Viridien partners with Mantle8 to accelerate natural hydrogen exploration in EMEA

Viridien takes a strategic stake in Mantle8 to boost natural hydrogen exploration across Europe, the Middle East and Africa by combining geological data and seismic detection technologies.

Share:

Gain full professional access to energynews.pro from 4.90$/month.
Designed for decision-makers, with no long-term commitment.

Over 30,000 articles published since 2021.
150 new market analyses every week to decode global energy trends.

Monthly Digital PRO PASS

Immediate Access
4.90$/month*

No commitment – cancel anytime, activation in 2 minutes.

*Special launch offer: 1st month at the indicated price, then 14.90 $/month, no long-term commitment.

Annual Digital PRO Pass

Full Annual Access
99$/year*

To access all of energynews.pro without any limits

*Introductory annual price for year one, automatically renewed at 149.00 $/year from the second year.

Viridien, a company specialised in advanced technologies, digital data and land studies, has entered into a strategic partnership with French geosciences firm Mantle8, which focuses on natural hydrogen exploration. The agreement is backed by a direct equity investment from Viridien in Mantle8, aimed at strengthening exploration capabilities across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

Through this partnership, Mantle8 gains exclusive access to GeoVerse, Viridien’s global geological database widely used across the industry to identify complex underground structures. The collaboration also includes the integration of passive seismic sensors WiNG DFU-3C from Viridien’s Sercel division, developed to map underground hydrogen production systems with enhanced resolution.

Combining data and sensors to accelerate field campaigns

Initial deployments are intended to test and optimise technologies in real conditions to more rapidly generate commercially viable leads. The combined use of the GeoVerse database and WiNG DFU-3C sensors will, according to project stakeholders, reduce uncertainties in identifying high-potential natural hydrogen zones.

Mantle8’s management stated that this approach enables the accelerated development of predictive identification models while improving the security of future drilling programmes. The company highlights that Europe holds underexploited reserves of natural hydrogen, despite growing interest in evaluating their commercial potential.

Recent fundraising and initial findings

Earlier this year, Mantle8 raised €3.4mn from Kiko Ventures and Breakthrough Energy Europe to finance its exploration activities. At its Comminges site in the French Pyrenees, the company reports having detected some of the highest hydrogen concentrations ever recorded in Europe. These results were achieved by combining its proprietary HOREX® multiphysics imaging technology with the WiNG DFU-3C sensors.

The first complete images of an active underground hydrogen system were thus produced, marking a notable advance in the sector. Detailed results from the analysis campaigns conducted at the Comminges site are expected in September 2025.

Strengthening Europe’s position in global competition

The deal with Viridien comes as several countries, including the United States, Russia and Australia, ramp up their efforts to explore natural hydrogen. In this competitive context, geoscience and detection technologies serve as key enablers to accelerate the development of exploitable resources in the EMEA zone.

Executives from both companies emphasise the complementarity of their tools and their capacity to industrialise the identification of exploitable zones more quickly. The goal is to launch commercial projects on a shorter timeline, backed by validated data and targeted drilling campaigns.

UK-based manufacturer ITM Power has signed an engineering contract for a green hydrogen project shortlisted under the country's second Hydrogen Allocation Round.
Agfa strengthens its industrial position with the launch of a ZIRFON membrane production site for electrolyzers, backed by a €11mn European subsidy.
Driven by Air Liquide and SEGULA Technologies, the ROAD TRHYP project aims to lower hydrogen transport costs and improve safety through a series of technical innovations by 2030.
Qair obtains structured bank financing of €55mn for its Hyd’Occ ecosystem, integrating renewable hydrogen production and distribution in Occitanie, with commissioning scheduled before the end of 2025.
Swedish firm Metacon has secured a EUR7.1mn ($7.7mn) contract to deliver a 7.5 MW electrolysis plant to Elektra Power SRL, marking its operational entry into the Romanian market.
The Clean Hydrogen Partnership has closed its first call for Project Development Assistance (PDA), totaling 36 applications from 18 countries. Results are expected in October, with support starting in November.
Kandla port plans a 150,000-ton-per-year integrated renewable methanol unit, targeting the growing fleet of compliant vessels on the Singapore-Rotterdam maritime route.
OMV is investing several hundred million euros in a 140 MW electrolysis unit in Austria, set to produce 23,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually to supply its Schwechat refinery.
Jolt Green Chemical Industries appoints Dyar Al-Safwah to engineer a high-performance electrode facility at King Salman Energy Park, backed by the Ministry of Energy.
With the certification of three new sites, Lhyfe takes the lead in the European RFNBO hydrogen market, reaching 21 MW of installed capacity across France and Germany.
VINSSEN becomes a central player in designing the world’s first commercial transport vessel fully powered by a fuel cell using ammonia as a hydrogen carrier.
The global hydrogen production market is expected to more than double by 2035, supported by technological advances and growing demand from transport, heavy industry and decarbonised energy systems.
Accelera will supply a 5MW electrolysis system at the Port of Schweinfurt, aiming to produce 2.2 tonnes of green hydrogen daily for industrial and logistics applications in central Germany.
The Sauda municipal council has approved the zoning plan for the Iverson project, paving the way for a 270 MW electrolysis facility powered by hydropower to produce renewable ammonia.
Sinopec reaches a milestone in hydrogen logistics with a 1,500 km journey from Shanghai to Hubei, supported by a network of 146 stations and 11 supply centres.
Meeting in Berlin, the H2med Alliance formalised the integration of 40 new industrial members and received increased government backing to accelerate the development of Europe's hydrogen corridor.
Woodside Energy, Japan Suiso Energy and Kansai Electric Power are joining forces to develop a liquid hydrogen supply chain between Australia and Japan, with production planned at a new facility in Perth.
Element One Hydrogen announces the acquisition of two geological properties focused on natural hydrogen and critical minerals in Canada for $10,000 and 1.25 million shares.
Cavendish Hydrogen has signed a contract with PAK-PCE H2 Stations to upgrade the Rybnik station, which will now support a fleet of more than 30 hydrogen-powered buses in southern Poland.
Storengy strengthens its footprint in the Grand Est region with two new exploration permits, expanding its research programme on underground hydrogen storage.