Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. has intersected natural hydrogen concentrations of up to 23.5% within the first 300 metres of ongoing diamond drill hole DDH-26-05 at the Bennett Hill Natural Hydrogen Project in Nova Scotia.

The preliminary mud-gas results include a 54-metre corridor of sustained percent-level hydrogen concentrations between 143 and 197 metres depth, culminating in a peak reading of 23.5% H₂ at 170 metres. At approximately 164 metres, the drill intersected a mud seam, a 40-centimetre lost core interval, and an open void with complete loss of water return. Rig-mounted monitoring equipment detected elevated hydrogen in the ambient air, which the company interprets as free gas flowing from the formation into the borehole. The two highest readings—20.8% H₂ at 158 metres and 23.5% H₂ at 170 metres—bracket this gas-charged structure.

“DDH-26-05 has delivered the two things every natural hydrogen developer wants to see: concentrations and free gas — and it delivered them in the first 300 metres,” said John Karagiannidis, President and Chief Executive Officer of QIMC. “Hydrogen concentrations of 23.5% within only the first 300 metres fundamentally strengthen our confidence that Bennett Hill hosts one of Canada's most significant emerging natural hydrogen systems. With roughly seventy-four percent of our readings above one percent hydrogen and methane at zero across the board, Bennett Hill continues to look like exactly what we believe it is: the cornerstone of a district-scale clean hydrogen system.”

— John Karagiannidis, President and Chief Executive Officer

The new results exceed the company's previous record hole, DDH-26-04, which returned 24.3% H₂ at a depth of 707 metres. Over the comparable upper interval, DDH-26-04 recorded a peak of 16.0% H₂ at 236 metres and approximately 37% of readings at or above 1% H₂. In contrast, DDH-26-05 has returned a peak of 23.5% H₂ and approximately 74% of readings at or above 1% H₂.

The current exploration program across the company's Nova Scotia corridor includes approximately 3,000 soil-gas samples and ground magnetics collected to date. Diamond drill hole DDH-26-05 is planned to reach a total depth of 900 metres.

Read the full announcement: QIMC Reports Record 23.5% Natural Hydrogen Within the First 300 Metres of Ongoing DDH-26-05 and Observations Consistent with Free Gas at Bennett Hill at 164 Metres