— a leading provider of AI-enabled concentrated solar power — recently announced that it has completed its previously announced business combination with Athena Technology Acquisition Corp.

The deal was unanimously approved by ATHN’s Board of Directors and was approved at a special meeting of ATHN stockholders on December 28, 2021. Over 91% of the votes cast at the special meeting were in favor of approval of the business combination. THN stockholders also voted to approve all other proposals presented at the special meeting.

Along with the completion of its business combination, the combined company changed its name from “Athena Technology Acquisition Corp.” to “Heliogen Inc.” Commencing at the open of trading earlier today, Heliogen’s Class A common stock and Heliogen’s warrants are expected to commence trading on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbols “HLGN” and “HLGNW,” respectively.

Launched in 2013, Heliogen’s modular, AI-enabled, concentrated solar power plants have the potential to revolutionize the energy market by alleviating intermittency issues associated with renewable sources of power generation. And Heliogen’s technology is designed to flatten the power generation curve by using concentrated solar power with storage to increase the availability of energy to industrial customers.

The company’s proprietary heliostat layout and control system facilitate the concentration of the sun’s rays and have the ability to generate temperatures at the point of focus, which can exceed 1,000 degrees centigrade. And this heat can then be captured, stored, and converted for industrial use, power generation, or to produce green hydrogen fuel, with the goal of providing near-24 hour renewable energy that could replace fossil fuels with concentrated sunlight. Plus Heliogen is commencing the commercialization of its AI-enabled concentrated solar power modules with internationally recognized customers in the industrial, mining, and energy sectors.

Since announcing the business combination with ATHN on July 7, 2021, Heliogen announced significant commercial progress including:

— Collaboration with Woodside on a breakthrough solar technology project to reduce carbon emissions. And Heliogen has been granted by Woodside a Limited Notice To Proceed (LNTP) to begin procurement of key equipment for a 5 megawatt (MW) commercial-scale demonstration facility in California. The proposed facility will use Heliogen’s AI-enabled concentrated solar technology.

— In partnership with Bloom Energy, Heliogen’s concentrated solar energy system and the Bloom Electrolyzer. And the recent successful demonstration in Lancaster, California produced hydrogen and showcased the many benefits of combining the companies’ complementary technologies to achieve low-cost green hydrogen production.

— A new technological breakthrough in the production of low-cost renewable energy. And in field tests at Heliogen’s Lancaster, California facility, the company successfully completed the first technical demonstration of an autonomous field maintenance system, Heliogen’s Installation & Cleaning Autonomous Robot & Utility Solution, or ICARUS. By bringing the same advanced technologies that enable its AI-enabled concentrated solar power systems to the task of installing and maintaining those systems, the company’s latest innovation is expected to significantly reduce the time to deploy its concentrated solar facilities, as well as the costs associated with construction and ongoing maintenance.

— Finalized a $39 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to deploy the Company’s breakthrough renewable energy technology in California. And Heliogen will apply the funds received from the DOE towards a commercial-scale facility leveraging its AI-enabled concentrated solar technology.

— Collaboration with CarbonCapture to develop sustainably-powered direct air capture (DAC) facilities. And the companies intend to kick off front-end engineering for the integration of Heliogen’s concentrated solar power and solid media thermal storage systems with CarbonCapture’s carbon removal technology to efficiently and cost-effectively harness the industrial heat production capabilities of Heliogen systems for use in CarbonCapture DAC systems.

Deal Overview

The deal resulted in approximately $188 million of cash to Heliogen’s balance sheet, comprised of both funds from ATHN’s former trust account and a private investment in public equity (PIPE). And the PIPE is anchored by funds and accounts managed by Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Salient Partners, Saba Capital, and the XCarb Innovation Fund of ArcelorMittal.

Along with the proceeds from this transaction, the company has previously disclosed the conversion to common shares of $83.4 million in SAFE financing upon closing of the business combination.

Heliogen plans to use the proceeds to scale heliostat manufacturing, to support research and development efforts on next generation heliostat technology, to support global project development, and to fund the balance sheet.

Heliogen’s existing senior management team will continue to lead the combined company, including Bill Gross (Chief Executive Officer; Director), Christie Obiaya (Chief Financial Officer), Steve Schell (Chief Technology Officer and Chief Engineer) and Tom Doyle (Chief Commercial Officer).

Heliogen’s Board of Directors will be comprised of a majority of independent directors, specifically Phyllis Newhouse, Stacey Abrams, Paddy Padmanathan, Julie Kane, Robert Kavner and David Crane. Heliogen CEO Bill Gross will serve as the only non-independent director.

“Powering the planet with renewable energy is not only critical to fighting climate change – it is also the biggest economic opportunity in history. The capital raised in this transaction will fund our accelerated growth and help us to globally scale our game changing AI-enabled concentrated solar power technology. We believe we have the potential to transform the world’s energy production and meaningfully address climate change, while delivering long-term stakeholder value. With our talented and dedicated team, a world-class Board of Directors, our strong customer and partner relationships, a growing customer pipeline, and technology that is in high demand globally, I couldn’t be more optimistic about Heliogen’s ability to deliver on our mission of replacing fossil fuels with concentrated sunlight.”

— Bill Gross, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Heliogen

“We’re extremely proud to achieve this milestone and begin the next chapter in Heliogen’s growth story. Our original mission at Athena was to work with thought leaders and technology innovators whose pioneering solutions will support both industry and society. With the closing of our business combination today, we’re moving one step closer to a healthier world where fossil fuels are replaced by cleaner sources of power.”

— Phyllis Newhouse, former CEO of Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. and member of the Heliogen board of directors