{
  "abstract": "Mantle rocks undergoing serpentinization at upper-crustal levels can generate significant amounts of natural hydrogen. Although the potential for substantial hydrogen generation during fluid-rock reactions of these rocks is documented by lab experiments and occurrences of hydrogen-rich natural gas seeps, the exact production rates and the factors limiting production remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that in two mantle rock systems with distinct compositions, the fertile lherzolites of the Western Pyrenees and the depleted harzburgites of Northern California, continuous fluid infiltration may sustain hydrogen generation, but only at rates of approximately 500 tonnes per year. Furthermore, by integrating three-dimensional geophysical inversion with a semi-coupled thermo-hydro-chemical model, we show that the main limiting factors controlling hydrogen yield are H₂ saturation in the fluid, porosity evolution at the reaction front, and reaction kinetics. The generation rates determined within the physico-chemical limits suggest that, although natural hydrogen from mantle rock serpentinization is a clean energy source, it may not be renewable on a large scale. Instead, its generation times for substantial accumulations more closely resemble those of fossil-type resources.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "LIAG Institute for Applied Geophysics, Hannover, Germany. r.christiansen@mantle8.com",
    "Mantle8, Sassenage, France. r.christiansen@mantle8.com",
    "LIAG Institute for Applied Geophysics, Hannover, Germany",
    "Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Hannover, Germany",
    "Institute of Geophysics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia",
    "Géosciences Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France",
    "Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), UMR 5563, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, CNRS, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France",
    "United States Geological Survey (USGS), Moffett Field, California, USA",
    "MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany",
    "Institute of Earth System Sciences, Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Rodolfo O. Christiansen",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2378-0145"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Mohamed Sobh",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1769-7353"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Christian Ostertag-Henning",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1185-1305"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Guido M. Gianni",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9036-0621"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Nicolas Saspiturry",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2534-4606"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Sébastien Chevrot",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6508-2524"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "V. E. Langenheim",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2170-5213"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Javier García‐Pintado",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2789-7551"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Gerald Gabriel",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9404-882X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0qsa2rrxrpw28.bib",
  "cited_by": 6,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41467-026-73920-5",
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  "id": "0qsa2rrxrpw28",
  "issns": [
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    "2041-1723"
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  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05778590v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0",
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  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/",
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      "1907|Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis"
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  "pdf_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05778590/document",
  "pmcid": "PMC13260452",
  "pmid": "42276996",
  "published": "2026-06-11",
  "publisher": "Nature Publishing Group",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0qsa2rrxrpw28.ris",
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    {
      "field": "earth",
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      "subfield": "geophysics"
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  "title": "Controls on natural hydrogen generation during serpentinization of mantle rocks",
  "title_text": "Controls on natural hydrogen generation during serpentinization of mantle rocks",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T13:21:19Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0qsa2rrxrpw28",
  "venue": "Nature Communications",
  "versions": []
}