Natural hydrogen explorer Snowfox Discovery has secured exploration leases covering more than 10,000 acres in Audubon County, Iowa, the company's first major land position in the United States.
Snowfox said the leases mark a milestone in its plan to build a global portfolio of natural hydrogen prospects. The company expects its exploration work program to lead to a drilling campaign in late 2027 or 2028.
Snowfox describes Audubon County as sitting in what it calls the most prospective part of the Mid-Continental Rift system, a formation the company targeted using geophysical and geochemical surveys together with its own geological modeling.
CEO Daniel McMahon said Snowfox had "completed our initial land access work" and thanked leaseholders and "the people of Audubon County for their incredible support." He said the company is "moving forward to de-risk and unlock a globally significant clean energy resource" by combining its hydrogen exploration technology with the new land position.
The Iowa acreage sits near existing ammonia and fertilizer infrastructure, which Snowfox said gives the project a possible path to early industrial demand.
Natural hydrogen forms through ongoing geological processes in the Earth's crust, rather than being manufactured. Snowfox said that sets it apart from green hydrogen, made using renewable electricity, and blue hydrogen, made from natural gas with carbon capture, both of which need substantial energy or carbon-capture infrastructure to produce. The company says natural hydrogen offers a near-zero carbon footprint and substantially lower production costs.
