AM Green, Mitsui sign pact to explore green aluminium, energy transition collaboration

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) India's AM Green and Japan's Mitsui & Co have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore strategic collaboration opportunities across the energy transition, including potential investments in low-carbon aluminium, the companies said on Thursday.

Under the MoU, Mitsui will assess possible investments across the value chain of AM Green Aluminium Metals and Materials, a wholly-owned AM Green subsidiary that is developing an integrated green aluminium platform.

The collaboration could support equity funding for what the companies describe as the world’s first fully integrated green aluminium production facility.

"Under the MoU with Mitsui, the parties will assess potential investment in the AM Green Metals value chain. Mitsui investment will support equity requirements to build the world's first integrated green aluminium production platform," the companies said in a statement.

"As part of the discussions, AM Green and Mitsui will explore a range of commercial and strategic opportunities, including offtake of low-carbon aluminium (including potential access to offtake rights associated with AM Green's green aluminium business) and supply of auxiliary materials for green aluminium smelter and alumina refinery." AM Green Metals is building a 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) primary aluminium smelter, along with 2 MTPA of alumina refining and mining capacity. In November, AM Green signed an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up a 1 MTPA green aluminium complex in the state.

The aluminium smelter and alumina refinery are planned to be powered entirely by renewable energy from wind and solar, firmed by pumped hydro storage. In May, Coal India signed an MoU to supply 4.5 gigawatts of renewable power to AM Green for its businesses, including green metals.

As part of the discussions with Mitsui, the companies will also explore offtake arrangements for low-carbon aluminium and the supply of auxiliary materials for the aluminium smelter and alumina refinery.

"AM Green is building globally competitive platforms across molecules and materials to enable industrial decarbonisation at scale," said Mahesh Kolli, founder of Greenko Group and AM Green.

"We are pleased to partner with Mitsui to explore collaboration pathways that can accelerate low-carbon aluminium and expand market access for green products." AM Green was established by Greenko founders Anil Chalamalasetty and Mahesh Kolli as a dedicated energy transition and decarbonisation platform.

It holds a stake in the Greenko business, in its Power2X businesses (5 MTPA green ammonia, green hydrogen, green metals and aluminium and green chemicals) and in its Bio2X businesses (2G ethanol, SAF, dissolving pulp and lignin).

Greenko has a near-term operational renewable energy capacity of over 12 GW across solar, wind and hydro and is building 100 GWh of single-cycle pumped hydro storage capacity by 2030 across India.

AM Green is committed to producing 5 MTPA of green ammonia capacity by 2030 (1 MTPA under construction), representing one-fifth of India's green hydrogen production target and 10 per cent of Europe's green hydrogen import target. It is also committed to building 1 MTPA of green aluminium capacity.

Mitsui & Co is a global trading and investment group operating in more than 60 countries, with businesses spanning energy, metals, infrastructure and chemicals.

The company identifies, develops, and grows its businesses in partnership with a global network of trusted partners, including world-leading companies, combining its geographic and cross-industry strengths to create long-term sustainable value for its stakeholders. PTI ANZ BAL BAL