Concentrated solar thermal power company Vast Solar has announced it will go public through a business combination with Nabors Energy Transition Corp (NETC).
While remaining headquartered in Australia, the combined entity will be named Vast and is expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “VSTE”.
Related article: Vast Solar CSP reference plant gets $65m funding boost
NETC is an affiliate of Nabors Industries Ltd (Nabors) and is a leading provider of advanced technology for the energy industry, located in more than 15 countries globally.
Vast’s CSP technology collects and stores the sun’s energy during the day for delivery at any time, making around-the-clock, reliable, clean power a reality. Vast’s proprietary next-generation CSP system provides clean, dispatchable renewable energy for utility-scale power, industrial heat and clean fuel production applications.
The proposed business combination will accelerate the global deployment of Vast’s internationally-awarded, Australian-made CSP technology. Vast has deliberately sought access to overseas capital as well as domestically to help speed up development of this industry.
For Australia, the announcement has potential to bring inward investment, create jobs, and reduce emissions. It could also be a catalyst for a world-leading CSP industry, and help Australia become a clean energy export superpower.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) continues to support Vast and its pipeline of Australian projects, including VS1 and SM1, and the business combination will help to bring international capital to these projects and support Vast’s growth.
ARENA has supported Vast’s technology since 2012, including through the provision of $9.9 million in funding towards the 1.1MW CSP Pilot Plant in Jemalong, New South Wales.
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Announced this week, ARENA has approved $65 million in funding to Vast to construct VS1, a first-of-a-kind 30MW/288MWh concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Port Augusta, South Australia. This project will create up to 450 jobs in the construction phase. Additionally, the Port Augusta demonstration plant will enable the creation of up to 70 on-going jobs in long-term manufacturing, plant operations and maintenance roles.
Vast also this month was selected to receive $19.48m and EUR13.2m funding from HyGATE, a collaboration between the Australian and German governments, for Solar Methanol 1 (SM1), a Vast-led Consortium that will help to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries, including shipping and aviation.
