DETROIT, MI – Michigan is betting that a big piece of its clean energy future might be buried underground.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a new initiative at the Detroit Auto Show on Thursday, Jan. 15 to explore whether the Great Lakes State might be sitting on vast reserves of naturally occurring hydrogen gas and prepare to tap the potential energy resource.

The push remains at early stages and the feasibility of accessing so-called “geologic hydrogen” at scale is unproven, but scientists have identified Michigan as a prime place to look.

Read more: ‘A new gold rush’: Could Michigan’s clean energy future be buried underground?

“When you look at the resources that we have under our feet here, it sets Michigan apart from everyone else. We’re all looking for clean, affordable energy, and we may be right on the cusp of really changing the landscape,” Whitmer told reporters.

Hydrogen, the universe’s most abundant element, has long been hyped as a futuristic clean fuel. Burn it, and all you get is water.

But today it’s primarily produced with fossil fuels, unleashing planet-warming emissions, and green sources reliant on renewable energy are too costly to lure industry.

The accidental discovery of nearly pure hydrogen at a well drilled for water near a West African village, coupled with research showing the element may accumulate underground across the globe in ways scientists previously dismissed, has spurred geologists and startups to pursue it.

In January 2025, the U.S. Geological Survey released a first-of-its-kind map of the most likely places to look across the nation.

Because of its geology, Michigan is a top candidate. Though the researchers who produced the map caution that their work is far from a chart revealing where hydrogen actually is or telling prospectors where to drill.

Globally, USGS geologists estimate underground hydrogen could supply humanity’s projected demand for thousands of years. But much of it is likely to be too deep, too far offshore or too scattered to capture economically.

Still, if just 2% could be extracted, it would provide roughly twice the amount of energy from all the proven natural gas reserves on Earth, they say.

Michigan has only two recorded hydrogen discoveries, near Ann Arbor and Belleville, amid some 60,000 boreholes drilled for oil and gas exploration.

Researchers and state officials told MLive last year that efforts to locate more natural hydrogen have been limited.

Whitmer aims to catalyze the hunt by creating a new initiative within her office through an executive directive signed Thursday. It directs a number of state agencies to submit reports by April 1, 2026 on regulatory and permitting frameworks, as well as research needs and technical challenges for geologic hydrogen exploration.

That includes a report from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources on any legal changes that might be necessary to enable leasing of state-owned subsurface rights and a submission from the Michigan Public Service Commission on the suitability of existing pipelines for transporting hydrogen.

Michigan State University has formulated a research proposal around locating specific hydrogen deposits, MLive reported in April 2025, but university officials say it is still pending and has not been started.

“With the right coordination across state agencies, research institutions, and the private sector geological hydrogen can move rapidly from scientific promise to practical application, supporting hydrogen-powered mobility, clean energy independence, and the advanced manufacturing opportunities that will define Michigan’s next era of innovation,” said Judd Herzer, MSU’s director of mobility research and innovation in a statement included with the governor’s announcement.

In an interview, Herzer added that Whitmer’s directive signals that Michigan wants to play a leading role in geologic hydrogen, offering a particular economic opportunity for rural communities in the state.

Exploratory drilling for geologic hydrogen is progressing on almost every continent, including efforts in France and Australia. The first American borehole was drilled in a Nebraska cornfield in 2019.

Michigan state officials say if the reserves exist and can be tapped here, they might amount to a “new gold rush” unlocking big profits and jobs, while offering a new pathway to decarbonize polluting industries, like steelmaking or cement production, and cut emissions in heavy-duty transportation.

Supporters also see potential in using hydrogen to store energy in giant batteries for the power grid.

Still, skeptics caution that proven challenges around transporting and storing the element have limited its adoption.

“I think there’s a huge potential here, and that’s why I signed this executive directive today,” Whitmer said. “It’s really important that we have the opportunity to really assess what’s possible.”

MLive Photographer and Multimedia Specialist Jacob Hamilton contributed reporting.