Geologic Hydrogen Site Access Challenge
Renaissance Philanthropy Launches New Geologic Hydrogen Research Grants Program
[November 13th, Paris, France] — Today, Renaissance Philanthropy opened a new call for research proposals on geologic hydrogen (geoH₂): the first new zero-carbon primary energy source discovered in 80 years, produced through reactions between iron and water within the Earth’s crust.
GeoH₂ could reshape the global energy landscape. Scientists now estimate there may be more than 5.6 trillion tons of hydrogen locked beneath our feet – roughly sixty times the energy content of all the world’s oil and gas combined. Early models suggest it could deliver clean hydrogen for under a dollar a kilogram, decades faster than the trajectory we’re on today.
The pace of progress is limited not by potential, but by access. Only a handful of scientists have access to frontier data emerging from the world’s first geoH₂ pilots. Opening that data to more researchers will unlock exponential progress: more experimentation, more breakthroughs, and more capital for the whole ecosystem. Renaissance Philanthropy has selected HyTerra Ltd. – a geologic hydrogen company that has recently drilled three of the first dedicated hydrogen exploration wells in Eastern Kansas – to provide access to select datasets in support of this program.
“Every subsurface revolution has taught us the same lesson: collaborating early on shared fundamentals moves capital and progress faster across the entire ecosystem,” says Ishan Sharma, who leads Renaissance Philanthropy’s work on geologic hydrogen. “For the first time in history, researchers will have access to commercial hydrogen well data – and the freedom to publish openly.”
With generous support from Builders Vision, this first-of-its-kind opportunity puts our vision of shared, accelerated progress into motion. Drawing inspiration from the playbooks that transformed shale and geothermal development, the funding will catalyze field-defining research through unprecedented access to data from HyTerra’s three newly drilled wells in the U.S. Midcontinent Rift—among the first hydrogen wells ever drilled.
“We are delighted to be selected by Renaissance Philanthropy to help advance the field of geologic hydrogen with our modern, high-quality data,” said Avon McIntyre, Executive Director of HyTerra. “The sector has attracted huge attention, but almost no subsurface data is available for researchers to analyse. While we’ve completed our own analyses on key data acquired during our 2025 exploration campaign, there is much more to learn from additional, less commercially sensitive datasets. This initiative benefits HyTerra, the research community, and the general public.”
We invite scientists, universities, national labs, and nonprofits to propose research that advances understanding of geologic hydrogen generation, flow, and storage. Utilizing funding from Renaissance Philanthropy and data from HyTerra, selected projects will receive grants of USD $50,000–$100,000 for up to 12 months to conduct open, publishable studies using HyTerra’s data and field assets.
You can read more in our Request for Proposals here and submit your proposal via this form.
About the Sponsors:
Renaissance Philanthropy is a nonprofit organization working to fuel a 21st-century renaissance by increasing the ambition of philanthropists, scientists and innovators. Our aim is to activate a virtuous loop of increasing ambition and impact between philanthropists and innovators: by identifying frontier experts both in science and in new ways of solving problems; by tapping into the growing number of emerging philanthropists; and by building multi-sector initiatives that can harness the power of philanthropy, markets, and governments. We advance our mission by designing, incubating, and managing time-bound, thesis-driven funds.
HyTerra Ltd. (ASX: HYT, OTCQB: HYTLF) is an Australian-based public company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange which operates in the USA under its subsidiaries HYT USA LLC and HYT Operating LLC. HYT is the entity operating its Project Nemaha Hydrogen and Helium exploration activities in Kansas. In 2025, significant exploration activities took place, including 3 wells drilled, airborne gravity and magnetic data and 2D seismic data acquired. HyTerra will work with researchers throughout the study period for immediate access to the results and accelerate its own activities in the field of geologic hydrogen as well as contributing to the industry generally through this research.
