pilot project
Houston startup launches groundbreaking mineral hydrogen pilot
Houston climatech company Vema Hydrogen recently completed drilling its first two pilot wells in Quebec for its Engineered Mineral Hydrogen (EMH) pilot. The company says the project is the first EMH pilot of its kind.
Vema’s EMH technology produces low-cost, high-purity hydrogen from subsurface rock formations. It has the capacity to support e-fuel and clean mobility industries and the shipping and air transport markets. The pilot project is the first field deployment of the company’s technology.
“This pilot will provide the critical data needed to validate Engineered Mineral Hydrogen at commercial scale and demonstrate that Quebec can lead the world in this emerging clean energy category,” Pierre Levin, CEO of Vema Hydrogen, said in a news release.
Levin added that the sample collected thus far in the pilot is “exactly what we expected, and is very promising for hydrogen yields.”
Through the pilot, Vema will collect core samples and begin subsurface analysis to evaluate fluid movement and monitor hydrogen production from the wells. The data collected from the pilot will shape Vema's plans for commercialization and provide documentation for proof of concept in the field, according to the news release.
“Vema Hydrogen perfectly embodies the spirit of the grey to green movement: transforming mining liabilities into drivers of innovation and ecological transition,” Ludovic Beauregard, circular economy commissioner at the Thetford Region Economic Development Corporation, added in the release.
“This project demonstrates that it is possible to reconcile the revitalization of mining regions, clean energy and sustainable economic development for these areas.”
In addition to its pilot in Canada, Vema also recently signed a 10-year hydrogen purchase and sale agreement with San Francisco-based Verne Power to supply clean hydrogen for data centers across California. The company was selected as a Qualified Supplier by The First Public Hydrogen Authority, which will allow it to supply clean hydrogen at scale to California’s municipalities, transit agencies and businesses through the FPH2 network.
Vema aims to produce Engineered Mineral Hydrogen for less than $1 per kilogram. The company, founded in 2024, is working toward a gigawatt-scale hydrogen supply in North America.