Seattle-based clean energy startup First Mode is rapidly growing its presence in the region.
First Mode announced a planned merger Dec. 7 with nuGen, the clean energy division of the global mining company Anglo American. According to First Mode co-founder and CEO Chris Voorhees, First Mode plans to roughly double its 250-person team in the next 12 to 15 months.
"Mine operations is the first industry that we believe is ready for that transformation," Voorhees said. "You have a material transport problem all the way along the supply chain. For us, the natural progression is from mining into rail. Rail into maritime. Those are all huge users of fuel."
Voorhees added that First Mode will be close to 300 employees when the nuGen merger closes, which is expected in January. About 200 of the company's employees are based in Seattle. First Mode also has a presence in Perth, Australia.
First Mode's headquarters will move to London, Anglo American's headquarters, when the deal closes. Voorhees said much of the nuGen team is in London, but First Mode's product development and the majority of its staff will remain in Seattle. The company had just 30 employees before the pandemic, Voorhees said, and the company was headquartered in Belltown.
The company now has more than 30,000 square feet of office space near Lumen Field, and it has roughly another 60,000 square feet in Sodo, up from about 10,000 square feet in early 2020. Voorhees said the company will likely grow its footprint in both areas.
When the deal closes, Anglo American will have a majority stake in First Mode, and the mining company will make a $200 million investment in First Mode. First Mode will also enter a supply agreement to retrofit and decarbonize about 400 Anglo American haul trucks over the next 15 years.
The combined company, which will keep the First Mode name, will have a value of $1.5 billion. Voorhees said Anglo American is spinning out nuGen, and nuGen is part of Anglo American's contribution to the deal.
First Mode in May launched a hydrogen-powered haul truck for Anglo American at a South African mine as a proof of concept. The truck went through initial commissioning and started operating in the mine's commercial fleet this month. Anglo American has 56 sites globally and aims to be carbon neutral by 2040.
Voorhees will move into the chief product and technology officer role once the deal closes, while Julian Soles, Anglo American's head of technology development, will become CEO. Voorhees said the move is something of a relief, as it allows him to focus on his expertise.
First Mode, founded in 2018, focuses on clean energy for heavy industry. Voorhees is a NASA mechanical engineering veteran. The company initially focused on deep space exploration but has also been working with Anglo American for over four years, but Voorhees said First Mode is putting its space efforts aside for now.
"Mining was a target for us for us for a while," Voorhees said. "It's a critical industry going through some major lurches."
