Hydrogen‘s role in the green energy transition is well-known and growing at an accelerating pace, with the element’s global market expected to grow from US$282 billion in 2025 to US$556 billion in 2034, compounding annually at 7.82 per cent, according to Precedence Research. Consider hydrogen’s use-cases driving this robust growth:
- As a zero-emission fuel – as well as low-emission ones such as methanol – holding the potential to decarbonize segments of the transportation sector more efficiently than batteries, including long-haul shipping and aviation.
- As a source of electricity and grid stabilization capable of being stored for weeks at a time without significant losses.
- As an emissions-reduction catalyst in heavy industry, replacing coking coal in steel production and natural gas in ammonia production for the fertilizer industry.
- Additional use-cases being researched include chemicals, portable power, power stations and personal vehicles, granting hydrogen runways to add value across a diversity of industries.
While hydrogen holds the potential to meaningfully reduce global emissions, it must be noted that, for this scenario to come about, traditional production methods will have to radically change. This is because most hydrogen is currently produced as a by-product of fossil fuel refining, with only approximately 1 per cent of global production in 2023 falling into the low-emission category.
That said, the green hydrogen market, valued at US$8 billion in 2024, is growing exponentially and expected to post a staggering compound annual growth rate of 38.5 per cent through 2030, according to Grand View Research.
There is then a vastly untapped premium on clean hydrogen resources for investors to capitalize on by 1) identifying stocks tracking strong assets and operations, 2) building investments long-term, taking advantage of volatility stemming from clean hydrogen’s low market share, and 3) being patient as hydrogen’s tailwind plays out, driven by rising demand and the fact that existing gas transport and storage infrastructure can be relatively easily repurposed for hydrogen.
Introducing Q Precious & Battery Metals
One noteworthy name worth running through your due diligence process is Q Precious & Battery Metals (CSE:QMET), market capitalization C$2.91 million, a Canadian junior mining stock down by over 90 per cent since adopting its current name in 2023, despite providing high-quality exposure to a project portfolio prospective for gold, lithium,copper, zinc and yes, hydrogen, primarily in the mineral-rich province of Quebec.
Canada is among the top 10 hydrogen producers globally, coming in at about 4 per cent of annual output, making it a key player in the race to strengthen domestic supply chains by increasing production and diversifying away from unreliable jurisdictions, with Deloitte predicting that China will dominate the market through 2050.
Under this geopolitical backdrop, Q Precious’ hydrogen exploration success reveals itself to be a source of attractive long-term upside. The company began to make its name in Canadian hydrogen by establishing a presence in Quebec. Here’s a breakdown:
- In 2020, Q Precious staked the 663-hectare Lorrain project, located less than 14 kilometres southeast of Quebec Innovative Materials’ (CSE:QIMC) gas-in-soil discovery grid area, which yielded significant concentrations up to 388 parts per million (ppm). Lorrain contains numerous geologic features highly favorable for hydrogen, including potential hydrocarbon traps.
- In January 2025, Q Precious went on to pick up the 26-kilometre-long Matane project, which features a structural corridor highly conducive to deep groundwater circulation and water rock reactions, both essential for hydrogen generation. The company partnered with QIMC to apply its successful hydrogen exploration techniques on the property, having posted more than 13,000 ppm hydrogen at the St-Bruno-de-Guigues project in Quebec, the top result for clean hydrogen in Canadian history.
With a path to building shareholder value through prospecting and drilling in La Belle Province firmly in place, Q Precious recently turned its attention to developing Nova Scotia’s vast hydrogen potential, as evidenced by QIMC’s over 400-square-kilometre Cumberland project and its numerous geological structures suggestive of the presence of natural hydrogen, including similarities to leading productive region around the world, such as the Lorraine basin in France.
The Colchester natural hydrogen project
Q Precious acted quickly and acquired the 89.44-square-kilometre Colchester hydrogen project in April 2025, adjacent to QIMC’s Cumberland project, driven by the area’s geological prospectivity and its similarity to QIMC’s high-yielding Quebec properties, with the companies expanding their aforementioned partnership to include their Nova Scotia land holdings.
Colchester is characterized by significant sedimentary depths of up to 7 kilometres and strong geothermal gradients, making it a strong candidate for hydrogen generation, accumulation and storage, in addition to potentially significant helium concentrations.
“By collaborating with an established leader like QIMC, we are uniquely positioned to rapidly advance exploration, efficiently manage our resources and deliver significant value to shareholders,” Richard Penn, Q Precious & Battery Metals’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said in a statement. “This collaboration significantly accelerates our path towards commercializing natural hydrogen resources, offering substantial growth opportunities.”
With eyes on streamlining operations, accelerating project development and proving out Nova Scotia’s hydrogen potential, the companies set out to assess Colchester in May 2025, posting compelling phase-I geological reconnaissance results, yielding numerous high-priority structures and fault zones to be followed up on during an upcoming spring-summer exploration program consisting of soil gas sampling, geophysical surveys and geochemical analyses.
The companies believe they are on the right track to replicating QIMC’s success at St-Bruno-de-Guigues and the Cumberland project, laying a foundation for further exploration, positive news flow and the creation of shareholder value catalyzed by clean hydrogen’s fast-growing tailwind.
QIMC and QMET begin phase-II hydrogen development program in Nova Scotia
Following the success of Colchester’s geological reconnaissance program, Q Precious and Quebec Innovative Materials are preparing to break ground on a C$200,000 phase-II exploration program in July in partnership with the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique.
The program will take more than 1,000 soil gas samples along key fault zones and structures, complemented by detailed mobile radiometric gamma measurements, in search of high-grade hydrogen zones justifying follow-up exploration.
As far as Penn is concerned, the companies are nothing short of “driving forward a significant opportunity for Nova Scotia’s energy future and reinforcing its role in Canada’s evolving energy landscape.”
John Karagiannidis, CEO of Quebec Innovative Materials, vehemently agrees, viewing the partnership as a way to “accelerate the path towards unlocking Nova Scotia’s clean natural hydrogen assets.”
Despite Q Precious’ strategic hydrogen exposure and broad metals diversification with demonstrated upside, that broader market has yet to recognize the company’s significant potential to both facilitate and capitalize on the green energy transition.
An emerging leader in Canadian hydrogen exploration
The factors behind Q Precious’ negative market sentiment are common prices to pay on the road to differentiated returns. We can summarize them as:
- The higher risk-tolerance required to invest in pre-revenue, micro-cap companies.
- The advanced knowledge required to hold conviction in a commodity tailwind in the earliest stage of its development.
Both are advantages for the seasoned active investor, whose patience and resilience in the face of volatility are essential on the lengthy journey from exploration to production.
With QMET stock giving back 90 per cent of its value since 2023, and hydrogen’s role in reaching net-zero emissions growing more essential every year, investors with a long-term view are optimally positioned for a re-rating, as positive news flow makes Colchester’s high quality increasingly apparent to the broader market and opens the door for financing and further exploration across the company’s polymetallic portfolio.
Watch for QMET stock to build momentum as the company follows up on numerous high-priority targets at Colchester – supported by a partner responsible for the highest hydrogen concentrations in Canadian history – and continues to build upon its already strong track record of exploration success.
Join the discussion: Find out what everybody’s saying about this junior hydrogen stock on the Q Precious & Battery Metals Corp. Bullboard and check out Stockhouse’s stock forums and message boards.
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