Kansas Sits on a Clean Energy Gold Mine

HyTerra and Prometheus Hydrogen partner to demonstrate the first complete geologic hydrogen supply chain in the US by year-end 2026

31 Mar 2026

Two energy companies have agreed to work together to produce, purify, and deliver hydrogen drawn from underground rock to a commercial customer in the United States, in what would be a first for the natural hydrogen sector.

HyTerra and Prometheus Hydrogen have signed a collaboration agreement to demonstrate a complete geologic hydrogen supply chain from extraction to end-use delivery, with a target completion date before December 2026. The deal involves HyTerra supplying raw gas from a wellsite in Kansas, while Prometheus handles purification, storage, and transport using its solid-state hydrogen technology, which does not require high-pressure pipelines or conventional infrastructure.

HyTerra's Nemaha project sits above the Mid-Continental Rift system in Kansas, a geological formation the company describes as among the most hydrogen-rich in North America. Wells drilled at the site have recorded hydrogen concentrations as high as 96.1%, which the company says are among the highest measured globally. HyTerra holds more than 80,000 acres of leases in the region. Production testing at the McCoy 1 well is scheduled for the second quarter of this year.

Prometheus's storage technology is designed to work in the absence of established distribution networks, a constraint that has limited commercial progress across the sector. A completed demonstration could support further commercial agreements, including with US government and defence clients where Prometheus already has contracts.

Global investment in natural, or geologic, hydrogen has exceeded $1bn, with roughly half directed at US projects, according to industry estimates. Investors and industrial buyers have been watching for a supply chain demonstration that moves beyond geological surveys to actual delivery. Whether the Nemaha project can meet that standard, and on the timeline set, remains to be seen.