Montem Resources seeks strategic partner to acquire 50% of TM-REX project
Power industry expert Will Bridge will chair Montem’s new committee to develop Tent Mountain into a green hydrogen project.
Aspiring renewables producer Montem Resources (ASX: MR1) spent the three months to December 2022 focused on securing a strategic partner to advance development of its Tent Mountain renewable energy complex (TM-REX) project in Canada.
The company is seeking a partner to purchase 50% of the project, thereby raising enough development capital to advance the pumped hydro energy storage phase (TM-PHES).
Montem managing director Peter Doyle said the competitive process is being led by PwC Australia and had moved forward during the quarter.
“Our expectation is that proceeds from the 50% sale of TM-REX will provide us with the required development capital to advance TM-PHES through to a final investment decision,” he said.
Investment tax credit
An investment tax credit for clean technologies provided by the Canadian government has the potential to reduce the TM-PHES capital cost estimate by up to $158 million.
The credit will be equal to 30% of the cost of investments on net-zero technologies (such as energy storage solutions) and will include a credit of up to 40% of investments in clean hydrogen production.
The initiative aims to help Canada transition to a net-zero economy by making it more attractive for businesses to invest in clean energy infrastructure.
Mr Doyle said the credit would be applied to capital-intensive equipment used for the TM-PHES including the powerhouse, turbines, generators, transformers and transmission infrastructure.
These items comprise approximately 60% of the TM-PHES’s current capital estimate.
Montem will also be eligible for credits on the green hydrogen electrolyser and off-site wind farm phases of the TM-REX project.