Element One Hydrogen Announces Sponsored Research Agreement With Columbia University

Strategic US$1.67 million research partnership positions Element One at the forefront of geologic hydrogen and critical mineral extraction.

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 6, 2026) - Element One Hydrogen & Critical Minerals Corp. EONE ("Element One" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a sponsored research agreement with Columbia University to support advanced laboratory research focused on geologic hydrogen stimulation and the co-recovery of energy and technology-critical metals from subsurface hard rock resources.

The research program will be conducted at Columbia University under the direction of Dr. Greeshma Gadikota, Lenfest Earth Institute Chair and Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering and Columbia Climate School at Columbia University, and will span a two-year research period. Element One has committed US$1.67 million in funding to support the research and laboratory operations associated with the program.

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"This agreement represents an important step in grounding our geologic hydrogen strategy in rigorous, independent science at a prestigious academic institution," said Brad Kitchen, CEO of Element One. "By supporting leading academic research, we are advancing our understanding of how hydrogen and critical metals may be co-produced from subsurface systems in a way that is both economically and environmentally compelling."

Research Scope and Objectives

The sponsored research is designed to;

• advance integrated technologies that aim to stimulate the generation of geologic hydrogen (H₂) within subsurface environments;

• enable the co-recovery of critical and energy-transition metals including nickel, cobalt, and manganese;

• assess pathways for durable CO₂ storage through post-stimulation mineral carbonation; and

• inform future field-scale deployment strategies through experimental data, techno-economic assessments, and life-cycle analyses.

Strategic Relevance

Element One views geologic hydrogen as a potentially transformative energy source that may complement or, in certain settings, compete with conventional hydrogen production and other energy pathways. The Company believes that pairing hydrogen generation with critical metal recovery could materially improve project economics while supporting supply chains essential to electrification and decarbonization.

Intellectual Property and Commercial Pathway

Under the terms of the agreement, Columbia University will retain ownership of inventions and research results generated under the program, subject to Element One's option to negotiate licenses to certain inventions or research information arising from the sponsored work. Any such licenses would be subject to separate negotiation and agreement between the parties.

Other Corporate News

Company is also pleased to announce the closing of a second tranche of the non-LIFE portion of a brokered Private Placement announced in the re-filing of the LIFE financing on March 27, 2026. The Company is closing on 2,585,000 of the "Concurrent Non-LIFE Units", as defined in the offering document filed on Sedar (The "Units") at a price of $0.15 per Unit for gross proceeds of approximately $387,750. Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Warrant Share at the exercise price of $0.20 per Warrant Share for a period of 36 months from the closing date of the Concurrent Offering.

The Company further announces that it has arraigned an additional Private Placement offering of up to 10.0 million company units, priced at $0.15 per unit, on a best-efforts basis. Each unit comprises one common share of the company and one common share purchase warrant entitling its holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of 20 cents for a period of 36 months from the closing date for the aggregate subscription price of up to $1,500,000. The company may pay eligible finders fees on the offering within the amount permitted by the policies of the CSE. The company intends to use the proceeds from the offering for exploration activities and general working capital. The offering is subject to certain conditions, including, but not limited to, receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange.

Lastly, the Company has also issued 250,000 commons shares to satisfy its first year anniversary obligations on the acquisition of the Foggy Mountain project.

About Element One Hydrogen & Critical Minerals Corp.

Element One Hydrogen & Critical Minerals Corp. 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.

On behalf of the Board of Directors:

Brad Kitchen, CEO

Element One Hydrogen & Critical Minerals Corp.