Outlines Development & Strategy for Helium Plant

Pulsar commits US$85.5M for helium plant equipment but lacks secured project financing.

What the company is saying

Pulsar Helium Inc. is presenting a detailed update on its planned Rare Gas Hub in Minnesota, emphasizing the acceptance of a binding US$85.5 million equipment-supply proposal from Chart Energy & Chemicals, Inc., a Baker Hughes subsidiary. The company frames its narrative around technical scale—highlighting a helium system with 861 liters/hour nameplate capacity (7.5 million liters/year) at 99.999% purity, and a CO2 system with 300 tonnes/day (109,500 tonnes/year) at 99.99% purity. The announcement stresses a preferred financing strategy focused on project-level debt and public-sector support, aiming to minimize new equity issuance, but openly acknowledges that no binding financing commitments have been secured from University Bank, DEED, USDA Rural Development, or IRRR. CEO Thomas Abraham-James is quoted to reinforce the multi-channel financing approach and the intent to preserve liquidity for other commitments. The company is transparent about the equipment price not representing total installed cost and about the need for further milestones, permitting, and EPC selection before construction. The tone is confident but measured, with repeated caveats about the forward-looking nature of financing, permitting, and commercial arrangements.

What the data suggests

The disclosed figures show a capital-intensive project with an equipment-supply contract valued at US$85.5 million, while Pulsar's unaudited cash resources stand at US$24.6 million as of October 12, 2026. The technical specifications are ambitious: the helium system is designed for 861 liters/hour liquefaction (7.5 million liters/year) at 99.999% purity, and the CO2 system for 300 tonnes/day (109,500 tonnes/year) at 99.99% purity. However, the equipment-supply price does not cover the full project cost, and key infrastructure—such as CO2 storage and site-support services—remains outside the current scope. No revenue, cost, or cash flow projections are provided, and there is no evidence of secured offtake or supply agreements. The company is still negotiating site arrangements, engineering, and EPC contracts, and is only at the stage of parallel financing discussions with several public and private entities. Equipment manufacture is expected to take two years after a future milestone payment, with no target date for commercial production. The gap between the disclosed cash and the equipment price, combined with the absence of binding financing, signals a significant funding shortfall and long execution timeline.

Analysis

The announcement presents a positive tone, highlighting the acceptance of a binding equipment-supply proposal for a major helium and CO2 plant and providing detailed technical specifications. However, most of the key claims are forward-looking: the project is still in the development phase, with equipment manufacture alone expected to take approximately two years after a future payment milestone, and no target date for commercial production is provided. The financing strategy is aspirational, with no binding commitments yet secured and the total installed project cost undisclosed. The disclosed cash balance (US$24.6 million) is significantly less than the equipment price (US$85.5 million), and the company is pursuing multiple, as-yet-uncommitted financing channels. While the binding equipment order is a concrete step, the majority of benefits (production, revenue, cash flow) are long-dated and uncertain, and the capital intensity is high. The narrative is somewhat inflated by emphasizing design capacities and financing intentions without corresponding evidence of secured funding or near-term operational milestones.

Risk flags

• ●Financing risk is high, as no binding debt or public-sector funding commitments have been secured; the company is reliant on ongoing discussions with University Bank, DEED, USDA Rural Development, and IRRR, all of which remain subject to due diligence, approvals, and program eligibility.
• ●Capital adequacy is a concern: Pulsar's unaudited cash resources of US$24.6 million are far below the US$85.5 million equipment price, and the total installed project cost will be higher still, raising the risk of future equity dilution or project delays if financing is not secured.
• ●Execution risk is substantial, given the number of interdependent workstreams—site selection, permitting, engineering, EPC contracting, and commercial arrangements—all of which must be completed before construction and commissioning can begin.
• ●Timeline risk is elevated, as equipment manufacture alone is expected to take two years after a future payment milestone, with no defined schedule for site development, permitting, or first production, making near-term value realization unlikely.
• ●Market and commercial risk persists: the company has not disclosed any binding feed-gas supply or product offtake agreements, and market conditions for helium and CO2 could change before the plant is operational, affecting project economics.

Bottom line

Pulsar Helium Inc. has taken a concrete step by committing US$85.5 million to a binding equipment-supply contract for its Minnesota helium and CO2 plant, but the project remains in early development with no secured financing for the full build-out. The company’s cash position of US$24.6 million is insufficient to cover even the equipment order, and all major funding channels are still at the discussion stage. Key project elements—site arrangements, EPC selection, permitting, and commercial contracts—are unresolved, and equipment manufacture will take two years after a future milestone payment. Investors face significant capital, execution, and timeline risks, with no near-term catalysts for revenue or cash flow. The most important takeaway is that while the equipment order is a real commitment, the project's delivery and financial viability depend entirely on securing substantial additional funding and advancing multiple complex workstreams.

Announcement summary

(AIM: PLSR) (TSXV: PLSR) (OTCQB: PSRHF) Pulsar Helium Inc. has provided an update on the development and proposed financing of its commercial-scale helium purification and liquefaction plant and carbon dioxide processing plant in Minnesota, which together are intended to form the Company's proposed Rare Gas Hub project. The Company has accepted a binding proposal from Chart Energy & Chemicals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Baker Hughes Company, for the supply of equipment for the plant at an aggregate equipment-supply price of US$85.5 million. The helium system is designed with a nameplate liquefaction capacity of 861 liters per hour, equivalent to approximately 7.5 million liters of liquid helium annually at continuous nameplate operation, before allowances for commissioning, maintenance, uptime, feed-gas availability, and other operating conditions. The stated design product purity for helium is 99.999%, subject to design assumptions and successful performance testing. The CO2 system has a stated processing capacity of 300 metric tonnes per day, equivalent to approximately 109,500 metric tonnes annually at continuous nameplate operation, before operating allowances, and a stated design purity of 99.99%. CO2 storage and loading equipment and certain site-support services are outside the present equipment-supply scope and will be addressed separately. The Company's preferred financing strategy is to fund a substantial portion of the remaining project costs through project-level debt and public-sector financing, supplemented by existing cash resources, with the objective of limiting reliance on new equity capital. Pulsar is advancing multiple potential financing channels in parallel, including discussions with University Bank, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA Rural Development), and Minnesota's Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR). No binding financing commitment has been entered into with University Bank or any of the agencies mentioned. The project site is located within IRRR's Taconite Assistance Area, and the Company has commenced discussions with IRRR regarding potential low-interest direct or bank-participation financing and other economic-development assistance. The Company believes the site satisfies the geographic rural-area criterion for USDA Rural Development's Business & Industry Guaranteed Loan Program. As of the date of the announcement, the Company had unaudited cash resources of approximately US$24.6 million. The Company expects to preserve sufficient liquidity for its other committed work programs and corporate requirements when determining the amount of cash to contribute to the project. The aggregate equipment-supply price of US$85.5 million does not represent the total installed project cost. The Company is advancing several interdependent workstreams, including completion of equipment proposal, industrial-site arrangements, engineering and installed-cost definition, feed-gas and product-commercialization arrangements, project financing, and manufacture, construction, installation, and commissioning. Equipment manufacture is currently expected to require approximately two years following the Milestone 2 payment. The Company will provide a target date for first commercial production when the installed scope, permitting path, financing timetable, and EPC schedule are sufficiently defined. Thomas Abraham-James is the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Pulsar Helium Inc.

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