Clean energy tech company NET Power merges with Rice Acquisition Corp. II

NET Power, a North Carolina-based clean energy technology company, and Rice Acquisition Corp. II, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, have concluded their previously announced merger deal.

The combined entity will operate as NET Power Inc. with its Class A common stock and warrants trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols “NPWR” and “NPWR WS,” respectively.

NET Power, founded in 2010, is dedicated to inventing, developing, and potentially licensing technology that revolutionizes natural gas power generation. The company’s technology aims to provide reliable and on-demand power from natural gas while significantly reducing life cycle emissions by approximately 90% compared to conventional combined cycle natural gas systems.

Moreover, NET Power’s technology offers a levelized cost of energy that is lower than both combined cycle gas turbines with carbon capture and renewable energy sources coupled with batteries.

With an initial enterprise value of around $1.5 billion and a market capitalization exceeding $2 billion, NET Power is well-positioned for future growth.

The proceeds from this transaction are expected to provide NET Power with substantial capital to fully support corporate operations and expand its backlog of utility-scale power plant projects, with the commencement of plant deliveries slated for 2026.

The business combination has generated gross proceeds of over $675 million for NET Power. This includes more than $135 million from RONI’s trust account and approximately $540 million in private investment in public equity (PIPE) capital from strategic and financial investors. To support NET Power’s operations until the closing of the Business Combination, Occidental provided interim financing amounting to $10 million.

Danny Rice — NET Power CEO said: “This deal sets NET Power on a path to accelerate the buildout and commercialization of our technology and bring the world the trifecta of clean, affordable, and reliable energy.

“Rapid deployment of decarbonized baseload power around the world is critical to addressing climate change and NET Power’s technology offers a path forward. I’m excited to join the team and lead the global deployment of this critical technology.”

Significantly, existing strategic investors in NET Power, such as Occidental, Baker Hughes, Constellation, and 8 Rivers (a subsidiary of SK Group), have rolled over 100% of their equity into the combined company. This demonstrates their continued commitment to the company’s vision and growth.

Throughout the period since the proposed business combination was initially announced in December, NET Power has achieved notable milestones.

The clean energy technology company upsized its PIPE financing from approximately $225 million to approximately $540 million, and initiated front end engineering and design (FEED) for its first standardized utility-scale project near Occidental’s Permian Basin operations.

It also unveiled plans for a joint venture with SK Group to pursue the origination and development of utility-scale NET Power plants across Asia. These initiatives have further positioned NET Power as a key player in advancing clean energy solutions globally.

Vicki Hollub — Occidental President and CEO said: “We believe NET Power has a transformative technology that supports our net-zero ambitions through its ability to provide near emissions-free power to our Permian Basin operations and future Direct Air Capture sites.

“Globally deploying affordable, reliable and clean power is an important step to accelerate carbon reductions and further climate goals, which we think is best attained with NET Power.”