17 April 2026
Today, the Renaissance Philanthropy’s Chimaera Fund announced that it has selected two commercial geologic hydrogen exploration companies and one hydrogen storage company to serve as primary performers for a small-scale demonstration. ​​The results of this demonstration will inform the Department of the Air Force’s techno-economic assessment of geologic hydrogen potential near Air Force Bases (AFBs), including but not limited to Malmstrom AFB in Montana and McConnell AFB in Kansas.
The Chimaera Fund aims to rapidly and responsibly scale geologic hydrogen by investing in open-source playbooks that worked in shale, geothermal, and other subsurface industries. In support of a Congressional mandate that the Department of War provide 99.9% energy availability at critical military installations by 2030, the DAF Office of Energy Assurance has partnered with the Chimaera Fund to explore whether geologic hydrogen could strengthen energy resilience at critical AFBs.
Selections were informed by a Request for Information that attracted nearly 30 responses from across the geologic hydrogen ecosystem, including exploration companies, national laboratories, university research groups, sensing and detection firms, and engineering consultancies.
HyTerra, Helix Exploration PLC, and Prometheus Hydrogen were best positioned to deliver real-world, field-grounded data in support of a live demonstration. This initiative will draw on well and hydrogen storage and use infrastructure, drilling cost data, and subsurface measurements from active exploration programs located within approximately 200 miles of targeted AFBs.Â
