
- United States
- Washington, D.C.