Ark, which sits under Sun Metals in Townsville, has the job of decarbonising the substantial amount of energy needed by Korea Zinc.

Ark recently was granted $3 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to support the deployment of a 1-megawatt electrolyser with storage and refuelling infrastructure to fuel five new 140-tonne-rated fuel cell electric trucks.

It also has a mission to be a cost-effective producer of green hydrogen and green metals and the deal would mean Epuron’s existing business model would be expanded and its development portfolio fast-tracked.

The deal with Epuron will give it ownership of 4200 megawatts of early-stage development projects mainly in wind and solar.

Epuron also has 5860 megawatts of projects within joint development agreements and 7 megawatts of contracted off-grid solar generation in the Northern Territory.

Ark chairman said the “friendly” takeover would allow Korea Zinc Group’s energy transition and also contributed to Ark’s ambition to develop a green energy export corridor from Australia to South Korea.

“Are Energy’s commitment to accelerate the energy transition requires us to significantly enhance our capability to develop and build-out a large renewable energy portfolio.”

Epuron co-founder Martin Poole said it was a positive step for the company.

“Our decision to bring in Ark Energy new owners follows a strategic review in which we decided to pivot towards long-term ownership or our renewable energy projects in Australia,” he said.

Sun Metals has already built its own solar farm in Townsville and has a stake in the McIntyre wind farm project.

Ark’s plan is to eventually sell green hydrogen to north-east Asia, which is forecast to account for approximately 70 per cent of global hydrogen demand by 2040 and it is determined to get that “first mover” status.