Helix Exploration PLC (AIM:HEX) has been selected by Renaissance Philanthropy’s Chimaera Fund to participate in the Air Force Geologic Hydrogen Energy Resilience Initiative, a demonstration programme that will assess whether naturally occurring subsurface hydrogen can strengthen energy resilience at critical Air Force bases.
Helix was picked from nearly 30 respondents to a Chimaera Fund request for information and will act as a core commercial partner. The company will provide subsurface measurements, drilling cost data, mineralogical and geochemical analysis and well infrastructure data drawn from its active Rudyard programme; Chimaera will fund Helix’s contribution. Outputs will feed a techno‑economic assessment and a small‑scale demonstration near targeted installations.
The Rudyard project sits roughly 120 miles from Malmstrom AFB. Helix says its deep well programme confirmed “key geological indicators for hydrogen generation” during helium exploration (announced 16 October 2025) and the company is preparing further coring and laboratory analysis to better characterise the resource.
The initiative responds to a Congressional mandate for the Department of War to achieve 99.9% energy availability at critical installations by 2030; Malmstrom hosts the 341st Missile Wing and the Minuteman III system.
"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." Bo Sears, Chief Executive Officer, Helix Exploration PLC (AIM:HEX)
