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Ojjo’s utility-scale Earth Truss Foundation eliminates predrill, minimizes subsurface risk, and reduces site grading to save millions in solar project budgets

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.Sept. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Ojjo, Inc., the leading provider of next-generation solar foundations, has surpassed the 4-gigawatt (GW) milestone for projects completed and committed for its proprietary Earth Truss™ foundation systemSpanning over 10 utility-scale projects throughout CaliforniaTexas, and the Southwestern United States, the over one million foundations specified into Ojjo’s constructed and committed projects support enough clean solar generation to power over 700,000 American households.

By bringing together sophisticated product engineering and advanced automation for installation, Ojjo’s system provides an optimized approach for large-scale solar developers and EPCs, mitigating costly and disruptive construction operations such as predrill, pile remediation, and site grading. Ojjo’s foundations have already been selected and are in operation on projects installed or owned by some of the largest names in solar, including: Arevon Energy, Inc., Avantus, Burns & McDonnell, Kiewit, NextEra Energy, Inc., Primergy Solar, LLC , Primoris Renewable Energy, SB Energy Global, LLC, Signal Energy, TotalEnergies, and 174 Power Global.

“We’re proud to have reached this milestone so quickly. It’s a testament to the innovative spirit and hard work of our team, coupled with the industry’s need for advanced, cost-effective, purpose-built solar foundations,” said Mike Miskovsky, Chairman and CEO of Ojjo. “Successive wins on massive projects underscore Ojjo’s growing momentum as we continue to unlock demand and improve the economics for gigawatts of utility-scale solar systems across the U.S.”

About Ojjo

Ojjo is the industry leader in developing and manufacturing next-generation utility-scale solar foundations. Ojjo’s patented approach combines novel hardware, the Earth Truss, with an innovative drilling machine, the Truss Driver. The Earth Truss is one of the fastest-to-install solar foundations in the industry, typically requiring significantly less steel volume and labor than a conventional pile system. Founded in 2018 by solar innovation veterans from Zep Solar and Tesla, Ojjo holds more than 300 domestic and international patents related to its system. With its 11-Gigawatt (GW) active project pipeline, Ojjo is rapidly becoming a preferred solution for leading utility-scale projects. To date, Ojjo has been chosen in over 4 GWs of solar projects, including Gemini, the nation’s largest stand-alone solar plus storage project to reach completion, and has over 45 GWs of opportunities across its overall North American pipeline. For more information, visit: www.ojjo.com.

SOURCE Ojjo

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JPMorgan Chase seeks to scale investment in emerging carbon removal technologies, announces agreements intended to durably remove and store 800,000 tons of carbon

New York, NY, May 23, 2023 – To help speed and scale the growth and development of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies, JPMorgan Chase signed long-term agreements to purchase over $200 million in high quality, durable1 CDR.

These agreements, intended to remove and store 800,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (mtCO₂e) from the atmosphere, represent one of the largest carbon removal purchases announced to date2. These will support scaling up carbon removal and are expected to enable the Firm to match every ton of its unabated direct operational emissions with durable carbon removal by 2030, further accelerating JPMorgan Chase’s operational sustainability efforts.

The market for carbon removal is expected to grow dramatically between now and 2050. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates cumulative removal needs of 100 to 1,000 gigatons (GtCO₂e) of carbon dioxide globally by 2100, with interim annual removal rates that approach 10 GtCO₂e by mid-century.

Emergent carbon markets can help speed the development and commercialization of high-integrity carbon reduction and removal solutions.

“These agreements reflect our ambition to support scale, innovation and evolution in these technologies. Alongside reducing emissions, the world needs significant investment in durable carbon removal solutions with gigaton-scale potential,” said Ashley Bacon, Chief Risk Officer, JPMorgan Chase.

“Financing promising technologies needed to help accelerate the low-carbon transition requires capital and expertise. We’re working to drive scalable development of carbon removal and storage as commercial solutions and aim to send a strong market signal,” said Daniel Pinto, President and Chief Operating Officer, JPMorgan Chase.

JPMorgan Chase announces:

One of the largest ever purchases of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) services via direct air capture and storage (DAC+S) from Climeworks: The Firm signed a 9-year agreement with Climeworks to deliver 25,000 mtCO₂e of carbon removal services.
“JPMorgan Chase’s long-term agreement with Climeworks sets a compelling example for the immediate action and the portfolio approach that are needed to deploy CO2 removal solutions. The finance industry has no doubt become a trailblazer in supporting the scale up of high-quality carbon removal solutions, today marks a new milestone in this field,” says Christoph Gebald, co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks.

Significant purchase of bio-oil CDR from Charm Industrial: The Firm agreed to purchase Charm CDR removing and storing approximately 28,500 mtCO₂e over 5 years and deliveries have already begun for JPMorgan Chase.
“We’re excited to partner with JPMC to remove thousands of tons of carbon while creating significant economic opportunities in communities with large scale agriculture and oil and gas expertise – right here in the U.S. JPMorgan Chase’s commitment to CDR is an important industry catalyst that will help us grow our carbon removal operations, and we’re proud to be one of their early partners,” said Peter Reinhardt, co-founder and CEO of Charm Industrial.

Long-term agreement with CO280 Solutions, Inc., one of the largest carbon removal agreements ever announced: The Firm signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MOU) with CO280 Solutions, Inc., reflecting the Firm’s intent to purchase up to 30,000 mtCO₂e of CDR per year for delivery over up to 15 years, for an expected total removal of as much as 450,000 mtCO₂e.
“CO280 was created to deliver what the carbon market wants: durable, high-quality, affordable CDR at large scale…today. JPMorgan Chase’s ambitious strategy to support high-quality carbon removal is a catalyst for growth and helps accelerate scale across these technologies. We’re thrilled to be selected as a CDR partner along with Climeworks and Charm,” said Jonathan Rhone, CEO of CO280 Solutions.

$75 million commitment to Frontier to help accelerate CDR technologies by guaranteeing demand: The Firm recently joined Frontier, an advance market commitment to accelerate carbon removal. JPMorgan Chase committed to purchase $50M of durable, high-quality CDR credits for its own operational emissions and will provide clients with access to as much as $25M of credits to help them meet their climate targets.
“Institutional capital is a crucial ingredient in getting carbon removal to gigaton scale. JPMorgan Chase brings deep financial expertise that can meaningfully accelerate the field. We’re thrilled that they’ve joined Frontier,” said Nan Ransohoff, Head of Frontier.

“These agreements will meaningfully contribute to moving carbon removal forward as a solution available to a wider range of buyers, including our clients,” said Heather Zichal, Global Head of Sustainability, JPMorgan Chase.

“Alongside facilitating sustainable finance and supporting clients in the energy transition, within our operations, we’re first reducing emissions to minimize our environmental impact and then addressing what we can’t yet abate. Our goal is to remove and durably store one ton of CO₂ for every ton of unabated direct operational emissions by 2030. Working with partners like Charm, Climeworks, CO280 and Frontier supports these objectives and helps bring innovative solutions to market at scale,” said Brian DiMarino, Head of Operational Sustainability, JPMorgan Chase.

The Firm will continue to utilize nature-based carbon removal solutions as part of its efforts to neutralize Scope 3 operational emissions, such as from employee business travel, and believes nature-based carbon removal credits continue to have an important role to play, with consideration of the limited durability of these solutions.

Carbon markets must achieve greater credibility and functionality

Alongside emissions reductions, the voluntary carbon market is an important tool for enabling the low-carbon transition to occur at a pace and scale commensurate with the climate challenge.

Today the Firm published a white paper summarizing its perspective on the role that the voluntary carbon market plays, current market challenges, and how JPMorgan Chase is working to support and leverage a more effective carbon market. It also presents a set of core principles that the Firm references when evaluating carbon credits to support the Firm’s sustainability commitments and engaging with clients on carbon credit-related transactions.

“The voluntary carbon market needs science-based and equitable criteria to ensure carbon credits represent genuine emissions reduction or removal. That is why we support the transparency efforts of organizations like the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets and are working with Carbon Direct, as we seek to deliver on a science-driven strategy for carbon management,” said Taylor Wright, Head of Strategy & Carbon Management, Operational Sustainability, JPMorgan Chase.

The Firm is building resources to support more unified global standards, improve market infrastructure and help companies implement their own effective carbon management strategies, including understanding how to evaluate carbon market risks, benefits and best practices for tracking progress over time.

For more information on how JPMorgan Chase is reducing the environmental impact of its operations and supporting clients’ transition to a lower carbon economy, including targeting to finance and facilitate $1 trillion for green initiatives by 2030, visit www.jpmorganchase.com/sustainability.

Additional Information:

Climeworks

JPMorgan Chase signed a 9-year agreement with Climeworks, a leader in carbon dioxide removal through direct air capture (DAC) combined with storage. This will deliver 25,000 mtCO₂e of CDR services, which is one of the largest ever purchases by a single corporate buyer from a single CDR solution provider in DAC.

Climeworks pioneered and now spearheads a high-quality, high integrity approach via DAC+S with operational, measurable, additional, and permanent CDR as a service, empowering companies to advance their net zero roadmaps and fight global warming.

Long-term commitments like the one announced today play a key role in scaling the carbon removal industry by providing planning security to producers, buyers and investors. As a demonstrable step on its scale-up roadmap to gigaton capacity, Climeworks recently announced the ground-breaking of its next DAC+S facility, called Mammoth, and its participation in several potential projects in the U.S. – while continuing to explore other locations and take part in other projects.

On this journey, J.P. Morgan also acted as a sole placement agent on a $650 million equity private placement for Climeworks in 2022.

Charm Industrial

The Firm agreed to purchase bio-oil CDR credits from Charm for the removal and storage of approximately 28,585 mtCO₂e over 5 years.

Charm delivers durable carbon removal by injecting bio-oil, a carbon-rich liquid made from inedible, excess plant materials into deep, underground injection reservoirs, permanently storing the carbon absorbed by the plants as they grew from the atmosphere.

Charm is proud to already be delivering durable carbon removal in the U.S. right now, including to JPMorgan Chase. With over 2 million abandoned or orphaned oil and gas wells in the US alone, there’s a tremendous potential to store liquid forms of carbon and repurpose oil and gas infrastructure and expertise honed over hundreds of years in the US to reduce atmospheric CO2.

In addition, Charm’s use of waste agricultural feedstocks and forestry residues can help improve air quality, reduce the threat of wildfires, and create additional revenues for America’s farmers.

Charm is also commercializing the use of bio-oil to produce carbon negative iron, which could help decarbonize the 6% of global emissions from iron-making while also delivering durable carbon removal.

“Charm’s long-term footprint is a highly distributed agricultural operation, driving improved soil health as a side benefit. Additionally, Charm has the potential to re-use existing, unused oil and gas wells by safely filling and closing orphaned wells. These efforts can stop environmental harms caused by some types of fossil fuel infrastructure while improving natural soil health and creating economic investment in parts of the country that the climate transition might otherwise leave behind,” said Reinhardt.

CO280 Solutions, Inc.

JPMorgan Chase has signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MOU) with CO280 Solutions, Inc., reflecting the Firm’s intent to purchase CDR credits of up to 30,000 mtCO₂e per year for delivery over up to 15 years, for an expected total removal of as much as 450,000 mtCO₂e.

CO280 is a developer of carbon negative projects actively partnering with industrial emitters, technology suppliers, CO₂ storage providers, and investors to develop, finance, own, and operate projects that capture biogenic CO₂ emissions for durable sequestration in geological formations. This high-quality biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) pathway as BioDAC.

The Firm’s early purchase is intended to support the development and deployment of CO280’s Bio-DAC projects as part of its goal of delivering 10 megatons per year of CDR operating or under construction by 2030.

Frontier

On April 12, JPMorgan Chase joined Frontier, an advance market commitment to accelerate carbon removal by guaranteeing future demand. The Firm committed to purchase $50M of durable, high-quality CDR credits for its own operational emissions and will provide clients with access to as much as $25M of credits to help them meet their climate targets.

“We are seeing more demand from buyers interested in durable carbon removal projects,” said Troy Rohrbaugh, Head of Global Markets at J.P. Morgan. “Our investment in Frontier will enable us to offer our clients access to some of the most promising CDR solutions.”

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $3.7 trillion in assets and $303 billion in stockholders’ equity as of March 31, 2023. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

JPMC media contacts:

Charlotte Powell
charlotte.f.powell@jpmchase.com
+44 7494716571

Kenar Haratunian
Kenar.haratunian@jpmchase.com

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“How I Built This with Guy Raz: Tapping the heat beneath your feet with Kathy Hannun of Dandelion Energy.”

 

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Permian Resources Corporation Announces Pricing of Secondary Public Offering of Class A Common Stock

MIDLAND, Texas – Permian Resources Corporation (“Permian Resources” or the “Company”) (NYSE: PR) today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of an aggregate 21,450,000 shares of its Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A common stock”), at a price to the public of $13.05 per share, by certain affiliates of NGP Energy Capital Management, L.L.C. (the “Selling Stockholders”). Permian Resources will not sell any shares of Class A common stock in the offering and will not receive any proceeds therefrom. The Selling Stockholders also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional aggregate 3,217,500 shares of Class A common stock at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

Concurrently with the closing of the offering, the Company has agreed to purchase (the “Concurrent OpCo Unit Purchase”) from the Selling Stockholders an aggregate 2,200,000 common units representing limited liability company interests (“OpCo Units”) in Permian Resources Operating, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a subsidiary of Permian Resources (“OpCo”), at a price per OpCo Unit equal to the price per share at which the underwriters purchase shares of Class A common stock in the offering and to cancel a corresponding number of shares of the Company’s Class C Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, held by the Selling Stockholders. The offering of Class A common stock is not conditioned upon the completion of the Concurrent OpCo Unit Purchase, but the Concurrent OpCo Unit Purchase is conditioned upon the completion of the offering.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Securities, Inc. and Truist Securities, Inc. are serving as joint book-running managers. Barclays Capital Inc., Capital One Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Mizuho Securities USA LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are also serving as joint book-running managers, and PNC Capital Markets LLC, U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., Fifth Third Securities, Inc., Comerica Securities, Inc., Regions Securities LLC, CIBC World Markets Corp., and BOK Financial Securities, Inc. are serving as co-managers for the offering. The offering is expected to close on September 22, 2023, subject to customary closing conditions.

The offering is being made pursuant to a registration statement previously filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) which became automatically effective upon filing on September 9, 2022.

The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus and prospectus supplement that meet the requirements under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). A copy of the final prospectus supplement relating to the offering may be obtained from: J.P. Morgan, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by telephone at (866) 803-9204; BofA Securities: BofA Securities, NC1-022-02-25, 201 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attn: Prospectus Department or by email at dg.prospectus_requests@bofa.com; Truist Securities: Attention: Prospectus Department, 3333 Peachtree Road NE, 9th Floor, Atlanta, Georgia 30326, TruistSecurities.prospectus@Truist.com; or by accessing the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy shares of Class A common stock or any other securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful without registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Permian Resources

Headquartered in Midland, Texas, Permian Resources is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the responsible acquisition, optimization and development of high return oil and natural gas properties. The Company’s assets and operations are located in the core of the Delaware Basin.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The information in this press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this press release, regarding the completion of the offering and the Concurrent OpCo Unit Purchase, the Company’s strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words “could,” “may,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “goal,” “plan,” “target” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. Be cautioned that these forward-looking statements are subject to all of the risk and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond Permian Resources’ control, incident to the development, production, gathering and sale of oil and natural gas. These risks include, but are not limited to, commodity price volatility, inflation, lack of availability of drilling and production equipment and services, risks relating to the Transaction (as defined below), including its consummation or the realization of the anticipated benefits and synergies therefrom. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, but not limited to, those set forth in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including the prospectus relating to the offering, the Registration Statement (as defined below), its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, under the caption “Risk Factors,” as may be updated from time to time in the Company’s periodic filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statement in this press release speaks only as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release relates to a proposed business combination transaction (the “Transaction”) between Earthstone Energy, Inc. (“Earthstone”) and Permian Resources. This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, in any jurisdiction, pursuant to the Transaction or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance, exchange or transfer of the securities referred to in this document in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act.

Important Additional Information

In connection with the Transaction, on September 6, 2023, Permian Resources filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) that includes a joint proxy statement of Earthstone and Permian Resources and a prospectus of Permian Resources. The Transaction will be submitted to Earthstone’s stockholders and Permian Resources’ stockholders for their consideration. Earthstone and Permian Resources may also file other documents with the SEC regarding the Transaction. The definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to the stockholders of Permian Resources and Earthstone. This document is not a substitute for the registration statement and joint proxy statement/prospectus that will be filed with the SEC or any other documents that Permian Resources or Earthstone may file with the SEC or send to stockholders of Permian Resources or Earthstone, respectively, in connection with the Transaction.

INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF EARTHSTONE AND PERMIAN RESOURCES ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE TRANSACTION AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT ARE FILED OR WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS.

Investors and security holders are able to obtain free copies of the registration statement and the joint proxy statement/prospectus and all other documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by Permian Resources or Earthstone through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of documents filed with the SEC by Earthstone are available free of charge on Earthstone’s website at https://www.earthstoneenergy.com, under the “Investors” tab, or by directing a request to Investor Relations, Earthstone Energy, Inc., 1400 Woodloch Forest Drive, Suite 300, The Woodlands, TX 77380, Tel. No. (281) 298-4246. Copies of documents filed with the SEC by Permian Resources will be made available free of charge on Permian Resources’ website at https://www.permianres.com, under the “Investor Relations” tab, or by directing a request to Investor Relations, Permian Resources Corporation, 300 N. Marienfeld St., Ste. 1000, Midland, TX 79701, Tel. No. (432) 695-4222.

Participants in the Solicitation

Permian Resources, Earthstone and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect to the Transaction. Information regarding Earthstone’s directors and executive officers is contained in the proxy statement for Earthstone’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders filed with the SEC on April 27, 2023, and certain of its Current Reports on Form 8-K. You can obtain a free copy of this document at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov or by accessing Earthstone’s website at https://www.earthstoneenergy.com.

Information regarding Permian Resources’ executive officers and directors is contained in the proxy statement for the Permian Resources’ 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders filed with the SEC on April 11, 2023 and certain of its Current Reports on Form 8-K. You can obtain a free copy of this document at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by accessing the Permian Resources’ website at https://www.permianres.com. Investors may obtain additional information regarding the interests of those persons and other persons who may be deemed participants in the Transaction by reading the joint proxy statement/prospectus regarding the Transaction. You may obtain free copies of this document as described above.

Hays Mabry – Sr. Director, Investor Relations
Mae Herrington – Engineering Advisor, Investor Relations
(832) 240-3265
ir@permianres.com

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Old West Virginia Steel Mill Becomes a Green-Energy Powerhouse

Form Energy’s rust-powered batteries are critical piece of clean-energy puzzle

WEIRTON, W.Va.—For decades, iron ore was shipped into a sprawling steel mill on the banks of the Ohio River near Pittsburgh. Iron deliveries will resume soon at the 55-acre site, this time as a key ingredient in batteries fueled by green energy.

Instead of being turned into steel, the iron rusts when exposed to oxygen. The chemical reaction discharges electricity that can power homes and businesses for 100 consecutive hours, according to the company.

When these iron batteries are tapped out, they will be recharged with renewable power, turning the rust back into iron. The batteries are designed to absorb large amounts of electricity when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, adding resiliency to power grids.

Form Energy will produce so-called long-duration batteries that are a critical piece of the clean-energy puzzle.

More than $58 billion was invested in long-duration batteries worldwide between 2020 and 2022, according to Wood Mackenzie. The Biden administration appropriated $505 million for the development of long-duration storage in the 2021 infrastructure law, and last year’s Inflation Reduction Act contains substantial tax credits for long-duration battery projects.

“As we get more and more renewables, we need longer and longer durations, and that’s when long-duration storage comes in,” said Susan Babinec, leader of stationary battery storage research at Argonne National Laboratory.

There are many kinds of long-duration storage technologies, which the Energy Department defines as 10 to 160 hours of energy discharge. Thermal storage uses renewable energy to heat bricks, rocks or molten salt and release the energy later to make electricity. Less high-tech but equally effective is pumping water up a hill and letting it flow down to generate electricity.

Form’s batteries deploy an electrochemical reaction that turns iron into rust and back again.

Big money is behind Form’s 400,000-square foot factory, its first full-scale plant, which is expected to double in size by 2025. Backers include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate investment fund whose investors include Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos. Last year, Form raised $450 million to build the facility from investors including TPG Rise Climate and steelmaker ArcelorMittal, which once owned the Weirton steel mill.

Form Energy co-founder and Chief Executive Mateo Jaramillo, who ran a battery division at Tesla and developed its Powerwall battery, recently moved to Pittsburgh from San Francisco. “This is precisely why you start a company,” he said. “To make things and make sure you do it at scale. It’s great to be at this stage.”

Another founder is Yet-Ming Chiang, an engineering professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-founder of battery pioneer A123 Systems. The goal at Form Energy was to develop batteries that were cheap, didn’t catch fire, didn’t need scarce and costly metals like cobalt and lithium, and could produce electricity for a long time.

Form Energy landed on iron, which is plentiful, cheap and nonflammable. That allows the company to build hefty battery modules the size of a washer-dryer set. Packed together in enclosures resembling shipping containers, the batteries can discharge power for about four straight days—far longer than the standard four-hour discharge capability of lithium-ion batteries.

Each battery contains roughly 50 one-meter-tall cells made up of iron and air electrodes that enable the reactions that store and discharge electricity. The battery takes in oxygen and converts iron to rust. The process produces electricity. When electricity is plentiful, it is used to reverse the process and turn rust back into iron, releasing oxygen.

A one-megawatt system can take up about half an acre of land, according to Form. The company says its batteries can store energy at less than one-tenth the cost of lithium-ion battery technology.

Weirton’s tumbledown steel mill once provided work for more than 10,000 people before the plant stopped producing steel in the mid-2000s. The tiny town of about 18,000 people sits astride the former mill, whose defunct pipes and cables snake among its streets and buildings. The mill at its peak had four blast furnaces that could produce thousands of tons of steel a day.

The $760 million battery factory rising from the mill’s ashes will employ about 750 workers once completed, providing a mean salary of $63,000. Still, it represents a blooming industrial transformation in Appalachia and elsewhere in the U.S. fueled by the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, the 2021 infrastructure act and last year’s Chips Act.

Jaramillo said the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act made it clear that the entire electric industry was shifting into high gear. Form Energy has been able to move faster and at a greater scale as utilities line up to use its batteries, he said.

As of mid-July, more than 270 clean-energy projects have been announced in the U.S., with investments totaling $130 billion, since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, according to Bank of America. Spending on manufacturing construction has doubled since late 2021, according to the bank. Manufacturing employment in the U.S., has reached its highest level since 2008, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Much of that infrastructure spending is coming to Republican-led states such as West Virginia. Down the Ohio River from Weirton, in Ravenswood, W.Va., a company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is constructing a titanium factory that will be powered by a giant solar and battery microgrid. The project will also produce rechargeable batteries made by Our Next Energy, a Michigan energy-storage company.

Form Energy, which is based in Somerville, Mass., is in talks with utilities across the U.S., according to Jaramillo. Earlier this year, Form Energy agreed to provide a battery system to Southern Co.’s Georgia Power utility, which is expected to come online as early as 2026, subject to regulatory approval. The project will have the ability to power between 6,000 and 13,000 homes for several days. The company is also providing batteries to Xcel Energy and Minnesota’s Great River Energy.

Corrections & Amplifications
A Berkshire Hathaway company is building a titanium factory in Ravenswood, W.Va. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Ravenstown, W.Va. (Corrected on Sept. 18)

Write to Scott Patterson at scott.patterson@wsj.com
Full Article Here: https://www.wsj.com/business/entrepreneurship/old-west-virginia-steel-mill-becomes-a-green-energy-powerhouse-2f67ee3c?reflink=integratedwebview_share

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Cygnet Energy Completes Acquisition of Montney and Duvernay Assets

CALGARY, ABSept. 14, 2023 /CNW/ – Cygnet Energy Ltd. (“Cygnet”), a privately held exploration and production company, is pleased to announce the closing of its acquisition of certain Duvernay and Montney assets in the Placid, Saxon and Simonette regions of Alberta.

The acquisition is at the intersection of Canada’s two premier liquids rich resource plays. The properties include owned and operated infrastructure that will support production growth over the next several years.

In conjunction with the acquisition, Cygnet completed an equity financing from investment funds sponsored by ARC Financial Corp. (“ARC”) and NGP Energy Capital Management, LLC (“NGP”).

National Bank Financial Markets (“NBF”) was exclusive financial advisor to Cygnet on the transaction. National Bank of Canada acted as Administrative Agent for Cygnet’s credit facilities with NBF acting as Sole Bookrunner and NBF and ATB Capital Markets acting as Co-Lead Arrangers with additional participation of the Business Development Bank of Canada. Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP acted as legal counsel to Cygnet.

About ARC

ARC is Canada’s largest energy-focused private equity manager. Founded in 1989, ARC is committed to building high-performing businesses that address the world’s energy and sustainability needs. ARC invests in early stage, growth focused oil and gas companies and in established, growth focused energy transition companies with high quality management teams. For more information, visit www.arcfinancial.com.

About NGP

NGP is a premier private equity firm that believes energy is essential to progress. Founded in 1988, NGP is moving energy forward by investing in innovation and empowering energy entrepreneurs in natural resources and energy transition. With over $20 billion of cumulative equity commitments, NGP backs portfolio companies focused on responsibly solving and securing the energy needs of today and leading the way to a cleaner, more reliable and more affordable energy future. For more information, visit www.ngpenergy.com.

SOURCE Cygnet Energy Ltd.

For further information: Cygnet Energy Ltd. (www.cygnetenergy.ca), David Maddison, President and Chief Executive Officer, info@cygnetenergy.ca