EDF Australia Commits Euro 10 Million to Vast

EDF Australia (“EDF Australia”) announced a Euro 10 million commitment to Vast Renewables Limited (“Vast”), a renewable energy company specialising in concentrated solar power (“CSP”) energy systems that generate zero-carbon, utility-scale electricity and industrial process heat.

The companies will partner to develop Australian CSP projects that will further Australia’s transition to a clean-energy economy.

EDF Australia’s capital commitment is subject to closing the previously announced business combination between Vast and Nabors Energy Transition Corp. (“NETC”) (NYSE: NETCU, NETC, NETCW) and other customary conditions.

Vast’s proprietary CSP v3.0 technology has received significant support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (“ARENA”), which announced approval for up to AUD 65 million in conditional grant funding to support the construction of Vast Solar 1 (“VS1”), a planned 30MW CSP plant with 288 MWh of thermal storage in Port Augusta, South Australia.

VS1 will be co-located with Vast’s planned Solar Methanol 1 (“SM1”), a world-first green methanol demonstration plant led by Vast and German integrated energy giant Mabanaft, which was awarded AUD 19.48 million and EUR 13.2 million of conditional grant funding from an Australian and German government collaboration.

EDF Australia Country Manager James Katsikas said the company was committed to assisting Australia’s transition to a clean-energy economy. He emphasised EDF’s dedication to delivering a portfolio of clean-energy projects across the national energy network and highlighted the fact that EDF has an exceptional track record of developing, designing, delivering and operating complex, unique infrastructure projects.

“With our knowledge and experience, we are well-equipped to successfully execute multiple projects within the clean-energy value chain,” Mr Katsikas said.

“EDF Group is a long term, strategic investor with unparalleled expertise in clean energy development. We spend over AUD 1 billion annually on research and development and are uniquely placed to accelerate the commercialisation of cutting-edge technologies like Vast’s CSP 3.0. We look forward to collaborating with Vast and believe this arrangement has the potential to accelerate the nation’s transition towards clean energy production and consumption,” he added.

Vast Chief Executive Officer Craig Wood said, “As one of the largest energy utilities in the world, EDF operates gigawatts of renewable projects and has world-leading expertise in the use of sodium as a heat transfer fluid. We look forward to working with EDF Australia to deliver long-duration storage and green fuels projects, using our CSP technology to accelerate the decarbonisation of Australian industry.”

Vast founder Johnny Kahlbetzer said, “It's fantastic to have EDF validate our 14-year journey. Such development is integral to what AgCentral and the Twynam Earth Fund are all about, finding important decarbonisation technologies and getting them to market.”

William Restrepo, NETC CFO, said, “EDF Australia’s partnership with Vast is a critical milestone in catalysing the development of future CSP projects in the country.”

“EDF Australia's capital commitment to Vast validates the potential NETC sees in Vast to be a central player in the energy transition in Australia and around the world.”

Vast | www.vast.energy 

EDF Australia | https://www.edf-re.com.au/