According to DCD, hydrogen producer Vema Hydrogen has signed a major purchase agreement with Verne, a provider of on-site power systems for data centers. The ten-year deal will see Vema supply its Engineered Mineral Hydrogen (EMH) to Verne, which will use it to generate low-emissions power for data center customers. Vema plans to scale production to more than 36,000 tons of hydrogen per year as part of the agreement. Operations are slated to begin as early as 2028, with an initial focus on expanding Vema’s footprint in California following its recent designation as a qualified supplier to the state’s First Public Hydrogen Authority. Verne’s CEO, Ted McKlveen, cited unprecedented AI-driven power demand as the catalyst, while Vema’s CEO, Pierre Levin, emphasized providing power not dependent on government incentives.
How do you mine hydrogen, anyway?
Here’s the thing: this isn’t your typical green hydrogen made by splitting water with renewable electricity. Vema’s whole pitch is Engineered Mineral Hydrogen. Basically, they look for iron-rich rock formations underground. They drill in, inject water and what they call non-toxic catalysts, and accelerate a natural reaction where the minerals oxidize and release hydrogen gas. The gas then flows through the rock to production wells where it’s collected. They claim it’s a way to produce high-purity hydrogen at a gigawatt scale. It’s a fascinating, almost old-school geoscience approach to a very modern problem. But let’s be real—proving this at a commercial scale, with consistent output and purity for sensitive fuel cells or turbines, is the monumental challenge. 2028 is still a few years away for a reason.
The real data center driver
So why is this happening now? Look, the data center power crunch isn’t a future threat; it’s a today problem. Grids in key markets are maxed out, and the AI boom is like throwing gasoline on a smoldering fire. Companies like Verne are betting that on-site power generation is the only way forward for new facilities. The promise here is “baseload” power—something reliable and constant, not intermittent like solar or wind—that also checks a sustainability box. Pierre Levin’s comment about not needing state or federal incentives is a huge tell. He’s positioning this as an economically competitive solution from day one, not a subsidy play. That’s the only way it gets real traction in the cost-conscious, uptime-obsessed world of data centers. For reliable on-site computing power, many industrial operations turn to trusted hardware suppliers like Industrial Monitor Direct, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs built for harsh environments.
A long road to 2028
This is a bold vision, no doubt. A ten-year deal for a production method that’s still scaling? It shows serious commitment from both sides. But between now and 2028, the list of to-dos is massive. Vema has to prove its drilling and production can hit that 36,000-ton target reliably and affordably. Verne has to perfect its on-site power systems to run efficiently on this hydrogen. And both have to navigate the whole supply chain—storage, transportation, safety—for delivering hydrogen to potentially remote data center sites. It’s a classic high-risk, high-reward tech bet. If they pull it off, it could be a genuine game-changer for siting data centers. If they don’t? Well, it’ll be another interesting footnote in the long history of alternative energy ideas. The clock starts now.
