Seattle-based clean energy startup First Mode earlier this month closed its merger with nuGen, in a deal with a total value of $1.5 billion, a spokesperson for First Mode said Tuesday.
NuGen is the clean energy division of the global mining company Anglo American, which together with First Mode announced the merger in December.
"Mine operations is the first industry that we believe is ready for that transformation," First Mode co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer Chris Voorhees previously told the Business Journal. "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."
Anglo American is investing $200 million in First Mode, which is keeping its name after the merger with nuGen. The $200 million is part of the total $1.5 billion deal value. Other assets included in the deal include intellectual property, testing facilities and contracts, the spokesperson said. Anglo American is taking a majority stake in First Mode as part of the merger, but First Mode founders and shareholders hold the remaining balance.
Anglo American and First Mode first announced negotiations around the merger in June. First Mode's headquarters is moving to London, which is where Anglo American is headquartered, but First Mode's product development and the majority of its staff will remain in Seattle. Voorhees in December said the combined company would have close to 300 employees once the merger closes, and about 200 of the company's employees are based in Seattle. Voorhees said First Mode had just 30 employees before the pandemic.
Anglo American is also entering a supply agreement for First Mode to retrofit and decarbonize about 400 haul trucks over the next 15 years; the company launched a hydrogen-powered haul truck at a South African mine in May as a proof of concept. The truck started operating in Anglo American's commercial fleet in December.
Founded in 2018, First Mode focuses on clean energy for heavy industry. The company began with a deep space exploration focus given Voorhees' background as a NASA mechanical engineer. First Mode has been working with Anglo American for more than four years, however, and Voorhees in December said the company is putting aside its space efforts for now.
First Mode has more than 30,000 square feet of office space in Pioneer Square near Lumen Field, and it has roughly another 60,000 square feet in Sodo. The company also has a presence in Perth, Australia.
Anglo American, which has 56 sites globally, aims to be carbon neutral by 2040. Julian Soles, previously Anglo American's head of technology development, has taken over as First Mode's CEO as part of the merger. Voorhees was the previous CEO before stepping into his product and technology role.
