MAX Power Mining Corp. (MAXX-CN) says it has found the first subsurface natural hydrogen system in Canada at its well near Central Butte, Sask., providing one possible source of the gas that could replace fossil fuels in key sectors.

The discovery, which was announced Friday morning, follows up on drilling the Saskatoon-based company undertook last year. MAX Power reached a depth of over two kilometres in search of naturally occurring hydrogen in southern Saskatchewan.

At its Lawson project, which it calls the first natural hydrogen well drilled in Canada, MAX Power found hydrogen concentrations in geological samples ranging from 168,000 parts per million (PPM) to as high as 286,000 PPM. The cores were analyzed by three independent laboratories. 

The discovery sets a starting point for resource modelling and development planning, MAX Power said in a news release.

“This is a defining moment for MAX Power, Saskatchewan and Canada,” Ran Narayanasamy, the company’s president and CEO, said in the announcement. Lawson, he continued, is a “discovered geological system with gas flow, pressure, and the key ingredients required for future commercial natural hydrogen development.”

Sustainable Biz Canada has reached out to MAX Power for comment. We will update this article with any additional information if it becomes available. 

Natural hydrogen in Canada

The clean energy sector has taken great interest in hydrogen as a lower-carbon replacement for fossil fuels like natural gas or refined petroleum. Unlike fossil fuels, burning hydrogen gas does not produce greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide or methane, the byproduct instead is water vapour.

However, producing hydrogen with industrial methods is energy-intensive or produces greenhouse gas emissions. Most techniques today involve subjecting natural gas to steam reforming or splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen with an electrolyzer.

Natural hydrogen is a way to avoid such steps. The element could be extracted from underground deposits to supplement existing hydrogen production.

“The beauty with clean, naturally renewing hydrogen is that very small to no environmental footprint, and you can use current, existing technology – pipes and tubes that are already existing,” John Karagiannidis, the CEO of Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. (QIMC), a peer of MAX Power, told Sustainable Biz Canada in 2024.

QIMC discovered a hydrogen field in St-Bruno-de-Guigues, Que. in 2025. The company estimates the market value of the deposit is in the billions of dollars. 

MAX Power’s plans in 2026

Discovering hydrogen at Lawson prepares the company for future drilling across the 475-kilometre Genesis Trend corridor and the 1.3 million acres of land it has permitted for a multi-well drill program, MAX Power said, and de-risks future targets. 

The company has a fully funded well along the Saskatchewan-Montana border, it added.

“From a geological perspective, Lawson has delivered exactly what we hoped to see,” Steve Halabura, the chief geoscientist of MAX Power, said. He pointed to features such as the hydrogen-rich gas and evidence of a working system. 

In the first half of 2026, MAX Power plans to advance Lawson toward commercial evaluation with steps such as resource modelling and estimation, a seismic survey and stakeholder engagement with Saskatchewan companies.

In December, MAX Power closed a private placement for proceeds of $5 million in an investment made by Vietnamese company Bitexco. The two companies plan to partner on the commercial development of natural hydrogen.