“I want to be the king of hydrogen!” bellows Aliou Diallo. The son of a railway worker in Mali, Diallo made his first fortune investing in distressed debt, parlayed those winnings into industrial concessions, and went on to acquire a gold mine. He has dabbled in politics, despite the dangers in a coup-prone country like Mali, running for president in 2018 and coming a respectable third. But now he has given up politics to concentrate on hydrogen.
By happenstance, the hydrogen-emitting hole in Bourakebougou was within an oil and gas concession that had been granted to a company run by Diallo. The villagers, seeing flames shooting out of the ground, assumed the place was cursed. Diallo, who is not superstitious, decided to investigate. Tests confirmed that the well was producing 98 per cent pure hydrogen. Diallo brought in equipment from Canada to do more drilling and testing. A coup in 2012 spooked outsiders, but he forged ahead….
