There were plenty of companies on board the South Australian geothermal energy train earlier in the decade, as the market began its hunt for the hallmark emissions-free power source.
And plenty are no longer involved or have diversified away as the sector as a whole struggled to gain a foothold.
One of those juniors was Geodynamics. They owned the Habanero 3 & 4 wells in the Cooper Basin, which were finally abandoned for remediation this April under the company’s new guise at ReNu Energy (ASX: RNE).
ReNu has for several years been a more broad-based renewables development hunter, having sold interests in bioenergy and solar PV projects in recent years, putting it on the hunt for acquisitions.
It has found its target today in uber-Australian micro-renewable generator Uniflow Power, which is developing a modular biomass plant called the Cobber.
Belying its ocker name, the claim on the Cobber is it can generate 4.5kW of electrical power and 20kW of thermal energy for small-scale applications often powered by diesel, coal and kerosene like heating.
Its fuel sources would be freely available biowaste, common firewood and pellets, forestry waste, agricultural waste such as nut shells and olive pips, and broken pallets that are often burnt or left to rot.
ReNu will invest $1 million for a 13.3% stake in UniFlow, with another $500,000 due by the end of the year to take its ownership stake to 20%.
It can exercise free attaching options at the same rate per share to take its shareholding to 50% with a total commitment of $4.5m.
The first instalment will fund UniFlow to undertake a business plan for a Canberra-based demo project in the third quarter.
ReNu chairman Boyd White identified the ASX-listed company as a sort of “incubator” for clean energy projects.
“ReNu Energy is in early stage discussions with a number of other renewable energy project and technology developers and expects to progress additional opportunities as part of its clean energy incubator strategy once the Uniflow transaction has completed,” he said.
The company raised $1.46 million earlier this month to back its new investment strategy.