NET Power

About NET Power

NET Power Inc. (NYSE: NPWR) is a clean energy technology firm focused on commercializing a proprietary power generation system that produces affordable electricity from natural gas with near-zero atmospheric emissions. The company's core business model is to license its technology to a diverse client base, including electricity generators, energy producers, and other industrial partners, allowing them to build, own, and operate power facilities.

The company's origins trace back to 2009 when British chemical engineer Rodney Allam collaborated with the technology firm 8 Rivers Capital to devise a new method for generating emissions-free power from fossil fuels. Allam, a fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers with a long career at Air Products & Chemicals, is the primary inventor of what is now called the Allam-Fetvedt Cycle. NET Power was officially founded on January 8, 2010, to hold the exclusive rights for the natural gas application of this cycle. Bill Brown, a co-founder of 8 Rivers Capital with a background in law and finance at firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, was a founder of NET Power and served as its CEO for over a decade.

NET Power's technology, the Allam-Fetvedt Cycle, is an oxy-combustion, supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycle. It works by combusting natural gas with pure oxygen, which produces only CO2 and water. This CO2 is used as the working fluid in a high-pressure, closed-loop turbine to generate electricity, inherently capturing almost all CO2 produced at pipeline quality without the need for expensive post-combustion scrubbing equipment. The process is designed to be highly efficient and cost-competitive with traditional gas-fired power plants that do not capture carbon. A key milestone was achieved in 2018 when the company's 50 MWth demonstration plant in La Porte, Texas, successfully fired up, and in 2021, it was synchronized to the grid, proving the technology's viability.

After demonstrating its technology, NET Power has shifted focus to global commercialization. The company went public on the NYSE on June 9, 2023, through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, Rice Acquisition Corp II (RAC II), securing significant capital to fund its operations. Danny Rice, former CEO of Rice Energy, became the CEO of the combined company. NET Power is now advancing its first utility-scale, 300 MW commercial plant, "Project Permian," near Odessa, Texas, with partners like Occidental. The company's revenue is currently generated from contracts and testing services, with future income expected primarily from technology licensing fees as new plants are deployed globally.