AI's Growth Has a Power Problem -- Natural Hydrogen Could Be the Perfect Solution

NetworkNewsWire Editorial Coverage

NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The AI revolution isn't running out of processing power; it's running out of electricity, and the race is on to find the next great source of clean, limitless energy. Data centers are devouring power faster than utilities can supply it, straining aging grids, driving up household energy bills and exposing a simple truth — the digital world needs a new source of real-world power. One breakthrough stands apart: natural hydrogen. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global data-center power consumption is projected to more than double by 2030, to roughly 945 terawatt-hours (TWh), and the subset of AI-optimized centers could quadruple over the same period. Meanwhile, in the United States, power demand from data centers may well double by 2035 as well, potentially consuming around 9% of national electricity demand. In short: Compute demand is outpacing expansion in grid capacity. This is why the big names in tech and capital are now racing to secure energy itself — and one of the most promising sectors in that energy race is natural (geologic) hydrogen. Enter MAX Power Mining Corp. (OTC: MAXXF) (CSE: MAXX) (profile). This first-mover North American public company is focused on commercial natural hydrogen. MAX Power controls approximately 1.3 million permitted acres in Saskatchewan, including the 200-km-long Genesis Trend, which lies adjacent to an existing industrial corridor and a proposed Hydrogen Hub, with multiple ranked targets. With its focus on providing energy for AI demand, MAX Power joins a group of leaders operating in the AI space, including NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), whose involvement spans hardware, software, infrastructure, research, investment and product rollout.

• AI's rapid expansion is redefining global energy demand, forcing a rethink of how the world generates and delivers power.
• MAX Power is North America's public company leader in taking natural hydrogen to commerciality, a potential major breakthrough in clean, baseload energy.
• With the largest natural hydrogen portfolio on the continent, MAX Power controls Canada's most prospective ground in this emerging frontier.
• The company's partnership with the Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC) and billionaire investor Eric Sprott brings world-class validation and government connectivity to accelerate development.
• Backed by proven leadership and aligned capital, MAX Power is positioned to pioneer the next major shift in global energy.

Click here to view the custom infographic of the MAX Power Mining Corp. editorial.

The Macro Opportunity: Geologic (Natural) Hydrogen

AI's rapid expansion is redefining global energy demand, forcing a rethink of how the world generates and delivers power. The IEA estimates that in 2024, global data centers were responsible for roughly 1.5% of worldwide electricity consumption. By 2030, data center electricity is projected to climb to about 945 TWh, more than the entire electricity demand of Japan today. In fact, the IEA highlights that "AI-optimized" data centers could more than quadruple their power draw during this period.

This means the bottleneck isn't compute hardware or cooling systems so much as power availability, reliability and scalability. The IEA statement that "it's about power now" has moved from a whisper to a full-throated consensus across the data center industry. In the U.S. context, data-center growth alone may drive nearly half of incremental electricity demand by 2030, a striking figure that underscores how compute growth is reshaping grid planning and energy investment flows. 

To meet this kind of demand, and the 24/7 baseload nature of hyperscale compute facilities, the industry must look beyond simply adding more renewables or expanding transmission. That means exploring energy sources that are dispatchable, flexible and scalable. Enter the concept of geologic (natural) hydrogen, a resource that until recently was mostly academic but is increasingly being framed as the next frontier of energy. Geologic hydrogen exists in subsurface reservoirs formed by interactions between water and iron-rich rocks and potentially in quantities large enough to rival proven natural-gas reserves.

This isn't manufactured hydrogen via electrolysis or fossil-fuel derived (grey/blue) hydrogen. Natural hydrogen requires no electricity to produce and offers near-zero lifecycle emissions once flowing. The appeal for AI-era power is clear: a low-carbon, on-site, non-intermittent baseload source that ensures consistent uptime and energy security for the world's fastest-growing industry. One startup, Koloma, backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, describes it as "a global gold rush for buried hydrogen.

In essence, as AI compute demand scales faster than grid expansion, the energy industry must shift from marginal renewables to foundational new supply. Geologic hydrogen could be that supply. Natural hydrogen offers the chance to deliver clean, dispatchable energy exactly where it's needed, near compute clusters, industrial corridors and heavy-power zones. It's not just about clean power; it's about unlocking a new energy paradigm around compute-first infrastructure. The numbers, the grid-constraints and the compute growth trajectory all point to this moment being more than just another energy transition. It's the foundation layer for the AI era.

First-Mover Advantage in Global Energy Breakthrough

While the macro themes are compelling, the Achilles heel in any new energy frontier is timing and access. That's why advantage accrues to the first entrants who secure land, rights, subsurface data and community/industrial linkages. MAX Power is North America's public company leader in taking natural hydrogen to commerciality, a potential major breakthrough in clean, baseload energy.

To appreciate why that matters, contrast manufactured vs. natural hydrogen. Today about 99% of hydrogen is produced either via steam-methane reformation of fossil fuels (grey/blue) or via water electrolysis using electricity (green). These production methods demand massive capital and energy inputs while generating significant carbon emissions.

Natural (geologic) hydrogen differs fundamentally: It is generated underground, accumulates in reservoirs much like natural gas and can be tapped with exploration-production techniques. A flowing, commercial natural hydrogen discovery offers low-cost, low-carbon, baseload-capable supply, without decades of development required.

In economic terms, early modeling suggests natural hydrogen could be produced for about $0.50–$1.00 per kilogram, compared to ~$2–3/kg for blue hydrogen and ~$4–6+/kg for green hydrogen, depending on power input. If these cost curves materialize, natural hydrogen could dramatically undercut manufactured hydrogen.

The scale potential is huge. Even if only 1–2% of subsurface hydrogen is recoverable, the energy endowment could cover global hydrogen needs for centuries. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports that the modeled in-place hydrogen may exceed twice the energy content of all proven natural gas on earth. By positioning ahead of the pack, MAX Power aims to capture early access, establish ground truth on subsurface hydrogen and connect to heavy-demand loads (data centers, industrial corridors, fertilizer hubs) that will dominate the next wave of energy demand. While everyone appears to be talking about hydrogen, few are addressing the natural-hydrogen frontier in a commercial, district-scale format — and that's where first-mover advantage becomes meaningful.

Largest Natural Hydrogen Permitted Land Package

When it comes to scale and positioning, land rights and permitted acreage count. With the largest natural hydrogen portfolio on the continent, MAX Power controls Canada's most prospective ground in this emerging frontier, an approximately 1.3 million-acre permitted land package in Saskatchewan. This isn't a single small lease; it's a field-scale opportunity.

Included in that acreage is the Genesis Trend, situated adjacent to an industrial corridor and a proposed Hydrogen Hub. This adjacency matters because proximity to industrial off-takers, infrastructure and heavy-power demand zones helps lower logistical and transmission costs, a critical factor when delivering baseload hydrogen or power near compute/data center clusters.

Beyond the permitted acreage, there is an additional estimated 5.7 million acres under application, which could offer upside and scale optionality. MAX Power is scheduled to drill Canada's first dedicated deep well targeting natural hydrogen, on the Genesis Trend in November 2025, a milestone event. From a land-and-rights perspective, MAX Power has locked prime real estate: near heavy-power demand, in a region with established industrial infrastructure and energy-ready zoning. The district-scale framing means this isn't a grassroots experiment; it is infrastructure-scale exploration aligned with major energy transition demand.

Scientific Validation, Industry-Backed Credibility

Advantage in a frontier energy resource also depends on technical credibility and institutional backing. MAX Power's collaboration with the Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC) in Saskatchewan is a standout in this regard. PTRC is one of Canada's globally-recognized subsurface R&D institutions. Its involvement with MAX Power provides independent validation, rigorous oversight and links to industry best-practice methodologies.

With PTRC engaged, MAX Power benefits from enhanced subsurface modeling, data-integrity assurance and access to industry networks that accelerate exploration, well design and regulatory alignment. This means that the natural hydrogen exploration is not purely speculative; rather, it is grounded in proven subsurface science.

Such scientific validation becomes critical as investors and industries evaluate the risk-reward of natural hydrogen versus manufactured hydrogen technologies. Having a research-backed partner with a track record in subsurface hydrocarbon R&D reduces the "science project" risk and elevates the dynamic to a credible commercial-energy play.

In the broader view, the credibility piece also helps connect MAX Power with potential off-takers (industrial, data center, heavy-industry) and capital-markets players that demand beyond hope — they demand evidence. By combining large land rights, rigorous science and institutional partnerships, MAX Power is focused on assembling the elements of a viable commercial natural hydrogen business rather than an early-stage speculative exploration play.

Proven Leadership with Tier-One Backing

Behind any serious energy venture must stand leadership with experience, vision and aligned capital. MAX Power's leadership team brings just that. At the helm is a technical and geological crew with discovery-track records, including the discoverer of Saskatchewan's most significant new potash deposits. That kind of "found it before" credibility matters when drilling the unknown.

In addition, MAX Power is backed by billionaire investor Eric Sprott, a high-conviction capital allocator who stepped out of his gold-and-silver wheelhouse to make his first clean-energy/natural hydrogen investment in MAX Power. That action signals that serious capital is paying attention.

When a company combines exploration-team pedigree with aligned capital and large-scale land positions, the industry gets the kind of structured positioning that can endure multiyear, multiwell cycles of drilling, discovery, delineation and development. And in the natural hydrogen space, where timelines and technical risk still linger, having a team that knows how to execute is a significant differentiator.

MAX Power isn't just a play with land and prospectivity, it's a play with people, capital, credentials and strategy. Backed by proven leadership and aligned capital, MAX Power is positioned to pioneer the next major shift in global energy.

Clean, Emissions-Free Baseload Power for the AI Era

To bring the story full circle, the compute surge of the AI era requires clean, scalable, baseload-capable energy, not just intermittent renewables or traditional fossil generation. Hyperscale compute campuses demand hundreds of megawatts or even gigawatts, round the clock. That power can't be treated as a niche; it must be reliable. Natural hydrogen offers the key.

MAX Power is directly leveraging this compute-driven mega-demand via its bespoke Large Earth Model (LEMI) for natural hydrogen in Saskatchewan, an AI-assisted integration of diverse subsurface datasets to target the world's first commercial natural hydrogen discovery. Essentially, it's AI modeling for hydrogen to power AI compute. That synergy amplifies the relevance of the opportunity.

As grid planners and utilities struggle with integrating mounting data-center loads, decarbonizing industry and shaping firm-low-carbon supply, natural hydrogen emerges as a credible lane. If MAX Power proves commercial flow, the implications are system level: clean, baseload energy deployed at the source, positioned near industrial and fertilizer corridors — and with economics that undercut manufactured hydrogen. The supply challenge is real, and natural hydrogen may be the missing piece of the puzzle.

Powering the Next Wave of AI Innovation

The staggering increase in AI demands shows that artificial intelligence is no longer an abstract concept or distant promise. Rather, it's rapidly becoming the backbone of the global economy. Across sectors, leading players are channeling decades of expertise in computing, software, engineering and energy toward one shared goal: building the foundation that fuels AI's exponential progress.

NVIDIA Corp. will start shipping NVIDIA DGX Spark(TM), the world's smallest AI supercomputer. According to the company, AI workloads are quickly outgrowing the memory and software capabilities of the PCs, workstations and laptops millions of developers rely on today, forcing teams to shift work to the cloud or local data centers. As a new class of computer, DGX Spark delivers a petaflop of AI performance and 128GB of unified memory in a compact desktop form factor, giving developers the power to run inference on AI models with up to 200 billion parameters and fine-tune models of up to 70 billion parameters locally.

Microsoft Corp. has expanded its Dragon Copilot artificial intelligence clinical assistant to nurses, designing its ambient AI technology specifically for unique nursing workflows. The tech giant codeveloped the ambient-enabled AI capabilities along with nursing leaders and front-line staff from leading organizations such as Mercy and Advocate. The solution also will be available in Epic's Rover app. The company also announced updates to enable the integration of partner AI apps and agents directly into Dragon Copilot.

Apple Inc. has released M5, the next big leap in AI performance for Apple silicon. According to the company, M5 delivers over four times the peak GPU compute performance for AI compared to M4 and advances to nearly every aspect of the chip. Built using third-generation 3-nanometer technology, M5 introduces a next-generation 10-core GPU architecture with a neural accelerator in each core, enabling GPU-based AI workloads to run dramatically faster.

Amazon.com Inc. CEO Andy Jassy stated in a letter to employees earlier this year that "in virtually every corner of the company, we're using Generative AI to make customers' lives better and easier. What started as deep conviction that every customer experience would be reinvented using AI, and that altogether new experiences we've only dreamed of would become possible, is rapidly becoming reality. Technologies like Generative AI are rare; they come about once-in-a-lifetime, and completely change what's possible for customers and businesses. So, we are investing quite expansively, and, the progress we are making is evident."

The promise of AI lies not only in what it can compute but in how it can elevate human capability. As the world's technology leaders double down on research, infrastructure and energy, artificial intelligence is transitioning from a disruptive force to a defining one.

For more information, visit MAX Power Mining.

About NetworkNewsWire

NetworkNewsWire ("NNW") is a specialized communications platform with a focus on financial news and content distribution for private and public companies and the investment community. It is one of 70+ brands within the Dynamic Brand Portfolio @ IBN that delivers: (1) access to a vast network of wire solutions via InvestorWire to efficiently and effectively reach a myriad of target markets, demographics and diverse industries; (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ outlets; (3) enhanced press release enhancement to ensure maximum impact; (4) social media distribution via IBN to millions of social media followers; and (5) a full array of tailored corporate communications solutions. With broad reach and a seasoned team of contributing journalists and writers, NNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that want to reach a wide audience of investors, influencers, consumers, journalists and the general public. By cutting through the overload of information in today's market, NNW brings its clients unparalleled recognition and brand awareness.

NNW is where breaking news, insightful content and actionable information converge.

For more information, please visit www.NetworkNewsWire.com

Please view full terms of use and disclaimers on the NNW website applicable to all content provided by NNW, wherever published or re-published: http://www.nnw.fm/Disclaimer

NetworkNewsWire is powered by IBN

DISCLAIMER: NetworkNewsWire (NNW) is the source of the Article and content set forth above. References to any issuer other than the profiled issuer are intended solely to identify industry participants and do not constitute an endorsement of any issuer and do not constitute a comparison to the profiled issuer. The commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by NNW are solely those of NNW. Readers of this Article and content agree that they cannot and will not seek to hold liable NNW for any investment decisions by their readers or subscribers. NNW is a news dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are NOT registered broker-dealers/analysts/investment advisers, hold no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security.

The Article and content related to the profiled company represent the personal and subjective views of the Author, and are subject to change at any time without notice. The information provided in the Article and the content has been obtained from sources which the Author believes to be reliable. However, the Author has not independently verified or otherwise investigated all such information. None of the Author, NNW, or any of their respective affiliates, guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any such information. This Article and content are not, and should not be regarded as investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular security or course of action; readers are strongly urged to speak with their own investment advisor and review all of the profiled issuer's filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission before making any investment decisions and should understand the risks associated with an investment in the profiled issuer's securities, including, but not limited to, the complete loss of your investment.

NNW HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and NNW undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

NetworkNewsWire
New York, NY
www.NetworkNewsWire.com
212.418.1217 Office
Editor@NetworkNewsWire.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2660018/5582287/NetworkNewsWire_Logo.jpg