White gold rush: Saudi university students win hydrogen competition

DHAHRAN: Students from the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals took first place in the inaugural White Gold Rush competition here this week, beating teams from Canada’s University of Waterloo in a contest focused on natural hydrogen. Often called the “new white gold,” hydrogen is being explored as a low-carbon alternative to oil. The competition challenged undergraduate students from the institutions to examine how hydrogen is produced, migrates and accumulates underground, and to develop a framework for hydrogen systems modeled on the petroleum system.