Kavenex Raises $28M to Advance Natural Hydrogen Exploration in Canada

Canadian startup Kavenex Energy has raised $28 million in private investment to advance its exploration strategy for natural hydrogen across Canada.

The Calgary-based company is currently conducting geoscience and geophysical work to identify potential drilling targets, with plans to begin drilling its first wells between 2027 and 2028.

Founded by energy industry veterans Brad Allison and Adam Le Dain, Kavenex aims to apply exploration and production techniques developed in the oil and gas sector to identify and develop geological hydrogen resources.

The company has also signed a technical collaboration agreement with U.S. natural hydrogen explorer Koloma, one of the most heavily funded companies in the emerging sector. Koloma has secured more than US$400 million in investment, including funding from Breakthrough Energy Ventures and other strategic investors.

Kavenex’s long-term strategy focuses on developing hydrogen resources close to industrial demand, allowing major users such as power plants, steel producers, and ammonia facilities to operate directly above hydrogen reservoirs. This approach could eliminate the need for long-distance hydrogen transport infrastructure.

Although exploration for geological hydrogen remains in its early stages in Canada, the country’s geology is considered highly prospective. Large portions of Canada are underlain by Canadian Shield rocks and sedimentary basins, both of which are believed to have conditions capable of generating natural hydrogen.

According to researchers at the Geological Survey of Canada, interactions between water and iron-rich rocks, as well as radiolytic reactions involving uranium, may generate hydrogen in the subsurface.

If commercial systems are identified, natural hydrogen could become a low-carbon primary energy source, potentially supplying industrial processes and energy systems without the emissions associated with conventional hydrogen production methods.

Full press release can be found here.