BOSTON – Mintz advised NET Power, LLC, a clean energy technology company whose proprietary technology delivers clean, reliable and low-cost power from natural gas, in its planned business combination with Rice Acquisition Corp II (NYSE: RONI), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). 

The transaction represents an implied pro forma enterprise value of approximately $1.459 billion. $235 million of committed investments – with participation from the Rice family, Occidental (OXY), Constellation (CEG), 8 Rivers, HITE Hedge and NGP – are expected to fund corporate operations through planned commercialization in 2026. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2023 subject to customary closing conditions, with shares of the combined company expected to be listed on the NYSE under the symbol “NPWR.”

NET Power’s proprietary process combines oxy-combustion (combustion of natural gas with pure oxygen) with a supercritical CO2 power generation cycle to generate electricity. The process inherently captures more than 97% of produced CO2 for sequestration or utilization.

The Mintz team that advised NET Power was led by Member and Chair of the firm’s Energy & Sustainability Practice Thomas R. Burton, III and included Chair of the Projects & Infrastructure Practice Ayaz R. Shaikh, Member Jeffrey P. Schultz, and Of Counsel Kristopher L. Kirkwood.

Mintz is a pioneering firm, recognized as an early adopter and at the forefront of SPAC transactions since the early 2000s. Having handled the first-ever New York Stock Exchange SPAC transaction, the firm’s interdisciplinary team draws from decades of experience guiding clients in a broad spectrum of industries through the intricacies of SPAC financings. Notably, the firm has handled over 60 SPAC and reverse merger transactions and worked on several recent SPACs for multi-billion-dollar value companies. Please click here to learn more about Mintz’s SPAC Practice.

Mintz, a leading law firm in the Energy & Sustainability space, pioneered one of the first legal practices in the US focused solely on energy innovation and sustainability. Our first-to-market position affords an unparalleled standing and uniquely situates us in the industry. Our team of 50+ sector-focused practitioners annually advises hundreds of US and international clients spanning the ecosystem from emerging companies to global corporations, family offices to major venture capital, private equity and infrastructure funds, and project lenders to developers, sponsors, and strategic investors. Find more information here.

Mintz’s Projects & Infrastructure team is lean and extremely flexible, with decades of experience guiding developers, investors, owners, EPC contractors, trading companies, sponsors, retail electricity suppliers, and power offtakers through the contracting, financing, and/or construction of their energy projects. The team has a special focus on distributed energy, assisting with complex projects that require ingenuity and a deep knowledge of the project development and project finance landscape. More information is here.