What is white hydrogen? Scientists say the clean-energy gas could save the world.

• Hydrogen power is an exciting form of clean energy.
• But hydrogen typically needed to be produced in a lab using energy-intensive methods.
• White hydrogen, a newly identified hydrogen source, could eliminate the need for lab production.

Two scientists in France have discovered the largest known deposit of a clean energy resource that could be a saving grace in mitigating climate change.

Jacques Pironon and Phillipe De Donato, directors of research at France's National Centre of Scientific Research, found a deposit of 6 million to 250 million metric tons of white hydrogen, or naturally occurring hydrogen gas, CNN reported.

White hydrogen is relatively new to scientists. A study in 2018 that analyzed a well in Mali producing 98% hydrogen gas brought the resource to the attention of the scientific community, CNN reported.

Now, researchers across the globe are interested in white hydrogen — and it could help us "get to speed" on saving the world from the climate crisis, geochemist Viacheslav Zgonnik told CNN.

What is white hydrogen and why is it special?

Hydrogen energy is not a new idea — it only produces water when burned, making it an environment-friendly energy source.

But until recently, scientists thought mass amounts could only be produced in a lab.

"If you had asked me four years ago what I thought about natural hydrogen, I would have told you, 'Oh, it doesn't exist,'" Geoffrey Ellis, a geochemist with the US Geological Survey, told CNN.

And turns out, Ellis would've been wrong.

White hydrogen refers to naturally occurring hydrogen. Its "color" indicates its origin: it is naturally produced in the Earth's crust.

Other "shades" of hydrogen are produced in a lab. They include green hydrogen — which is made from electrolysis, the process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen — and gray hydrogen, which is made from methane gas.

While hydrogen is the most abundant element, it is usually attached to other molecules — making the lab production process necessary. But separating hydrogen is energy-intensive and typically powered by fossil fuels, CNN reported.

Because it doesn't require any of these energy-intensive processes, climate experts say white hydrogen could be our saving grace, according to CNN. It's also cheaper: white hydrogen is estimated to cost about $1 per kilogram to produce, while green hydrogen costs about $6 per kilogram, per CNN.

Several start-ups are already exploring how to commercialize white hydrogen, CNN reported.

Ellis told CNN that speed is vital to ensure white hydrogen can help curb the climate crisis.

But Zgonnik told CNN he's hopeful about the turnaround time.

"We have all necessary technology we need, with some slight modifications," Zgonnik said.

The discovery of the largest-known white hydrogen deposit yet comes just months after the hottest summer on global record came to an end — a concerning milestone for climate researchers and activists.