Idemitsu invests US$114 million in HIF Global to develop e-fuels

PRESS RELEASE from HIF Global and Idemitsu Kosan
May 13, 2024

(Machine translation of original release, issued in Spanish)

Houston and Tokyo, May 13, 2024 – HIF Global announced an investment from its existing shareholders and Japanese energy company Idemitsu Kosan. Together they secured US$ 164 million to finance e-Fuels projects, US$ 114 million of them contributed by Idemitsu, which thus joins the group of HIF partners: AME , EIG , Porsche , Baker Hughes and Gemstone Investments.

The president of HIF Global, César Norton, celebrated this incorporation. “We welcome our new partner Idemitsu to this exciting journey to power our world with renewable energy. This collaboration represents more than just an investment; It is a reflection of our shared vision of a more sustainable future. We are very grateful for the support of our shareholders to continue developing a portfolio of e-Fuels projects around the world, which can recycle nearly 25 million tons per year of CO₂, equivalent to the emissions of more than 5 million cars. ", said.

For his part, the representative director, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Idemitsu Kosan, Susumu Nibuya, stated that “to achieve carbon neutrality 2050, we have decided to initially focus our resources on e-methanol, along with blue ammonia and SAF . We are eager to learn from HIF Global, a pioneer in e-methanol with extensive experience in this field. “Together we aim to develop a market for e-methanol and synthetic fuels.”

Idemitsu's investment thus completes the first of the four cooperation agreements already announced with HIF Global, which include the investment, the purchase of fuel, the development of markets in Japan and the creation of supply chains. The development of the Japanese e-Fuels market is accelerating and is supported by the authorities, through the Green Growth Strategy, which commits to carbon neutrality by 2050.

HIF Global

It is the leading e-Fuels company in the world. It develops projects to convert hydrogen using low-cost renewable energy into low-carbon liquid fuels that can be transported and used on existing infrastructure. The name HIF represents the company's mission: to provide highly innovative fuels to enable the decarbonization of the planet. HIF Global is already producing e-Fuels at its Haru Oni demonstration plant in Magallanes, Chile, and plans to begin construction of the commercial-scale HIF Matagorda plant in Texas in 2024. In addition, it is developing a plant in Tasmania (Australia) and another in Paysandú (Uruguay). More at www.hifglobal.com.

Idemitsu Kosan

Idemitsu is Japan's second largest fuel company, working to implement diverse, environmentally friendly and low-carbon solutions that save resources and represent circular solutions, while fulfilling its responsibility to provide a stable energy supply, mainly fossil fuels, including oil, following its Vision 2030 "Your trusted partner for a brighter future" and Vision 2050 "Shaping change". As part of this plan, Idemitsu plans to establish a green supply chain for biomass-derived fuels and chemicals, such as SAF, biodiesel and biochemicals, also for ammonia and e-Fuels by 2030. Liquid fuels such as SAF and e-Fuels are businesses that Idemitsu Kosan will focus on, because they can contribute to decarbonization by using existing infrastructure. More at www.idemitsu.com