• Five-year exploration licence E46/1580 granted, adding 34.95 km² and increasing AEF's South Woodie Woodie exploration tenure to 533.43 km².

• New tenure is immediately west of the Pearana and Pothole prospect areas, where AEF recently defined 44 priority drill targets outside the existing resource area, providing opportunities to test for additional manganese mineralization.

• E46/1580 is located approximately 33 km south of the long-life, high-grade Woodie Woodie manganese mining operation and contains geology associated with manganese mineralization elsewhere in the district.

• The expanded tenure strengthens AEF's broader resource growth strategy around its existing 11.3 Mt at 15.0% Mn Inferred Mineral Resource, while the Company continues to advance its downstream processing pathway.

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 16, 2026) - AE Fuels Corporation (TSXV: AEF) (OTCQB: NRGFF) ("AEF" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the grant of exploration licence E46/1580 at the South Woodie Woodie Manganese Project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The new licence covers 34.95 km², increasing AEF's tenure to 533.43 km² and adding contiguous ground immediately west of the Pearana and Pothole prospect areas. Pearana and Pothole are outside the areas supporting the Company's existing Inferred Mineral Resource and were the subject of AEF's recently completed high-resolution gravity program, which defined 44 priority drill targets for systematic testing (September 2, 2026).

The combination of an established Mineral Resource, defined exploration targets outside the existing resource area and an expanded contiguous land position provides AEF with multiple opportunities to test the broader scale of the South Woodie Woodie manganese system.

"South Woodie Woodie is moving beyond a single-resource proposition toward a broader project-scale opportunity," said Gary Lewis, CEO and Director of AE Fuels. "We already have a manganese resource, a defined beneficiation pathway and successful downstream process development. The recent gravity results gave us a focused pathway to test Pearana and Pothole, and the grant of E46/1580 now extends our exploration footprint immediately west of those prospects."

"The new tenement contains prospective geology associated with manganese mineralization elsewhere in the district and structural trends comparable to Pearana. Our objective is to test the broader resource potential of South Woodie Woodie while advancing the downstream pathway toward high-purity manganese products for allied and U.S.-aligned supply chains."

Strategic Expansion of South Woodie Woodie

E46/1580 lies immediately west of E46/1521 and E46/1387, which contain the Pearana and Pothole prospect areas. Pearana and Pothole are being advanced as potential sources of additional manganese resources separate from the areas supporting the Company's existing Inferred Mineral Resource. The new tenement extends AEF's tenure immediately west of these prospects and provides additional ground for regional geological, structural and geophysical assessment. Importantly, this additional ground complements the pipeline of exploration targets outside the areas currently supporting the South Woodie Woodie Mineral Resource.

Established Manganese District

E46/1580 is located approximately 33 km south of the long-life, high-grade Woodie Woodie manganese mining operation. Regional mapping identifies Pinjian Chert Breccia within E46/1580, a rock formation associated with manganese mineralization at the Woodie Woodie mine, the Contact deposits and the Pearana-Pothole targets.

Two interpreted structural trends, east-west and northwest-southeast, intersect within the tenement. This geometry is analogous to the interpreted structural setting at Pearana, where intersecting structures are considered an important exploration control. The mapped geology and structure provide a clear basis for follow-up exploration but do not demonstrate the presence of manganese mineralization, which requires field investigation and drill testing.

Figure 1. AEF South Woodie Woodie tenement package, showing E46/1580 (top left), the Pearana and Pothole gravity grids and the planned Contact open pits.

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Building Scale at South Woodie Woodie

South Woodie Woodie hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource of 11.3 Mt at 15% Mn¹. The recently identified Pearana and Pothole targets lie outside the areas supporting the existing Mineral Resource, providing AEF with opportunities to test the potential scale of the broader manganese system. AEF has also demonstrated a beneficiation pathway and, through continuous mini-pilot testwork, produced battery-grade High-Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate crystals.

The grant of E46/1580 expands the area available to test the broader scale of the manganese system while the Company continues to advance its processing pathway. Together, these initiatives support a dual-track focus on potential resource growth and downstream value creation.

Next Steps

The Company will incorporate E46/1580 into its broader South Woodie Woodie exploration strategy. Initial work is expected to include integration and review of available geological and geophysical datasets, field reconnaissance and target validation, followed by assessment of priority areas for additional geophysics and drill targeting. In parallel, AEF will continue advancing the 44 priority drill targets identified at Pearana and Pothole and its downstream manganese processing pathway.

Qualified Person

John Levings, BSc, FAusIMM, Technical Director, AE Fuels Corporation, is the Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, responsible for the scientific and technical information in this news release. Mr. Levings has reviewed, verified, and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release. Mr. Levings is not independent of the Company for the purposes of NI 43-101.

On behalf of the board of directors of the Company:

Gary Lewis,
CEO and Director

About AE Fuels Corporation

AE Fuels Corporation (TSXV: AEF) (OTCQB: NRGFF) is a US-aligned critical minerals company focused on battery-grade manganese and fluorspar-hydrofluoric acid (HF) supply chains. The Company's strategy connects allied-country manganese supply (Pilbara, Western Australia) and domestic US fluorspar supply (New Mexico, USA) with US midstream processing and downstream supply chains. Manganese and fluorspar are designated critical minerals in the US, Australia, and EU, and are essential to multiple high-growth industries including battery materials, semiconductor fabrication and advanced electronics, nuclear fuel processing and clean energy technologies. AEF is advancing development activities aimed at delivering reliable, allied-sourced supply of these materials to reduce foreign dependency and strengthen US industrial base resilience across these key industries.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein in the United States. The securities described herein have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities law and may not be offered or sold in the "United States", as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, exploration activities on E46/1580 and the broader South Woodie Woodie Project, future fieldwork, geophysical surveys and drilling; the potential identification, continuity and extent of manganese mineralization; potential changes or additions to mineral resources; metallurgical testwork and process development; the potential production of High-Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate, including suitability for battery and precursor specifications; and the Company's business objectives and strategy. Forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations, estimates and assumptions as of the date of this news release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: results of exploration, metallurgical and engineering work; assumptions underlying technical and economic studies; commodity price and market volatility; availability of financing on acceptable terms; permitting and environmental approvals; operating and capital cost assumptions; and general economic, market and business conditions. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

¹ NI 43-101 Technical Report, effective August 15, 2025, and filed on SEDAR+ on December 12, 2025.

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