Mantle8, an innovative company specialising in natural hydrogen exploration, has revealed particularly remarkable results regarding the soil gases at Comminges, an area located in the French Pyrenees. These results, reaching 2,500 parts per million (ppm), far exceed the prospectivity threshold of 350 ppm used in the industry to indicate the potential presence of hydrogen. This discovery marks a significant step forward for the company and validates the effectiveness of its proprietary predictive exploration technology.
Innovative Exploration Technology
The technology developed by Mantle8 stands out for its integrated approach that combines geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and numerical modelling. Unlike traditional methods, this approach allows for the mapping of the entire hydrogen generation system, from the mother rock to the trapped reservoir. This process not only detects hydrogen reservoirs but also evaluates their potential in terms of volume and quality with great precision. This method is the first of its kind in the industry.
Results and Outlook for the Comminges Project
The results obtained at Comminges, confirming active hydrogen generation, mark a turning point for the company. Emmanuel Masini, founder and CEO of Mantle8, expressed his enthusiasm: “The Comminges block represents the perfect combination: an ideal pilot area to validate our technologies, with a geological context offering maximum hydrogen potential.” He added that the company is on track to produce hydrogen at a competitive cost of $0.80/kg by 2030.
Next Steps for Exploration at Comminges
Mantle8 anticipates that the Exclusive Research Permit (PER) for the Comminges site will be granted by the end of 2025. In the meantime, the company continues to monitor the site and conduct further studies to optimise exploration, which should reduce the project development time by half while saving several million euros in initial exploration costs.
