Korea Zinc is investing 50 million US dollars in the recently announced merger of Energy Vault with the listed capital shell company Novus Capital Corporation II. The merger is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2022 according to a press release from the developer and manufacturer of energy storage based in Lugano in the Greater Zurich Area.
This has increased the income from the PIPE (private investment in public equity) transaction to a total of 150 million US dollars. These proceeds will be used, together with up to 288 million US dollars in cash held in Novus’ trust account, to finance the operation of Energy Vault. Moreover, it is also anticipated to be used to support new and existing growth initiatives. This increased PIPE investment means that 90 percent of the minimum cash requirement has been met.
Furthermore, Energy Vault is entering into a strategic partnership with the Korea Zinc subsidiary Sun Metals. This is headquartered in the suburb of Stuart in the Australian state of Queensland. From mid-2022, Sun Metals plans to use Energy Vault’s energy-saving and energy management software technology to “become the first refinery in the world to produce green zinc made entirely from renewable energy,” according to the CEO of Sun Metals, Kiwon Park. The partnership also includes the sustainable reuse of refining waste in the composite blocks at Energy Vault’s energy storage plants.
CEO and Co-Founder of Energy Vault Robert Piconi is quoted in the press release, stating: “This investment from one of the world’s largest metal producers and our partnership agreement with Sun Metals will further accelerate the global scale-up of our innovative energy storage infrastructure and software platform within one of the most important global markets of Australia.”
