US startup uses underground 'lightning' to crack rock and make hydrogen

Eden GeoPower, a Massachusetts-based startup, is developing a novel method to produce hydrogen by sending controlled electrical pulses deep underground. This unconventional approach involves using high-voltage electrical pulses to fracture hard rock and create pathways for water to reach minerals capable of generating hydrogen through natural chemical reactions.

The process, sometimes compared to creating tiny lightning strikes underground, aims to turn rocks into "hydrogen factories." By increasing the permeability of the rock, Eden GeoPower hopes to make the rock's mineral surface more accessible to water, which in turn can trigger the chemical reactions needed to produce hydrogen.

In a demonstration in 2025, Eden GeoPower's technology successfully increased the permeability of a hard igneous rock column by 10 times in a Colorado mine. This increase in permeability is crucial because it determines how easily water can move through the rock and reach the minerals needed for hydrogen production.

Eden GeoPower's system, called electrical reservoir stimulation, involves lowering electrodes into boreholes and sending extremely high-voltage electrical pulses between them. The company has developed two custom systems, named Zeus and Thor, capable of producing surges of several hundred kilovolts. Each pulse creates a localized effect inside the rock, forming tiny plasma channels and expanding rapidly to produce shock waves that fracture the surrounding rock.

The next step for Eden GeoPower is to set up a field-testing site at a horse farm in Massachusetts. After delays caused by weather, equipment issues, and logistical challenges, actual fracturing operations began in June 2026. The company aims to study how its electrical fracturing system performs in a real underground environment.

While laboratory tests have shown that Eden GeoPower's technique can produce up to four times more hydrogen from rock samples than unfractured samples, the process still faces significant challenges. Factors such as temperature, rock chemistry, water chemistry, acidity, and microorganisms can influence hydrogen production. Researchers suggest that further advancements in the technology and understanding of these factors will be necessary for stimulated geologic hydrogen to become a practical and commercially viable energy source.