Vast announces Term Sheet to facilitate transmission access for Aurora Energy Precinct

Sydney, AUSTRALIA, 9 April, 2024 – Vast Renewables Limited (Vast) (Nasdaq: VSTE) and 1414 Degrees Limited (ASX:14D), through their joint venture SiliconAurora Pty Ltd (SiliconAurora), today announced the signing of a term sheet (Term Sheet) with Vast Solar 1 Pty Ltd and OZ Minerals Services Pty Ltd (OZM), a subsidiary of BHP Group Limited (BHP), to enter into negotiations with OZM for a possible binding agreement (Agreement) by 30 September 2024 (which date can be extended by mutual consent) (Agreement Date) that would facilitate access for the initial stages of the Aurora Energy Precinct (the Precinct) to the ElectraNet owned Hill-to-Hill Transmission Line (H2H) near Port Augusta, South Australia.

The Precinct is owned by SiliconAurora, which plans to develop a 140MW (2 hour) battery energy storage system (BESS) on the site.

Additionally, Vast plans to develop Vast Solar 1 (VS1), a 30MW concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) plant with 288 MWh of thermal storage, on the Precinct site. VS1 was awarded up to AUD $65 million in conditional grant funding by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). VS1 will be co-located with Vast’s planned Solar Methanol 1 (SM1) project, a green methanol demonstration plant led by Vast and German integrated energy giant Mabanaft, which has been awarded up to AUD $19.48 million and up to EUR 13.2 million of conditional grant funding from a collaboration between the Australian and German Governments, respectively.

The BESS and VS1 are planned to connect to the H2H, providing clean, reliable energy to power Australian homes and businesses.  Connection to the H2H will be subject to further negotiations and agreement with OZM and ElectraNet as contemplated under the Term Sheet. The Term Sheet also contains certain termination scenarios including if OZM, in its absolute discretion, is not satisfied with the risks associated with the proposed connections to the H2H following a technical engineering review.

Vast’s CEO Craig Wood said, “Decarbonizing Australia’s electricity supply requires that dispatchable renewable energy with long duration storage like that provided by Vast’s proprietary CSP v.3.0 technology be integrated into the Australian electricity grid. Execution of this Term Sheet is an important step forward, and we are looking forward to continuing discussions with BHP to agree commercial and technical terms so we can progress the Precinct.”

About Vast   

Vast is a renewable energy company that has CSP systems to generate, store, and dispatch carbon-free, utility-scale electricity, industrial heat, or a combination to enable the production of green fuels. Vast’s CSP v3.0 approach utilises a proprietary, modular sodium loop to efficiently capture and convert solar heat into these end products.  

On December 19, 2023, Vast listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “VSTE”, while remaining headquartered in Australia.

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