Juergen Grotsch
Jürgen is currently university lecturer in the Geo-Energy master program at the Friedrich-Alexander
Universität in Erlangen, Germany and advisor to the German government and public on subsurface
storage of nuclear waste. He holds a PhD in geology from FAU which he has done in collaboration
with Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA.
In 1991 he joined Shell International and had various assignments in the Middle East and the
Netherlands where he was amongst others Chief Geologist of NAM B.V. and Head of Geoscience
Services in Europe. During his stay at the Shell Technology Center in Amsterdam, he initiated the
Open Subsurface Data UniverseTM project in 2011 which is currently the largest digital technology
project in the energy industry and beyond providing a standardized cloud-agnostic open-source data
platform as a service for geoscience and energy data.
After retirement from Shell in December 2022, his main focus is now on sustainable subsurface
solutions in the energy transition like Natural Hydrogen Exploration, Geothermal Exploration and
Development and their synergies with net zero brine mining and Helium production. Currently, he is
leading the research project “Natural Hydrogen Exploration in Germany” supported by FAU,
Frauenhofer-IEG, RWTH, LIAG, GFZ and KIT.
Jürgen has been SPE Distinguished Lecturer, is a member of the scholarship organisation
‘Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes’ in Germany as well as of the energy think tank ‘AURIGA’ in
the Netherlands. He is Past-President of the German Geological Society (DGGV) and currently a board
member there. During his career he has published numerous scientific papers and books on
carbonate and clastic sedimentology and reservoirs as well as on Digital Geology.
An estimated 40 start-up companies are now exploring for natural hydrogen globally. Therefore, natural (white) hydrogen is seen as a new alternative net zero emission energy resource within the future energy system. Despite the fact, that natural hydrogen was already found and produced in 1910 in the Leopoldshall salt mine near Stassfurt in Germany, for 4.5 years, no further follow-up work was undertaken until recent exploration successes in Mali, Kansas, Southern Australia and other areas highlighted the abundance of hydrogen in the subsurface and in surface emanations globally. The performed reviews of these global natural hydrogen occurrences illustrate a vast range of geological settings in which natural hydrogen is present. From such natural hydrogen occurrences and their various possible sources, ten different exploration play concepts were developed (Grötsch, 2023) which aim at focusing further research in yet unexplored areas - like Germany and beyond. To address the wide range of possible options within Germany, a multi-disciplinary research consortium was formed between FAU, Frauenhofer-IEG, RWTH, LIAG, GFZ and KIT end of 2023. Aim is to address common data acquisition in the field and lab, create a digital GIS data repository for the whole of Germany, characterize each play concept with actual examples, define the end-to-end play-based exploration workflow for natural hydrogen and to identify viable prospects which are considered material for future development as decentralized energy solutions. For this purpose, key areas within Germany were high-graded and mapped for further study which comprise highly metamorphic complexes, ore deposits, major deep-routed structural lineaments and thrust sheets, organic rich formations, former coal mining locations, volcanic areas, rift grabens and aquifers. The presentation will introduce players and play-concepts of the NHEG-project.
Co-author: Peter Achtziger-Zupančič, Operational Manager Fraunhofer IEG & Lecturer RWTH Aachen, Germany
Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg
University lecturer
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