First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Welcomes Dr Douglas Wicks, Former Program Director for the US Department of Energy’s ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) Miner Program and Geologic Hydrogen Portfolio, as Strategic Advisor
GRAND FALLS-WINDSOR, Newfoundland and Labrador, April 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Corp. (TSXV: FAN | OTCQB: FANCF | FSE: P21) (the “Company” or “First Atlantic”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Douglas Wicks as a Strategic Advisor to the Company. Dr. Wicks is a globally recognized expert in critical minerals processing and geologic (natural) hydrogen, with more than 25 years of senior leadership experience across the United States government, industrial minerals, advanced materials, and academic research.
From 2019 to 2025, Dr. Wicks served as a Program Director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (“ARPA-E”), where he led two programs directly relevant to First Atlantic’s Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project. These included ARPA-E’s MINER program (Mining Innovations for Negative Emissions Resource Recovery), which funded research to increase domestic supplies of critical minerals, including nickel, cobalt, copper, lithium and rare earth elements, while reducing the energy intensity and emissions of mineral extraction, and ARPA-E’s geologic hydrogen portfolio, which funded research into naturally generated and stimulated hydrogen from ultramafic rocks.
Dr. Douglas Wicks, former Program Director for the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E MINER program and Geologic Hydrogen portfolio, commented:
I’m excited by the novel composition of awaruite (Ni₃Fe), a naturally occurring magnetic nickel-iron-cobalt (Ni-Fe-Co) alloy.
Because awaruite occurs naturally as a metallic alloy, it can move directly from mine to metal, feeding stainless steel production or refining for downstream applications. Its natural magnetism makes awaruite amenable to magnetic separation, a proven processing method for separating and concentrating magnetic ores at large scale across the global iron ore industry. Awaruite from the Pipestone XL Project could help onshore the North American nickel and cobalt supply chain, bypassing midstream smelting constraints and delivering usable feedstock for stainless steel, specialty alloy, and electric vehicle battery manufacturing industries.
Pipestone XL represents a rare and unique geological environment of serpentinized peridotite within an ophiolite complex hosting awaruite, ideal for stimulated geologic hydrogen. Stimulated geologic hydrogen, in particular, has the potential to become a large-scale source of renewable energy that is cost-competitive with hydrocarbon energy.”
Dr. Wicks now serves as Strategic Director, ASCENT Japan at Renaissance Philanthropy, and sits on the Advisory Board of Renaissance Philanthropy’s Chimaera Fund, a leading, U.S. based geologic hydrogen initiative.
Dr. Wicks brings deep expertise in critical mineral processing and geologic hydrogen, extensive U.S. government experience, and a strong network across the private sector. The Company believes this combination is well suited to advancing Pipestone XL, which hosts awaruite nickel-cobalt alloy mineralization in serpentinized ultramafic rocks within the Pipestone Ophiolite Complex – a geological setting that is also prospective stimulated geologic hydrogen.
Key Highlights
- Dr. Douglas Wicks joins First Atlantic as Strategic Advisor following six years as a Program Director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E (2019 – 2025), where he designed and led the MINER program and the Geologic Hydrogen Exploratory Topics, the first U.S. federal program to competitively fund stimulated geologic hydrogen research.
- Through the MINER program, Dr. Wicks designed and led U.S. federal research investment into nickel, cobalt and other critical mineral recovery from mafic and ultramafic ore systems, with funding awarded to U.S. National Laboratories, leading universities, and private companies for carbon-negative processing and improved mineral yield – the same broad class of ore systems that hosts awaruite at Pipestone XL.
- Dr. Wicks served as Program Director for ARPA-E’s Geologic Hydrogen portfolio, leading U.S. federal research into natural and stimulated geologic hydrogen production, with funding awarded to U.S. National Laboratories, universities, and private companies.
- Dr. Wicks serves on the Advisory Board of the Chimaera Fund, a U.S. non-profit geologic hydrogen initiative recently awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of the Air Force to assess geologic hydrogen as a primary energy resource whose availability and potential cost-effectiveness could position it as a viable alternative or supplement to natural gas and diesel-fueled generation systems at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana and McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.2
- Dr. Wicks is Strategic Director, ASCENT Japan at Renaissance Philanthropy, where he leads a U.S. – Japan geologic hydrogen and critical-minerals innovation program in partnership with the Japan Science and Technology Agency and the Japan Cabinet Office.
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First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Welcomes Dr Douglas Wicks, Former Program Director for the US Department of Energy’s ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) Miner Program and Geologic Hydrogen Portfolio, as Strategic Advisor, source
