Eclipse Energy’s microbes can turn idle oil wells into hydrogen factories
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Up to 3 million abandoned oil and gas wells litter the U.S. alone, and while many still contain oil or natural gas, the owners decided it wasn’t worth it to keep pumping. “They’ve tried everything,” Prab Sekhon, CEO of Eclipse Energy, told TechCrunch. “There’s still a ton of oil left behind.” Eclipse doesn’t have a way to recover that oil, but it does have a way to squeeze some of the energy they embody up to the surface. Rather than pump harder or inject something to force oil to the surface, Eclipse sends down microbes to munch on the oil molecules and liberate their hydrogen. Instead of viscous oil, companies only have to deal with hydrogen gas. “Hydrogen flows a lot easier,” Sekhon said, making it easier to extract it from the well. The Houston-based startup, which was spun out of Cemvita, demonstrated the technology at an oilfield in California’s San Joaquin Basin last summer. Now, it’s partnering with oilfield services company Weatherford International to deploy the technology around the world, the startup exclusively told TechCrunch. The first projects will begin in January. “They’re an extension of our team,” Sekhon said to characterize the relationship with Weatherford. “They’ll be our operational arm.” Eclipse, which was previously known as Gold H2, has been developing the technology over the last several years. It has been sampling microbes that naturally occur in oil wells, which live at the interface between oil and water held in aquifers, to find those that are best suited to the job. Techcrunch event Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. San Francisco | October 13-15, 2026 WAITLIST NOW As the microbes consume the oil, they break it down into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Both then flow to the surface, where Eclipse and its partners will eventually separate the two. About half of the carbon dioxide is likely to stay in the reservoir, while the other half could be captured using specialized equipment and either sequestered or used. The goal, Sekhon said, is to produce low-carbon hydrogen for around 50 cents per kilogram, or the same price as hydrogen obtained by breaking down natural gas in an industrial plant, a process that releases more carbon dioxide. The resulting hydrogen could be used in petrochemical plants or burned for energy. “It’s taking a liability and turning it into a clean energy asset,” Sekhon said. Topics biotech, Climate, Exclusive, Hydrogen, microbes, oil and gas, oil and gas infrastructure, Startups Tim De Chant Senior Reporter, Climate Tim De Chant is a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch. He has written for a wide range of publications, including Wired magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Ars Technica, The Wire China, and NOVA Next, where he was founding editor. De Chant is also a lecturer in MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing, and he was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT in 2018, during which time he studied climate technologies and explored new business models for journalism. He received his PhD in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California, Berkeley, and his BA degree in environmental studies, English, and biology from St. Olaf College. You can contact or verify outreach from Tim by emailing tim.dechant@techcrunch.com.
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