MIDLAND, Texas, March 05, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New Era Helium, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEHC) ("New Era Helium" or the "Company"), an exploration and production (E&P) company sourcing helium from natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin, today provided a strategic update on its expanding role within the AI-driven economy from its two primary commodities; helium and natural gas. The Company remains on track to meet certain key production milestones and is currently reviewing an integrated energy strategy that will allow it to further solidify its position across the AI spectrum.

Helium: Foundational for AI Creation

• As AI infrastructure rapidly expands, the Company’s helium and natural gas are playing a vital role in both its development and operations, forming the backbone of advanced chip manufacturing and proven power generation for high-performance data centers. Currently, the number one end use application for helium is for the creation of semiconductor chips. Due to its scarcity and limited global production from just a handful of countries, helium is considered a critical raw material by the USA, EU, Canada, and other jurisdictions. With the enactment of The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the U.S. semiconductor industry is seeking to decrease its dependence on foreign production with an emphasis on reshoring the semiconductor market along with its supply chain. For example, President Donald Trump announced Monday a $100 billion investment from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing intended towards building new chip manufacturing plants in Arizona. Helium is essential for semiconductor fabrication, GPU cooling, and quantum computing applications, making it a key driver of AI and next-generation computing.

Natural Gas: A Long-Term Energy Solution for AI

• As with the Company’s helium reserves, the Company expects to leverage its significant natural gas reserves within the AI spectrum as well. AI data centers are a major consumer of electricity and are straining power grids worldwide. For example, a single large data center can consume as much electricity as 50,000 homes. The Company expects that its natural gas production will serve as a direct energy source for AI workloads. Rather than selling gas as a commodity into a pipeline, the Company seeks to convert it into electricity, maximizing revenue potential. We believe that our Pecos Slope Gas Field will be capable of generating approximately 70+ MW of power for 20 years or more once the Company hits its daily production target of 20,000 Mcfpd. While this capacity could power an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 homes for decades ( depending on factors like average household energy consumption and peak demand) the Company has strategically chosen to allocate this energy towards AI data center operations, recognizing the long-term economic and technological benefits of dedicated behind-the-meter power for HPC infrastructure.

As part of New Era Helium’s AI strategy, Texas Critical Data Centers, LLC (TCDC), the Company’s joint venture vehicle, recently signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) [read here] to acquire 200 acres in Ector County, Texas, for the development of a 250MW net-zero AI/HPC data center campus. A large emphasis of the Company’s recent time has been centered around its participation in TCDC. However, the Company remains committed to the development of our Pecos Slope Field as it remains the key to the Company’s participation within the AI ecosystem.

New Era Helium intends to issue a formal update in the near future regarding the status of its Pecos Slope processing plant, which ultimately will provide pipeline spec natural gas, helium, and natural gas liquids. Progress on other key strategic objectives outlined in prior investor communications will also be addressed in the forthcoming shareholder update.

E. Will Gray II, CEO of New Era Helium commented: "We are at a pivotal moment in New Era Helium’s growth, where our vision for next-generation energy solutions is becoming a reality. Instead of simply selling our natural gas into the pipeline, we are planning on maximizing its value by creating behind-the-meter power to fuel the AI-driven economy. At the same time, we remain focused on key production milestones, reinforcing our commitment to sustainable growth, operational excellence, and long-term value creation. We seek to optimize this strategy through our efforts within our Pecos Slope footprint as well as through accretive acquisition opportunities. Since 95% of the world’s helium is associated with natural gas, New Era Helium is strategically positioned to support the growing computing and processing demands of AI."

About New Era Helium, Inc.

New Era Helium, Inc. is an exploration and production company that sources helium produced in association with the production of natural gas reserves in North America. The company currently owns and operates over 137,000 acres in Southeast New Mexico and has over 1.5 billion cubic feet of proved and probable helium reserves. For more information, visit www.newerahelium.com. Follow New Era Helium on LinkedIn and X.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this press release may be forward-looking statements or statements of future expectations based on currently available information. Such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors such as the development of general economic conditions, future market conditions, unusual catastrophic loss events, changes in the capital markets and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different from those anticipated by such statements. The Company does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or updated status of such statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will the Company and its affiliates be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements in this press release or for any related damages.

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