Seattle-based clean energy startup First Mode is combining with nuGen, the clean energy division of global mining company Anglo American.
When the transaction closes, Anglo American will invest $200 million in First Mode and own a majority stake in the company, which is keeping the First Mode name. The deal, announced Wednesday, is expected to close in January with the combined value of the company at $1.5 billion.
"First Mode was founded in 2018 with the goal of building the barely possible," Chris Voorhees, First Mode's co-founder and CEO, said in a news release. "Our mission is now to rapidly decarbonize heavy industry by dramatically reducing our customers' greenhouse gas emissions."
The companies first announced negotiations around the transaction in June, and Anglo American acquired a 10% equity interest in First Mode in 2021. In May, First Mode launched a hydrogen-powered haul truck for Anglo American as a proof-of-concept at a mine in South Africa. The truck completed initial commissioning and began operating in the mine's commercial fleet this month, according to First Mode.
Once the deal closes, First Mode will enter a supply agreement to retrofit and decarbonize Anglo American's roughly 400 haul trucks over the next 15 years. The supply agreement is subject to a variety of conditions and approvals, according to the companies.
Voorhees will move to the role of chief product and technology officer, while Julian Soles, Anglo American's head of technology development, will become First Mode's CEO.
The headquarters will move to London, according to the release, but First Mode will maintain a strong presence in Washington state. The company plans to use the $200 million investment on "development of production facilities in Seattle and new proving grounds in Centralia, Washington." The money will also go toward hiring and growing First Mode's footprint in Perth, Australia.
First Mode focuses on clean energy for heavy industry. Voorhees, a NASA mechanical engineering veteran, founded the company with 10 other people with an initial focus on systems for deep space exploration while also working with Anglo American. The release notes that, after Anglo American takes a majority stake in the company, First Mode's employees will hold the remaining balance.
Anglo American, headquartered in London, has 56 sites around the world. The company aims to be carbon-neutral by 2040. Its nuGen program was designed to help Anglo American become more environmentally friendly.
"The First Mode mission is much bigger than a single haul truck," Soles said in a release. "Mining is how the world obtains the materials needed for the clean energy transition, and it is where the carbon footprint starts. This is where the First Mode solution begins."
