For anyone trying to understand the real potential behind HyTerra's current drilling campaign, it’s worth looking at the work of Dirk Smit, one of the world’s leading geologic hydrogen experts and part of the technical team involved at Hyterra. His model outlines the key ingredients needed for natural hydrogen to be commercially viable. The right rock chemistry (usually iron-rich basement rocks), a steady source of water, fractures or faults to let the reaction happen, and a good trap to stop the gas from escaping.
That’s exactly what HyTerra is targeting. At Sue Duroche 3, they’ve already confirmed up to 96.1% hydrogen and 5% helium, which is a big tick for chemistry and gas generation. But now comes the hard part, proving the hydrogen is actually moving and accumulating in a way that can be extracted. That’s why they’re doing long-term pressure and gas monitoring right now to see if the system is sealed and active, or not.
But the real game-changer could be Blythe 13-20, which just spudded. According to Smit’s model, the deeper and hotter you go, the better the chance for continuous hydrogen generation. Blythe is targeting deeper rocks that haven’t been tested before in this area, and it’s only about 1.4 km from an old well that showed 56% hydrogen decades ago. If Blythe hits another hydrogen zone, or better yet, a flowing system, it could confirm that this isn’t just a one-off pocket, but a field-scale hydrogen system. That’s what would move the dial for investors and institutions alike.
In short: Dirk Smit’s model tells us what success should look like and HyTerra is ticking the boxes, step by step. Blythe is the next big one. If it delivers, it won’t just support the Sue Duroche results, it could redefine the entire potential of the Nemaha Project.
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