Natural Hydrogen: Canada’s Next Energy Frontier?

MAX Power Mining plans to begin deep drilling in Saskatchewan to test natural hydrogen's commercial prospects, signaling cautious optimism

29 Sep 2025

Canada is gearing up for a bold energy experiment. MAX Power Mining Corp. has secured C$5 million to launch the country's first deep drilling program for natural hydrogen in southern Saskatchewan. As of late September, the company says drilling has yet to begin, pending permits and site work.

The explorer controls roughly 1.3 million acres under permit in the province. With fresh funding, it plans to move ahead next quarter, though timelines remain uncertain.

Natural, or "white," hydrogen has been cast as a possible low-emission fuel. Unlike green hydrogen, it could form naturally underground, cutting out the energy-intensive process of electrolysis. The promise is huge. The question is whether it can be tapped in volumes large and steady enough to support commercial use.

MAX Power points to subsurface surveys and soil gas tests that flagged several hydrogen "fairways" across the basin. Historic gas samples from old oil wells even showed concentrations as high as 96 percent. But those were incidental finds, not results from wells drilled with hydrogen in mind, and no one knows if deeper reservoirs will deliver.

Skeptics urge patience. Denis Brière, vice president at Chapman Hydrogen and Petroleum Engineering, warns that most hydrogen seeps are isolated and not easily scaled into producing reservoirs. Omid Ardakani, a scientist at Natural Resources Canada, agrees the geology holds promise but stresses that exploration hurdles and regulatory gaps are still significant.

If MAX Power's campaign succeeds, it could mark a turning point for Canada, validating natural hydrogen as a niche clean-energy source alongside green hydrogen. If flows sputter or prove too thin, the effort could instead serve as an early lesson in the limits of the resource.

For now, the only certainty is that Saskatchewan will host Canada's first serious test. The results, expected in the coming months, may help decide whether natural hydrogen is the next big thing or just another fleeting energy hope.