Helix Exploration Identifies Natural Hydrogen Potential at Montana’s Rudyard Project
October 17, 2025
Helix Exploration, a UK-listed helium exploration company operating in the United States, reports that new geological data from its Rudyard project in northern Montana indicates potential for naturally occurring hydrogen within the same formations that host its known helium reserves.
The company, which listed on London’s AIM market in 2024, focuses on developing helium resources across the Montana Helium Fairway, an established corridor of deposits near the Canadian border.
Natural Hydrogen Potential at Rudyard
Helix now suggests that its flagship Rudyard field could contain geological (white) hydrogen—hydrogen generated underground through natural chemical reactions between water and certain rock types.
An independent analysis conducted by Dr. Michael Hofmann of AIM GeoAnalytics examined rock cuttings from Helix’s wells and confirmed the presence of serpentine, olivine, and magnetite—minerals known to produce hydrogen when reacting with water under heat and pressure. These minerals are typical of mafic and ultramafic rocks, which have been associated with hydrogen systems elsewhere, including in Mali and France.
Further isotope analysis by Durham University detected a ³He/⁴He ratio of 0.74 Rₐ, which experts say is approximately 3,600% above the continental average. Helix believes this indicates a clear mantle helium component—evidence of fluids rising from deep within the Earth. This mantle connection could support sustained generation of both helium and hydrogen at depth.
“These results confirm that Rudyard sits above a deep-earth hydrogen engine powered by ultramafic rocks and mantle gases,” said Bo Sears, Chief Executive of Helix Exploration. “If developed successfully, it could deliver hydrogen at a cost and purity level that surpasses anything achieved through conventional methods.”
Toward the $1/kg Hydrogen Target
Helix describes Rudyard as one of the few confirmed hydrogen-prone ultramafic systems in North America. The company believes that if commercial quantities can be proven, the naturally generated hydrogen could be produced without fossil feedstocks and with zero carbon emissions, potentially meeting the US Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Shot target of $1 per kilogram of clean hydrogen.
First production is expected in 2025.
