Element One Hydrogen Announces Formation of Strategic Advisory Board Featuring Global Leaders in Natural Hydrogen

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 18, 2026) - Element One Hydrogen & Critical Minerals Corp. (CSE: EONE) ("Element One" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the formation of an Advisory Board, bringing together internationally recognized leaders in natural (geologic) hydrogen, subsurface energy technologies, and energy commercialization to guide the company's next phase of growth.

The Advisory Board will provide strategic direction to the company as Element One advances its mission to unlock and commercialize natural hydrogen resources and deliver scalable, low-carbon hydrogen solutions for global markets.

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"Our Advisory Board represents exceptional scientific depth and commercial sophistication in the rapidly emerging natural hydrogen sector," said Tim Johnson, Chief Operating Officer of Element One. "Their combined expertise in subsurface systems, geologic hydrogen exploration, and large-scale energy program execution will complement and significantly strengthen our technical leadership and market strategy."

The Initial Advisory Board Members

Greeshma Gadikota, Ph.D. Dr. Gadikota is the Lenfest Earth Institute Chair and Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University and the Columbia Climate School. A globally recognized leader in sustainable subsurface energy systems, she directs the Sustainable Energy and Resource Recovery Group, where her work focuses on advancing novel technologies for co-recovery of sustainable energy carriers and critical metals while valorizing multiple emission streams, as well as developing transformative subsurface energy technologies.

Her research integrates cross-scale fluid-surface interactions to inform field-scale deployment — a scientific framework that is highly relevant to the emerging natural hydrogen industry. Dr. Gadikota's pioneering contributions have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and Army Research Office CAREER Awards, along with numerous prestigious honors including the AIChE SABIC Award for Young Professionals and the American Chemical Society Women Chemists Committee Rising Star Award.

Prior to Columbia, Dr. Gadikota held faculty positions at Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as research appointments at Princeton University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. in Operations Research from Columbia University, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Economics from Michigan State University.

Her scientific leadership at the intersection of subsurface chemistry, energy systems engineering, and field deployment strategy brings exceptional technical depth to Element One's natural hydrogen initiatives.

Aaron Mattson, MBA Aaron Mattson is the founder of Mafic Consulting Group, the first consultancy dedicated exclusively to natural hydrogen, and the creator of GARTH, an AI-driven exploration model designed to accelerate discovery and commercial assessment of geologic hydrogen resources.

With over 15 years of experience in oil and gas operations, strategy, and financial planning — including leadership of programs exceeding $75 million on Alaska's North Slope — Mr. Mattson brings deep operational, analytical, and capital planning expertise to the emerging natural hydrogen sector. He holds an MBA from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Over the past three years, he has advised more than 10 exploration companies and investors on commercial strategy, geology integration, and market positioning in natural hydrogen. His insights have been featured in major energy publications, and he is a frequent speaker alongside leading geoscientists and industry executives on the future of geologic hydrogen exploration and commercialization.

Mr. Mattson's blend of operational rigor, AI-enabled exploration modeling, and investor-focused strategy provides Element One with a powerful competitive advantage as the company advances natural hydrogen resource development.

In addition, Aaron will be publishing a Natural Hydrogen Industry Update on Thursday mornings. We strongly encourage you to read his weekly report and additional commentary on how the news impacts Element One directly. Thursday's report will provide a general Industry update for the past week. Please check the Company's social media posts or sign up on our website www.E1-H2.com for our newsletter.

Strategic Focus

The Advisory Board will support Element One across:

• Natural hydrogen exploration strategy and subsurface evaluation

• Targeted project acquisition

• Commercialization pathways and market entry

• Capital strategy and strategic partnerships

• Regulatory navigation and policy engagement

• Technology roadmap and field deployment planning

The formation of this Advisory Board underscores Element One Hydrogen's commitment to scientific excellence, disciplined execution, and global leadership in the rapidly emerging natural hydrogen industry.

The Company will be issuing options that will allow the advisors to purchase 100,000 common shares each at $0.20 for a period of two years.

About Element One Hydrogen & Critical Minerals Corp.

Element One Hydrogen & Critical Minerals Corp. (CSE: EONE) is a Canadian company focused on the exploration, development, and commercialization of geologic hydrogen and critical mineral resources, as well as breakthrough hydrogen-generation technologies. The company's projects include the Foggy Mountain critical minerals project as well as projects in Alaska and British Columbia that are prospective for hydrogen production through stimulation in the subsurface as well as critical and battery metals.

Source: Element One Hydrogen and Critical Minerals