Mitsubishi, Infinium sign MOU to deploy Electrofuels™ in Japanese market

Photo: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. has signed a memorandum of understanding with California-based Infinium focused on exploring deployment of Infinium’s proprietary Electrofuels™ technology in the Japanese market. The agreement builds on MHI’s investment in Infinium last year.

According to Infinium, Electrofuels™ are classified as ultra-low carbon fuels because they reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 97 percent when compared to traditional jet and diesel fuels. Made from CO2 and hydrogen, they are a drop-in replacements for fossil-based fuels and can be used in airplanes, trucks and ships without the need for engine modifications.

By combining Infinium Electrofuels™ production technology with MHI Group's CO2-capture technology and value-chain solutions, MHI aims to accelerate carbon neutrality in Japan, alongside its existing strategies such as EV-oriented transportation, CO2 recovery and carbon offsets.

“We’re proud to collaborate with Infinium to combine their proprietary technology with our expertise in the industry,” said Makoto Susaki, head of MHI’s carbon capture, usage and storage business taskforce. “Together, we can accelerate deployment of these key solutions throughout Japan and around the world in order to achieve our common goal of decarbonization.”

Infinium CEO Robert Schuetzle added, “The Infinium team is tremendously excited about this opportunity to bring clean fuels to the Japanese market alongside our colleagues at MHI. We’re on a mission to decarbonize the world, and the opportunity to build Electrofuels™ production in yet another pivotal geographic market further validates the growing commitment to a net-zero carbon future.”

This collaboration also supports the Japanese government’s Green Growth Strategy, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent by 2030 (from 2013 levels) and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The use of carbon-neutral fuels is expected to play a key role in decarbonizing industries where this is typically challenging such as long-distance, air and marine transportation, where electric vehicles are considered difficult to utilize at scale.