Episode 31 | Pete Johnson | Beneath the Surface: Geologic Hydrogen

What if you didn’t have to find hydrogen underground, but could make it there? Lorna Ortiz (CCO) and Alexei Cherniak (CEO), co-founders of GeoKiln, join us as our first-ever pair of co-interviewees. GeoKiln heats iron-rich rock deep underground to speed up a natural reaction with water. That turns millions of years of hydrogen production into just a couple.Both spent about 20 years at Shell before starting GeoKiln. They explain how they’re targeting $1.50/kg hydrogen with no subsidies, why they’re “de-risking geology, not technology,” and how their system runs on intermittent renewable power. They also cover producing hydrogen right where it’s used, at refineries, data centers and mines. Plus their path to commercial scale by 2030 and what drives them beyond energy.Hydrogen Innovators is powered by Stanford University’s Center for Fuels of the Future.

New episode of Hydrogen Innovators is out! ⚡️In this conversation, Emma Kerr and I speak with Dolf Gielen, Hydrogen Lead and Senior Energy Economist at the World Bank, about what it will actually take to make green hydrogen projects bankable.We discuss electrolyzer cost realities, the importance of affordable renewable electricity and financing, infrastructure and offtake challenges, and how emerging markets can build hydrogen economies that create local jobs, energy security, and long-term economic value. Green hydrogen will not scale on technology alone. Successful projects need the full ecosystem, competitive costs, credible demand, enabling infrastructure, thoughtful policy, and financing structures that reduce risk.

As artificial intelligence continues its rapid expansion, the energy and water demands of modern data centers are reaching a massive inflection point, threatening to push an already saturated electrical grid past its limits. In this episode of Hydrogen Innovators, hosts Emma Kerr and Milenia Rojas sit down with Yuval Bachar, Founder and CEO of Edge Cloud Link (ECL).A veteran infrastructure architect who previously led hardware strategy at Microsoft, Facebook, and LinkedIn, Yuval discusses how ECL is disrupting the industry by pioneering zero-emission, zero-water, completely off-grid data centers powered by PEM fuel cells. Discover how modular design is transforming data center supply chains, how active-active battery architectures manage the volatile power transients of high-density AI chips like NVIDIA’s next-generation architectures, and why a culture of absolute competence—and zero fear of failure—is essential for the future of clean energy innovation.

In this episode of the Hydrogen Innovators Podcast, we speak with Pete Johnson, CEO of Koloma, about the promise of geological hydrogen, the lessons he has carried from scaling Monolith Materials, and the opportunities and uncertainties shaping the hydrogen sector today.Tune in for a thoughtful conversation on scale, innovation, and one of the most exciting new frontiers in hydrogen.#HydrogenInnovators #WhiteHydrogen #NaturalHydrogen #HydrogenEconomy #CleanTech #EnergyTransition #StanfordPodcast #Koloma

Ammonia is often associated with fertilizers, but it might just be the "Trojan Horse" that allows the hydrogen economy to finally scale. In this episode of Hydrogen Innovators, we sit down with Seonghoon Woo, CEO and co-founder of Amogy, to explore how their breakthrough ammonia-cracking technology is unlocking carbon-free power for heavy-duty mobility and industry.Seonghoon explains why ammonia’s energy density and existing global infrastructure (200+ ports and thousands of miles of pipeline) make it a more practical carrier than compressed hydrogen. We dive into Amogy’s rapid scale-up—from powering drones and tractors to the successful 2024 tugboat demonstration—and discuss their shift toward commercial deployment in the Asia-Pacific market. Seonghoon also shares candid insights on the "clean premium" of green ammonia, the necessity of strategic investors for hardware startups, and why he believes under-promising and over-delivering is the only way to build trust in the conservative world of heavy industry.

In this episode of the Stanford Hydrogen Innovators Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Marc Bednarz, an accomplished electrochemist, project developer, and CEO of Cohyba, who has spent over two decades building hydrogen and clean energy technologies across Europe, Asia, and the world. Marc shares a rare inside look at what project development really means for large-scale green hydrogen and Power-to-X projects — from technology selection and bankability to engineering integration, financing, and offtake.Drawing on his experience leading CWP Global’s Hydrogen & Derivatives team, Marc explains where Europe is making the fastest progress, where bottlenecks remain, and what it will take to accelerate deployment at gigawatt scale.

In this episode, we sit down with Ivana Jemelkova, Chief Executive Officer of the Hydrogen Council, to explore global hydrogen progress and what it really takes to turn vision into scale. Ivana shares insights from the Council’s new Global Hydrogen Compass report, revealing over $110 billion in committed investments and 510 projects worldwide, and breaks down what’s driving momentum across China, North America, and Europe. We explore the essentials for growth demand, policy clarity, standardization, and infrastructure, and why, as Ivana puts it, “the energy transition will move at the speed of trust.” An inspiring conversation about how hydrogen is moving from ambition to delivery.

Hydrogen storage might not be flashy, but it’s foundational. In this episode of Hydrogen Innovators, we sit down with Kamden Maas, U.S. Sales Manager at Atlanta Cylinders, to unpack how Type I all-steel cylinders are helping projects move from pilot to deployment. Kamden explains why long-lived, stackable, high-pressure steel storage (700 bar U.S.; up to 1000 bar in the EU approvals) can cut costs versus composite alternatives, what third-party certifications (DOT/ASME vs. ISO) really mean for safety, and how storage design choices ripple through refueling, backup power, and site footprint. We also get a candid market tour—Spain/Portugal and Northern Europe’s momentum, steady progress in the U.S. Gulf—and a call for practical collaboration across suppliers, developers, and communities. Kamden closes with advice for early-career professionals on leading with authenticity and pushing the envelope in a constantly evolving industry.

In this episode of Hydrogen Innovators, co-hosts Emma Kerr and Melania Rojas Mendoza sit down with Sridhar Kanuri, Global Chief Technology Officer for both HyAxiom and Doosan Fuel Cell corporation. With decades of experience in hydrogen and electrochemical systems, Sridhar shares his insights on deploying fuel cell and electrolyzer technologies at scale—from hospital microgrids to hydrogen-powered AI data centers. The conversation covers everything from the challenges of scaling lab innovations to the importance of service infrastructure, global collaboration, and building the right team. Sridhar also offers thoughtful advice for early-career scientists and engineers and reflects on the global momentum driving the energy transition.