UOS GROUP is proud to announce the participation of RED Drilling GmbH in the groundbreaking international research project "Regalor II" in Pontpierre, in the Lorraine region of France, just 50 kilometers from Luxembourg. This operation aims to confirm the existence of massive natural hydrogen deposits – potential "white gold" that could revolutionize the global energy market and play a key role in the energy transition.
Historic Discovery and Global Potential
In accordance with the requirements of this unique global undertaking, our subsidiary RED Drilling from Austria is responsible for the complex drilling operations.
The project gains momentum following a sensational discovery in 2023. Initial research, conducted under the "Regalor I" project by scientists from the University of Lorraine and CNRS in cooperation with industrial partner La Française de l'Énergie (FDE), revealed surprising results. While searching for fossil fuels in the former coal basin in Folschviller, scientists accidentally encountered formation fluids significantly enriched with hydrogen.
This discovery echoed widely in media around the world, from the "New York Times" to CNN. In 2023, the American station titled its report: "They were looking for fossil fuels. What they found could help save the world." Scientific estimates indicate that the Lorraine basin alone could hold 34 million tons of hydrogen, making this region a potential new "Eldorado" for clean energy.
Unique Well in Pontpierre: From Theory to Practice
Currently, as part of the "Regalor II" project, we are entering the verification phase of these revolutionary hypotheses. In Pontpierre, in the eastern part of Moselle, RED Drilling has erected a 41-meter drilling rig. Operations are conducted continuously, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, by a team of approximately thirty engineers and workers.
The goal of the operation, which began in mid-December and will last until mid-February 2026, is to reach a depth of 4,000 meters or even deeper. This is the first initiative of its kind in the world: dedicated drilling to search for dissolved hydrogen.
Progress so far is impressive. Drill bits studded with synthetic diamonds have already reached a depth of 2,234 meters. The latest laboratory tests confirm that hydrogen concentration increases with depth – from 15% at a depth of 1,093 meters to an estimated 98% at 3,000 meters.
Methodology and Future Steps
After drilling is completed, a key testing phase will begin, lasting from two to one and a half years. Innovative, patented technology from partner Solexperts will be used – a special probe that separates gas from water. As Yann Fouan, head of public relations and new projects at FDE, explains, this process resembles separating champagne bubbles from the liquid. This will allow for precise confirmation of the correlation between depth and hydrogen concentration.
The "Regalor II" project is financially supported by public authorities, including the Grand Est region and the European Union, with a subsidy of 8.8 million EUR against a total cost of 14.4 million EUR.
Vision of Industrial Exploitation: Clean Energy without Competition
The board of La Française de l'Énergie (FDE), the industrial partner in the project, looks to the future with optimism. Antoine Forcinal, CEO of FDE, emphasizes that if all tests are successful and the regulatory framework allows for further development, exploitation could begin as early as 2028-2030.
Potential benefits are enormous. Natural "white" hydrogen is generated deep underground (estimated at depths of 4,000-4,500 meters) as a result of oxidation-reduction reactions, and then migrates upwards and dissolves in aquifers.
For UOS GROUP, participation in this historic undertaking is confirmation of our role in global efforts towards innovation and sustainable energy development. We are proud to contribute to a discovery that has the potential to change the world's energy paradigm and offer a clean alternative for decades.
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