Palawan Wants DOE to Restart Hydrogen Hunt as ‘White Hydrogen’ Raises New Energy Hopes

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — Palawan is pushing the national government to get back to work on what could become one of the Philippines’ most closely watched clean-energy prospects: naturally occurring, or “white,” hydrogen.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Palawan has called on the Department of Energy (DOE) to resume and accelerate exploration and research into the province’s potential hydrogen resources, saying the emerging energy source could eventually add another layer to Palawan’s energy future.

SP Member Ryan Maminta, chair of the provincial council’s committee on energy, said the DOE had already conducted exploration activities in Palawan but that the work later stopped. The provincial resolution seeks to encourage the energy department to continue the research.

The push comes as interest in natural hydrogen is growing across the Philippines and around the world.

Palawan already showed promising signs

The DOE conducted a reconnaissance survey in Palawan from August 12 to 15, 2025, as part of a nationwide effort to assess the country’s potential for native hydrogen.

Technical personnel from the DOE’s Energy Resource Development Bureau and Energy Research and Testing Laboratory Services examined possible hydrogen-bearing areas and collected water, gas and rock samples from hot springs and geological formations in Sofronio Española, Narra and Puerto Princesa City.

Two sites stood out: Kay’s Hot Spring in Barangay Sta. Lourdes, Puerto Princesa City, and Bato-Bato Hot Spring in Barangay Calategas, Narra.

The DOE said the initial fieldwork produced “promising indicators” of naturally occurring hydrogen, suggesting that Palawan could contribute to the country’s clean-energy transition alongside existing energy resources such as the Malampaya project.

But there is an important distinction: promising indicators do not yet mean a proven commercial hydrogen reserve.

The samples collected during the survey were intended for laboratory analysis to determine the resource’s potential and help guide future exploration and development decisions.

What makes ‘white hydrogen’ different?

Natural hydrogen—also called native, geological or white hydrogen—is hydrogen gas that occurs naturally beneath the Earth’s surface.

That makes it different from hydrogen produced industrially.

Natural hydrogen can form through geological processes, including interactions between water and certain rocks. Scientists have identified naturally occurring hydrogen in various parts of the world, but one of the major challenges remains determining whether a particular site contains enough hydrogen, at the right concentration and with the right geological conditions to make extraction economically viable.

That uncertainty also applies to the Philippines.

A DOST report on natural hydrogen research in Zambales noted that scientists know hydrogen exists at several Philippine sites, but questions remain over how much can actually be recovered and whether extraction would be economically worthwhile.

Zambales discovery shows why the Philippines is paying attention

The Palawan push is part of a broader national interest in natural hydrogen.

Research in San Antonio, Zambales, has produced particularly striking results. A DOST report said researchers measured at least 808 tons per year of natural hydrogen outgassing from the Nagsasa seep—one of the highest measured hydrogen outgassing rates reported from ophiolite-hosted sites.

The study estimated that the surface outgassing could potentially generate between 12,861 and 15,185 megawatt-hours of energy annually, equivalent to as much as 42 percent of San Antonio’s estimated electricity demand.

Researchers, however, have also stressed that converting naturally occurring hydrogen into practical electricity at scale remains a technical and economic challenge.

For Palawan, that means the next stage is critical: determining whether the promising signs detected during reconnaissance surveys translate into a resource that can actually be developed.

DOE’s hydrogen search is expanding

Palawan is not the only province being studied.

DOE previously conducted reconnaissance work in Zambales and Pangasinan, using hot springs and geological formations as potential indicators of natural hydrogen.

The department has described these surveys as part of a larger initiative covering the country’s ophiolite belts—geological formations considered important targets in the search for natural hydrogen.

The growing government interest also comes as the Philippines explores hydrogen as a possible future energy source.

Recent reporting by the Philippine Daily Inquirer shows that the DOE has continued looking into native hydrogen as part of efforts to diversify the country’s energy resources.

Why Palawan’s push matters

Palawan has long been associated with the Malampaya gas field, one of the Philippines’ most important domestic sources of natural gas.

The emergence of natural hydrogen could potentially give the province another strategic energy role—but that possibility remains dependent on further scientific assessment, exploration and eventual proof of commercial viability.

For the provincial government, the argument is straightforward: if the resource is there, exploration should continue.

Maminta said the indigenous energy source could potentially be developed for use in the province and, in the future, possibly contribute to energy needs beyond Palawan.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has also highlighted hydrogen as part of the country’s emerging energy strategy. During his 2026 State of the Nation Address, he said four contracts had been awarded for hydrogen production and described hydrogen as a potential backup fuel for power plants, particularly in off-grid areas.

The big question is still underground

Palawan’s hydrogen story is promising—but it is not yet a discovery story in the commercial sense.

The province has geological indicators. DOE scientists have collected samples. Government agencies are studying the data. And the provincial government now wants the exploration effort restarted.

What remains unknown is arguably the most important part: how much hydrogen is actually underground, how consistently it can be recovered, and whether extracting it can be done safely and economically.

Those answers will determine whether Palawan’s hot springs are merely geological curiosities—or the first clues to a new chapter in the Philippines’ energy story.

For now, the provincial council is asking DOE to resume the hunt.

And if the next round of exploration confirms what the early samples suggest, Palawan could find itself sitting on an energy opportunity far bigger than anyone initially expected.