Helix Exploration shares rose on Monday after being selected to participate in a US Air Force-backed initiative assessing whether geologic hydrogen can bolster energy resilience at critical military installations.
The AIM-listed helium firm was chosen from nearly 30 respondents to a request for information issued by Renaissance Philanthropy’s Chimaera Fund, beating off competition from national laboratories, university research groups and engineering consultancies.
Under the partnership, Helix will contribute subsurface data, drilling cost information and geological expertise from its active Rudyard helium project to a techno-economic assessment of geologic hydrogen potential near Malmstrom Air Force Base and other targeted installations.
The company will receive funding from the Chimaera Fund to support its involvement. At this stage, the partnership seems more like a recognition of Helix’s expertise in the field than a significant revenue generator. This may, however, develop over time.
The tie-up stems from Helix’s discovery last October of key geological indicators for hydrogen generation at Rudyard, encountered during its helium exploration programme.
The project sits roughly 120 miles from Malmstrom AFB, which is home to one of only three US Air Force wings operating the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system.
The programme supports a Congressional mandate requiring the Department of War to achieve 99.9% energy availability at critical military installations by 2030.
Bo Sears, Chief Executive Officer, Helix Exploration, said: “The selection of Helix in this pioneering research initiative reinforces the significance of the geological indicators we have identified at Rudyard and the potential they hold for geologic hydrogen.”
“We are genuinely excited to be working alongside the U.S. Air Force and the Chimaera Fund as partners in this effort – not simply as data providers, but as active collaborators bringing subsurface expertise and field operations to bear on a shared objective. The convergence of national energy security priorities with our existing geological assets at Rudyard represents exactly the kind of opportunity we have been building toward, and we look forward to advancing this work together.”