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Infinium Closes Funding to Decarbonize Transportation Sector with Electrofuels Solution

By January 26, 2021 6   min read  (1050 words)

January 26, 2021 |

fuel cells works, infinium, hydrogen
  • The funding round was led by AP Ventures, a leader in venture capital related to the hydrogen economy, and included strategic investors from a variety of industries
  • Infinium’s Electrofuels™ have the potential to help investor Amazon and other companies to decarbonize their operations and meet their net-zero carbon goals

SACRAMENTO, Calif.Infinium, an electrofuels solution provider, today announced the close of a funding round bringing together a consortium of investors including Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), AP Ventures, Neuman & Esser, and the Grantham Environmental Trust.

The proceeds will be used to advance the development of commercial scale applications to decarbonize the transportation sector.

Infinium’s proprietary technology can enable organizations to meet carbon reduction goals by accelerating the transition away from fossil-based fuels. The Infinium Electrofuels™ process converts renewable power into green hydrogen and then uses this green hydrogen and waste carbon dioxide to produce net-zero carbon fuels. These fuels may be used in today’s plane, ship and truck fleets without changes in infrastructure.

Nearly a quarter of global carbon emissions stem from the transportation sector, posing a significant challenge in industry efforts to reduce emissions. New business mandates that include corporate climate commitments and ESG investing are increasing the demand for low-carbon transportation alternatives. Other solutions, such as electrification, carbon offsets, carbon capture and hydrogen fuel cell technology are part of the solution, but do not fully address transportation’s carbon reduction needs.

Infinium’s Electrofuels™ are drop-in replacements for traditional petroleum-derived products, enabling the commercial transportation industry and logistics operators to make an immediate impact on carbon reduction targets without capital and time intensive upgrades to transportation infrastructure.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Amazon and MHI to demonstrate the commercial impact of our technology,” said Robert Schuetzle, CEO of Infinium. “Backing from the largest hydrogen-focused venture capital firm, AP Ventures, as well as support from Neuman & Esser, an international compressor solutions provider with headquarters in Germany, and the Grantham Environmental Trust is a huge vote of confidence for the promise of electrofuels and our technology’s ability to scale in order to meet today’s urgent climate challenges. We expect that current projects under development will be the first broad-scale utilization of electrofuels by commercial vehicles, harmonizing hydrogen utilization and waste carbon capture.”

“Amazon created The Climate Pledge Fund to support the development of technologies and services that will enable Amazon and other companies to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement 10 years early—achieving net-zero carbon by 2040,” said Kara Hurst, vice president of worldwide sustainability at Amazon. “Infinium’s electrofuels solution has real potential to help decarbonize transport that carries heavier loads and travels long distances, including air and freight, as well as heavy trucks.”

“In order to mitigate climate change and realize a sustainable future of clean energy, we need new technology solutions. Infinium’s market readiness and scalability makes it stand out from other alternative fuel providers,” said Andrew Hinkly, managing partner at AP Ventures.

“It is increasingly important to continue our efforts towards developing solutions that drive global carbon neutrality goals,” said Yoshihiro Shiraiwa, CEO, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America. “We are confident in the progress we will make together with this group of industry leaders.”

Infinium is developing commercial applications of its technology with strategic partners to build Electrofuels™ production plants, focusing first in markets where low-cost renewable power generation coincides with large CO2 volumes.

About Infinium

Infinium offers an electrofuels solution to decarbonize the transportation sector using today’s infrastructure. Infinium’s Electrofuels™ are a net-zero carbon alternative to existing liquid fuels that can immediately “drop in” and be used in plane, ship and truck fleets. For more information, visit www.infiniumco.com.

About Amazon Climate Pledge Fund

In June 2020, Amazon announced The Climate Pledge Fund to support the development of sustainable and decarbonizing technologies and services that will enable Amazon and other companies to meet the goals set by The Climate Pledge. This dedicated investment program—with an initial $2 billion in funding—will invest in visionary companies whose products and solutions will facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy. More info at: https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/about/climate-pledge-fund

About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is one of the world’s leading industrial firms with 80,000 group employees and annual consolidated revenues of around $38 billion U.S. dollars. For more than 130 years, the company has channeled big thinking into innovative and integrated solutions that move the world forward. MHI delivers innovative and integrated solutions across a wide range of industries from commercial aviation and transportation to power plants and gas turbines, and from machinery and infrastructure to integrated defense and space systems. More info at: https://www.mhi.com/

About AP Ventures

AP Ventures is headquartered in London and manages venture capital funds with a global mandate to invest in pioneering new technologies and businesses which aim to solve global challenges such as renewable energy integration, resource scarcity and rapidly changing demographics. AP Ventures is led by Andrew Hinkly (Managing Partner) and Kevin Eggers (Partner). Investors include Anglo-American Platinum, Impala Platinum, the Mirai Creation Fund, Mitsubishi Corporation, Plastic Omnium, the Public Investment Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation. More info at: www.apventures.com

About THE NEUMAN & ESSER GROUP

The NEUMAN & ESSER GROUP (NEA), founded 1830 in Aachen, Germany is a leading manufacturer of compressor solutions including piston compressors and diaphragm compressors, sealing elements for oscillating and rotating systems and offers comprehensive services for NEA brand and 13 OEM legacies. Its products serve all major applications in the Oil & Gas markets, Chemicals & Petrochemicals Industries, Food & Beverages, Renewable Energy and H2 Economy including H2 Mobility. The company group, with its workforce of 1,200 employees worldwide, consists of three holding companies in Germany, the USA and China, four production sites in Germany and 19 companies for sales and system engineering as well as service facilities at 10 strategic locations around the globe. More info at: https://www.neuman-esser.de/en/

About The Grantham Environmental Trust

The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust was formed in 2005 to help combat environmental degradation. Since its inception, climate change has been its top priority. The Trust supports climate solutions through both its grant-making and investment activities. For more info, see: http://www.granthamfoundation.org

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