H2Au and 45-8 ENERGY, privately-owned natural H₂ and helium companies, announced a joint strategic alliance in the U.S. and the commencement of the Humboldt and Fayette projects.

The alliance was established in 2022 to accelerate natural H₂ and helium, two natural and critical resources essential for clean energy, decarbonizing heavy industry and supplying life-critical manufacturing. The companies are working together to prove valuable H₂ and helium resources through a proven exploration workflow. Since January 2024 the consortium has already secured close to 10,000 acres in Kansas and Iowa and will continue to expand its portfolio.

45-8 ENERGY and H2Au are combining their unique and complementary skillsets in this joint venture. 45-8 ENERGY, renowned for its extensive expertise in helium and natural H₂, holds more than 574,000 acres in exploration licenses and is currently developing Western Europe’s first helium production plant, while maturing several geological H₂ prospects in Europe. H2Au has established a portfolio potential of over 12 million acres across Africa and the U.S. and is applying innovative geological plays to the exploration and commercialization of natural H₂.

Kansas - Humboldt Project. Project Humboldt focuses on key prospects along the Nemaha Ridge, Kansas, an area which has historically shown high H₂ and helium shows of over 90% and 3% respectively, and which has recently gained a lot of industry attention.

The alliance’s acreage is made up of significant lease parcels strategically positioned over prospects where the structural control provided by the Humboldt Fault and its relays would be favorable for efficient production of the H₂ and helium potentially accumulated in the structures. Some of the acreage acquired by the alliance is situated less than 10 km from the Sue Duroche-2 well and close to a recently announced site for upcoming drilling operations.

Iowa - Fayette Project. Project Fayette is a new promising natural H₂ play, developed around the Northeast Iowa Intrusive Complex (NEIIC), an ultramafic igneous intrusion, with proven high potential natural H₂ source rocks (olivine cumulates).

The alliance has already acquired significant acreage positions over this project following an extensive geological screening exercise which confirmed the area's promising potential to generate and accumulate important concentrations of natural H₂.

Area prospectivity. The Humboldt and Fayette projects have been developed and implemented based on a rigorous geological and commercial screening program jointly conducted in 2023 by H2Au and 45-8 ENERGY and supported by the Natural H₂ Study Group (NHSG). They reflect the use of a proven exploration workflow and innovative geological H₂ play models, combined with a detailed commercial and marketing analysis ahead of leasing.

Both projects will be operated by H2Au with a 60/40% H2Au/45-8 ENERGY working interest split in Project Humboldt and 70/30% H2Au/45-8 ENERGY working interest split in Project Fayette.

These two projects herald the Alliance's ambition to widely develop the U.S. natural H₂ industry, which will be supported by the launch of a fundraising campaign in the near future.

Owain Jackson, CEO of H2Au said, "The Humboldt and Fayette projects demonstrate our commitment to developing a valuable and diverse portfolio of natural H₂ resources to support the ever-evolving global energy needs. We believe that the era of natural H₂ exploration and production is upon us, and that working and learning together in this rapidly growing space provides strength and sustainability for the long-term. We are excited to be partnering with 45-8 ENERGY who are an established and well-respected player in this sector and with whom we share many common views and goals."

Nicolas Pelissier, CEO of 45-8 Energy said, "At 45-8 ENERGY, we are absolutely delighted to be partnering with H2Au. This is an Alliance between two pioneers who currently have some of the most extensive experience in the emerging Natural H₂ sector. Thanks to the coupling of our proprietary technologies, our respective databases and our experienced teams, I am convinced that the Alliance is particularly well-prepared for a rapid and decisive development in the U.S. The projects will anyway speak for themselves."