(PRNewswire)—HIF USA, affiliate of HIF Global and the Japanese energy company Idemitsu Kosan, signed a letter of intent to negotiate a sale and purchase agreement for eMethanol from the HIF Matagorda eFuels facility currently in development in Texas, and to study the joint development of the eMethanol business.

Cesar Norton, President & CEO of HIF Global said, "carbon neutral eFuels are an immediate replacement for fossil fuels that can be used in today's cars, ships, and planes. We are already producing eFuels at the HIF Haru Oni facility in southern Chile and developing large-scale eFuels facilities around the globe. Ahead of COP28, we are moving forward with a real solution to decarbonize our planet. Idemitsu Kosan has embraced the challenge and is committed to accelerating the production of eFuels to lead Japan in the energy transition."

The HIF Matagorda eFuels Facility is performing engineering with Bechtel, Siemens Energy, and Topsoe and is designed to produce approximately 300,000 metric tpy of green H₂ and approximately 1.4 metric tpy of eMethanol. The HIF Matagorda eFuels Facility expects to purchase approximately 2 MM metric tpy of recycled carbon dioxide (CO₂) for conversion to eMethanol and 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy.

HIF Global previously announced the following achievements at the HIF Matagorda eFuels Facility:

• Receipt of its environmental permits to begin construction and operations
• Reservation of its H₂ production electrolyzers from Siemens Energy
• Selection of Topsoe for the eFuels conversion production technology
• Engagement of Bechtel to perform front-end engineering design (FEED)
• Selection of ~1,000 acres in Matagorda County, Texas and investment in the project by Matagorda County and the state of Texas in the form of a 10-year property tax abatement.

Renato Pereira, CEO of HIF USA, said, "The development team at the HIF Matagorda eFuels Facility has been steadily achieving the milestones required to begin construction in Texas and make decarbonization of the transportation sector a reality. Idemitsu Kosan's refining and fuels distribution capabilities are material contributions toward full commercialization of the first world scale eFuels facility. We are delighted to work with Idemitsu Kosan to pioneer a new, carbon-neutral fuels industry, accelerate the production of eFuels and decarbonize the equivalent of approximately 400,000 cars, 40 standard methanol fueled container vessels, or 24 billion air passenger miles."

Idemitsu said that they were very pleased to be working with HIF to negotiate a sale and purchase agreement for eMethanol and to study the joint development of the eMethanol business. Earlier this year, HIF Global and Idemitsu Kosan signed an MoU to accelerate the production of eFuels.

eMethanol is a carbon-neutral fuel made by combining green H₂ and recycled CO₂. It is chemically equivalent to today's methanol and can therefore be used in existing infrastructure, or can be converted into other eFuels, such as synthetic gasoline or synthetic jet fuel.