Kansas state geologist outlines hydrogen pathways, storage potential and CO2 safety measures

Jake Palbus, director and state geologist for the Kansas Geological Survey, told the Senate Committee on Utilities that Kansas could produce hydrogen through multiple pathways and store it in the subsurface, potentially positioning the state as a regional hydrogen hub.

Palbus said hydrogen production options include steam methane reforming (the current dominant method), electrolysis powered by wind and solar, and emerging “geologic hydrogen” produced from deep crustal rocks. He also described bedded salt formations in central and western Kansas as a promising, low-permeability medium for storing gaseous hydrogen at scale.

Those technical attributes matter because hydrogen has a wide range of industrial uses, Palbus said: combustion fuels (including aviation demonstrations by manufacturers), fuel cells for stationary manufacturing and heavy transport, chemical and refining uses, and as the feedstock for anhydrous ammonia used in fertilizer. He noted Panasonic’s use of hydrogen fuel cells at an existing plant as an illustration of industrial demand.

“Hydrogen energy is gonna present opportunities for the state of Kansas,” Palbus said, adding that the state’s combination of wind resources, subsurface geology and existing industrial demand gives it an advantage.

Palbus said Kansas’ geological survey produced a CO2 storage risk map based on subsurface characteristics and estimated, hypothetically, about 50 gigatons of CO2 storage capacity in three counties by geology alone. He cautioned that those are theoretical estimates requiring extensive supply-chain work and permitting before any storage program could proceed.

On safety and permitting, Palbus told senators there is a multi-year, federally governed permitting process for CO2 injection that includes rigorous subsurface evaluations of seal adequacy and structural closure. He said the goal is to inject CO2 as a supercritical fluid and promote mineralization—locking CO2 into carbonate minerals—within years rather than leaving it in the gaseous state.

Senator Claes raised a public-safety example—Lake Nyos—and asked about the consequences if CO2 escaped. Palbus replied that the survey’s risk assessments explicitly evaluate seal adequacy and multiple seals, and that operators would need to demonstrate secure structural closure during the EPA’s permitting process before injection.

Palbus described electrolysis as a pathway that could pair Kansas’ wind generation with hydrogen production, using otherwise curtailed or nighttime wind to produce hydrogen. He said electrolysis requires a sustainable water source and the state is evaluating approaches that could return water to the High Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer in some industrial configurations.

He also described nascent “geologic hydrogen” research—methods that may produce hydrogen from deep rock reactions or by injecting hot water into particular rock types—and said the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey and military have active interest in that approach.

When Senator Clifford asked why Kansas had not won a DOE hydrogen hub award, Palbus said Kansas advanced to the final rounds and was named an alternate for funding; he said the proposal was technically strong but conjectured federal politics, geographic considerations and competition for limited dollars may have played a role.

Palbus flagged infrastructure constraints: he noted the Magellan pipeline that formerly carried anhydrous ammonia is out of service, leaving the region relatively distant from existing ammonia distribution, and said hydrogen could open local production and export opportunities for ammonia producers.

Palbus repeatedly emphasized that technical opportunity does not equal immediate deployment: he pointed to the multi-year permitting process for Class VI (CO2) injection wells and the need to link production with off-takers, fueling infrastructure and financing (including the federal 45Q tax credit). He said the Kansas Geological Survey is building statewide datasets and risk maps to help developers target promising areas for further study.

The presentation ended with senators asking technical and timing questions; Palbus said CO2 storage and hydrogen development are progressing nationally and that federal incentives such as 45Q are important to keeping projects viable.

With time limited, Palbus offered to continue questions during the committee’s question period and said he expects to continue working with state and federal partners on mapping, permitting and industry engagement.