- JP
- EN
MOL Switch Invests in Twelve, U.S. Developer of E-fuels
- Contributing to the Spread and Expansion of Clean Energy -
February 13, 2025
TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto) today announced that Twelve Benefit Corporation (Twelve; Representative: Nicholas Flanders; Headquarters: California, U.S.), the carbon transformation company developing synthetic fuels (E-fuels) and chemicals, raised an additional $83 million USD in February, following the momentum of their $645 million funding announcement last fall. Twelve is backed by investments from MOL Switch LLC (Note 1) (CEO: Tomoaki Ichida, Headquarters: California, U.S.), MOL's wholly owned subsidiary formed to invest in decarbonization technologies, which invested in Twelve in July 2024. In addition, MITSUI & CO., LTD., Development Bank of Japan Inc., Advantage Partners Pte. Ltd. and TGVP (Toppan Global Venture Partners, Inc.) have also invested in Twelve.
E-fuels are liquid fuels produced from hydrogen and CO, which can be produced from renewable electricity, CO2, and water. Twelve's E-Jet® sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and E-Marine™ are drop-in fuel that can be used directly in existing infrastructure with up to 90% lower lifecycle emissions compared to fossil-based fuels. E-fuels are expected to be a clean energy source that will contribute to the decarbonization of not only the shipping industry, but also aviation, mobility, and other industries.
Twelve has developed a proprietary carbon transformation technology that turns CO2 into fuels, chemicals, and materials via CO2 electrolysis. The first commercial demonstration plant for their E-Jet® SAF and E-Naphtha™ product is expected to come online later this year in Moses Lake, Washington, USA.
The company also has offtake agreements with Alaska Airlines, Microsoft, and International Airlines Group for aviation fuel, and a partnership with Virgin Voyages for marine fuel.
The MOL Group aims to become a social infrastructure company under the "BLUE ACTION 2035" management plan, and plans to strengthen non-shipping areas and proactively invest in these fields. Furthermore, the group has set the target of achieving net zero GHG emissions for the entire Group by 2050 in the "MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.2." Following its investment in HIF Global, which is promoting a project to produce and transport synthetic fuels (Note 2), the MOL Group aims to contribute to the decarbonization of society as a whole by contributing to spread and expansion of clean energy, including synthetic fuels, through its investment participation in Twelve.
[Outline of Twelve]
| Company name | Twelve Benefit Corporation |
|---|---|
| Location | California, U.S. |
| Established | 2015 |
| Representative | Nicholas Flanders (CEO) |
| Website | https://www.twelve.co/ |
(Note 1) For more information on MOL Switch, please refer to the May 31, 2023, press release: MOL has established 'MOL Switch' in the USA, to invest in decarbonization technologies.
(Note 2) For more information on "investment in HIF Global," please refer to the September 20, 2024, press release: MOL Invests in HIF Global, a U.S.-based company of e-Fuels -Toward the Decarbonization of the Mobility Industry with synthetic fuels -.
MOL Group 5 Sustainability Issues
MOL Group identifies "Sustainability Issues" (Materiality) as our key issues for sustainable growth with society through realization of the Group Vision.
We anticipate this initiative to contribute especially to the realization of "Environment -Conservation for Marine and global environment-" and "Innovation -Innovation for development in marine technology-."
