NET Power Completes Merger with Rice Acquisition Corp. II to Accelerate Clean Natural Gas Power Generation

NET Power, LLC, an energy company whose proprietary technology delivers clean, affordable, reliable energy, and Rice Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: RONI) (“RONI”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, today announced the completion of their previously announced business combination (the “Business Combination”). The combined company will operate as NET Power Inc. (“NET Power”) and its Class A common stock and warrants to purchase Class A common stock will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on June 9, 2023, under the ticker symbol “NPWR” and “NPWR WS,” respectively.

NET Power has an initial enterprise value of approximately $1.5 billion and a market capitalization in excess of $2.0 billion. The proceeds from this transaction are expected to provide NET Power with ample capital to fully fund its corporate operations and grow its backlog of utility-scale power plant projects, with plant deliveries expected to begin in 2026.

As a result of the Business Combination, NET Power received gross proceeds of more than $675 million, consisting of more than $135 million from RONI’s trust account and approximately $540 million in PIPE capital from strategic and financial investors. Additionally, Occidental provided $10 million in interim financing to support NET Power’s operations through the closing of the Business Combination.

Existing strategic investors in NET Power, including Occidental, Baker Hughes, Constellation and 8 Rivers (a subsidiary of SK Group), have rolled 100% of their equity into the combined company.

Since the proposed Business Combination was announced in December, NET Power upsized the PIPE from approximately $225 million to approximately $540 million, commenced Front End Engineering and Design (“FEED”) for its first standardized utility-scale project near Occidental’s Permian Basin operations, and announced a planned joint venture with SK Group to pursue the origination and development of utility-scale NET Power plants across Asia.

“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,” said Danny Rice, NET Power CEO. “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.”