Alastair Clayton, executive chairman of Thor Energy PLC (AIM:THR, OTCQB:THORF, ASX:THR), explains the rationale behind its move into hydrogen and helium
Proactive: Thor is acquiring an 80.2% stake in Go Exploration and this is in hydrogen and helium in South Australia.
What did you like about this company and the reason why you wanted to do this deal?
Alastair Clayton: A lot of money has been going into green hydrogen. We all read the same newspapers. We all watch the same TV channels. I think the jury's still out on the economics of that.
There have been tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars flowing into that space.
All the way along, there has been a rising interest in naturally occurring hydrogen.
We've certainly seen that in Kansas and Iowa, where big names like Bezos, Gates, BP (LON:BP), and Total are all investing in naturally occurring hydrogen resources.
In South Australia, which we see as the Iowa and Kansas of hydrogen in Australia, we got excited because only three companies have been granted exploration licences under the new legislation, and Thor Energy is now one of them.
Proactive: You picked up the PEL 120 license and two additional applications that are in progress there as well. This is a large property. This sounds like there's a lot here.
Alastair Clayton: The Go Exploration team has spent millions of dollars over the last four years developing these projects to a ‘prospect-ready’ or ‘prospective-resource-ready’ status.
We’re not quite ready to stick a drill bit in the ground yet, but we’re moving quickly toward that.
Proactive: What’s the reasoning behind the focus on white hydrogen?
Alastair Clayton: Governments have now recognized this. The federal government in Australia just weeks ago introduced a $2 per kilogram production incentive for white hydrogen.
This is different from the other types, like those produced through electrolysis of water or cracking of ammonia.
I wouldn’t be the one to say whether those methods will work economically at scale, but there have been tens and hundreds of billions of dollars invested, and we’re yet to see that industry take off at any scale.
We think white hydrogen is the future, and we’re already seeing big names enter the space.
Proactive: Thor did a capital raise recently and saw strong demand, which must be a testament to the company, but also to the fact that you’re bringing new people into the company and following your story.
Alastair Clayton: Just to clarify, it was a stipulation of the sale and purchase agreement with Go Exploration that we raise a maximum of £1 million.
We weren't allowed to raise any more.
The vendors did not want to take any cash. They can see where it's going.
So, we're well-funded for the next 6 to 12 months.