ITOCHU Corporation (ITOCHU; President & COO: Keta Ishii; Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo), HIF Asia Pacific Pty Ltd , a wholly owned subsidiary of HIF Global (HIF; President & CEO: Cesar Norton; Head Office: Houston, Texas), JFE Steel Corporation (JFE Steel; President & CEO: Yoshihisa Kitano; Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto, Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo) today announced an agreement to jointly conduct a wide-ranging feasibility study covering on (1) carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture in Japan, (2) shipping the CO₂ to Australia, (3) production and storage of synthetic fuel (e-fuel) derived from the CO₂ in Australia, and (4) establishment of a comprehensive supply chain, including export of e-fuel from Australia.

Conceptual diagram of e-fuel production and supply chain

＜Role of each company＞

Company Name	Business	Role
ITOCHU	Trading	Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)*1, economic evaluation, etc.
HIF	e-fuel business	Selection of e-fuel production area, e-fuel production cost estimation, etc.
JFE Steel	Iron manufacturing	CO2 separation/capture, liquefaction, and offloading cost estimation, etc.
MOL	Ocean shipping	CO2 and e-fuel transport cost estimation, study of marine transport, etc.

The term "e-fuel" refers to liquid fuel produced by synthesizing hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources and CO₂. The CO₂ feedstock will be CO₂ emitted from industries that will have difficulty achieving decarbonization through electrification, hydrogenation, and other means alone. A benefit of e-fuel is that it can use current infrastructure such as vessels, lorries, storage tanks, and fueling stations for transport and storage. In addition, e-fuel itself can be used to power automobiles, aircraft, and vessels without the need to modify or replace current equipment, so its use is expected to be an early decarbonization measure.

Leveraging their networks in Japan and overseas and the knowledge they have cultivated through business in Australia, ITOCHU, HIF, JFE Steel, and MOL aim to establish an e-fuel supply chain, starting with a study of its use at JFE Steel, with an eye toward a decarbonized society.

JFE Steel is making concerted efforts to address climate-change issues in accordance with the JFE Group Environmental Vision for 2050. In addition to reducing its own direct CO₂ emissions, JFE Steel is working to lower CO₂ emissions throughout its supply chain to contribute to a more sustainable world.

*1 Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method for quantitatively evaluating the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle (resource extraction, raw material production, product manufacturing, distribution/consumption, and disposal/recycling).

＜Company Profile＞

Name	ITOCHU Corporation
Head Office Address	Minato-ku, Tokyo
Year Established	1949
Representative	Keta Ishii, COO
Business Outline	ITOCHU is a trading company and is engaged in a wide range of businesses, including imports, exports, and business investments in Japan and overseas in several fields, including metals, energy, machinery, textiles and food. One of the basic policies of ITOCHU’s medium-term management plan is to "contribute to and strengthen initiatives for the SDGs," and through this initiative, ITOCHU aims to build a supply chain with an eye toward a decarbonized society.
URL	https://www.itochu.co.jp/en/

Name	HIF Global
Head Office Address	Houston, Texas
Year Established	2022
Representative	Cesar Norton, President & CEO
Business Outline	HIF Global is the world’s leading eFuels company, developing projects to convert hydrogen using low cost renewable power into carbon neutral liquid eFuels that can be transported and utilized in existing infrastructure. The name HIF represents the mission of the company: to provide Highly Innovative Fuels to make decarbonization of the planet possible. HIF Latam, HIF USA, HIF Asia Pacific, and HIF EMEA are wholly owned subsidiaries of HIF Global. HIF Global is already producing eFuels in its Haru Oni Facility in Magallanes, Chile and intends to begin construction of the commercial scale HIF Matagorda eFuels Facility in Texas in 2024. HIF Global’s first Australian development, in Tasmania, was announced in July 2022.
URL	https://hifglobal.com/

Name	JFE Steel Corporation
Head Office Address	Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Year Established	2003
Representative	Yoshihisa Kitano, President & CEO
Business Outline	The JFE Group has formulated the "JFE Group Environmental Vision 2050" and has positioned addressing climate change issues as its most important management challenge, and is vigorously promoting efforts to solve this issue. JFE Steel aims to achieve carbon neutrality by utilizing CCUS, including inter-company and industrial complex collaboration, in addition to working on the development of various ultra-innovative technologies such as carbon-recycling blast furnaces and direct reduction steelmaking etc. To establish a CCUS value chain, we will accelerate our efforts by expanding and strengthening inter-company collaboration both in Japan and overseas.
URL	https://www.jfe-steel.co.jp/en/index.html

Name	Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.
Head Office Address	Minato-ku, Tokyo
Year Established	1884
Representative	Takeshi Hashimoto, President & CEO
Business Outline	The MOL Group Vision is to develop a variety of social infrastructure businesses in addition to traditional shipping businesses, and will meet the evolving social needs including environmental conservation, with innovative technology and services. The CCS/CCUS business is an initiative that is consistent with the MOL Group Vision, as well as with the expansion of non-shipping businesses set forth in the BLUE ACTION 2035 management plan and one of the strategies in the MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.2, namely, "Expand low-carbon/decarbonized business by leveraging the group’s collective strengths." From the blue oceans, the MOL Group will contribute to the sustainable development of society and the preservation of nature, sustain people's lives, and ensure a prosperous future, by expanding business upstream and downstream in the CCS/CCUS value chain, acquiring projects, and accelerating the development of the value chain.
URL	https://www.mol.co.jp/en/

About JFE Steel Corporation

JFE Steel Corporation, one of the world’s leading integrated steel producers, was established through the consolidation of NKK Corporation and Kawasaki Steel Corporation in 2003. The company operates several steelworks in Japan and numerous branch offices and affiliates throughout the world. JFE Steel leverages world-class technologies and know-how to produce a wide range of products based on its “Only One, Number One” strategy of focusing on unique and best-in-class products. The company reported consolidated sales of 2,255 billion yen and consolidated crude steel output of 23.96 million tons in the fiscal year ended March 2021.

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