Responsibly &
Rapidly Scaling GeoH₂

A reference to Mount Chimaera — home of an eternal hydrogen flame and the mythologized 3-headed beast — the Chimaera Fund combines philanthropic, government, and private capital to rapidly & responsibly scale geologic hydrogen by the 2030s.

Three interventions, one goal

We believe ambitious goals require tackling multiple constraints simultaneously. Our three focus areas compound on each other:

INTERVENTION 01

Open-Source Field Data

Facilitating shared access to drilled wells, unlocking new forms of geodata from active exploration sites, aggregating legacy datasets, and sponsoring open-access field demonstrations.

INTERVENTION 02

Advance Field Research

Bringing newly collected and legacy geodata together in a form AI can actually work with, while funding researchers to investigate foundational questions in Earth Sciences.

INTERVENTION 03

Advise Governments

Supporting national & subnational governments in the design and launch of programs, regulatory frameworks, state capacity, and outreach efforts.

Our current programs

Geologic Hydrogen Site Access Challenge

Unlocking proprietary exploration well data so university researchers can build the first open, publishable science on geologic hydrogen detection and generation.

Research underway

Learn more →

Air Force Geologic Hydrogen Energy Resilience Initiative

A Department of the Air Force–funded initiative assessing geologic hydrogen as a resilient energy resource near Malmstrom and McConnell Air Force Bases.

Initiative underway

Learn more →

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The Team

Who's behind it

Ishan Sharma

Founder & Director

Ishan Sharma

Founder & Director

Ishan is the Founder and Director of Chimaera.

Before starting Chimaera, Ishan served as a principal advisor for industrial innovation at the White House, where he led national strategies spanning next-generation geothermal, nuclear energy, regional economic development, and technology commercialization as well as supported the implementation of executive orders on the U.S. bioeconomy and semiconductor industries.

He holds a B.S. from Cornell University and is a member of the Policy Entrepreneurs Network and the Emergent Ventures community, as well as a U.S.–India Climate Fellow.

Dr. Emily Yedinak

Technical Strategy & Partnerships Lead

Dr. Emily Yedinak

Technical Strategy & Partnerships Lead

Emily serves as the Technical Strategy & Partnerships Lead for Chimaera. Prior to Chimaera, Emily was a DOE ARPA-E Fellow where she spearheaded the agency's geologic hydrogen program. She then spent three years at Koloma, a geologic hydrogen startup, as a Technical Program Manager.

Emily earned a PhD in Materials Science and Nanoengineering from Rice University for her work on carbon nanotubes. Emily is a Fulbright alumna from the 2014 cohort to Chile.

Preston Young

Operations Lead

Preston Young

Operations Lead

Preston is the Operations Lead at Chimaera. In this role, he spearheads the development of the team's tools and operational infrastructure, manages the grants and funding pipeline, and delivers day-to-day operational support for ongoing programs.

Preston brings a background in operational systems and infrastructure across the science and technology philanthropy space.

He holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin.

Advisory Board

Dr. Douglas Wicks

Strategic Director, Ascent Japan and former ARPA-E Geologic Hydrogen Program Director

Dr. Alexis Templeton

Professor of Geochemistry and Geobiology, University of Colorado Boulder

Dr. Geoffrey Ellis

Co-Author of the USGS GeoH₂ Prospectivity Map and Senior Advisor, Stanford Geologic Hydrogen Consortium

Dr. Mark Myers

Commissioner at the U.S. Arctic Commission and former Director of the U.S. Geological Survey

Dr. Allegra Hosford Scheirer

Geologic Hydrogen consultant and Director, Stanford Geologic Hydrogen Consortium

Doug Hollett

Originator of the Utah FORGE geothermal test site and former DOE Senior Official

Morten Stahl

Founding Partner, Natural Hydrogen Ventures

Dean Rossell

Principal Geologist, Midcontinent Geoscience Consulting

Partners

Responsibly & Rapidly Scaling GeoH₂