Generic Geological Process Modeling: Applications for Critical Minerals and Natural Hydrogen

The strong and rapid increase in production of critical raw materials such as metals and the possibility to explore for natural hydrogen resources requires new and innovative technologies to reduce risk and to support informed investment decisions. This paper illustrates the workflows and technologies of geological process modeling and illustrates their application for mineral systems and hydrogen systems. The presented modeling technologies and workflows are equally applicable for other applications such as CCS, geothermal and geological energy storage solutions. Selected case studies illustrate the applications, challenges and opportunities as well as the necessary new physics, chemistry and workflows to support those applications. One of the key elements in all the possible applications is a better understanding of the water flow and the rock/water and water/water interactions. Reactive flow modeling allows us to rapidly test different hypothesis to de-risk exploration projects from minerals to hydrogen and beyond.