16 May 2022
London: Storegga, an independent UK company pioneering carbon reduction and removal for a net zero world, is pleased to announce that GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund and Mitsui & Co. Ltd., a global trading and investment company, have become new investors in the Company, alongside a further investment from the cornerstone investor, Macquarie.
Storegga has the emerging asset base and the financial backing to become the UK’s leading independent carbon reduction and removal company. Global interest in the UK’s confirmed commitment to rapidly delivering CCS and the emission reduction technologies that it enables, has increased markedly over the last 12 months. Storegga aims to be at the forefront of the UK’s world-leading CCS and decarbonisation ambitions, and to help build a world leading skills base for export and application across the globe.
Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Pale Blue Dot, Storegga is the lead developer of the Acorn CCS and Hydrogen Project (“The Acorn Project”) based at St. Fergus, North East Scotland. The Acorn Project is designated a European Project of Common Interest, providing essential infrastructure to help both the UK and Europe meet net zero targets. It is expected to be operational in the mid-2020s and has the potential to store at least half of the 10Mt/yr of CO₂ storage targeted by the UK Government’s Ten Point Plan for a green Industrial Revolution by 2030. The Acorn Project is highly scalable and overall has the potential to store 20Mt/yr or more of CO₂ emissions by the mid 2030’s, in a region that has been traditionally the home to a large proportion of the UK’s world leading oil and gas skills base.
This major CO₂ transportation and storage hub will be the enabler of a host of decarbonisation opportunities including CO₂ imports from across the UK and North West Europe to Peterhead’s deep water port, a possible repurposing of pipeline infrastructure to support the decarbonisation of Scotland’s industrial central belt, large scale hydrogen generation and negative emission technologies including Direct Air Capture (“DAC”).
The funds raised today will be used to progress Storegga’s funding of some of the wider aspects of the Acorn Project, Storegga’s plans for a UK based DAC facility, and support ongoing business development activities by the Company.
Along with these new investments, Storegga and Mitsui have entered into a non-exclusive agreement to initiate and progress further CCS opportunities in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region. With Mitsui’s strong presence in the Asia-Pacific, this strategic cooperation will allow Storegga and Mitsui to pursue opportunities in the region, which Storegga expects will soon start to rapidly adopt CCS technology to meet the region’s climate commitments.
Nick Cooper, Storegga CEO, commented:
“We are delighted that GIC and Mitsui are joining Macquarie as investors in Storegga. We welcome their vision and commitment to help deliver a net zero future. The UK is emerging as a world-leader in CCS and its associated low carbon technologies; today’s investment by these partners strengthens our ability to build a world class CCS project and help the UK to pioneer this rapidly growing sector. “As a new, independent, company in this sector we bring a sharp commercial focus and ‘‘can do” attitude to our CO₂ reduction and removal businesses. Our purpose is to drive the transition to a low carbon, and then no carbon economy.”
Erik Petersson, Senior Managing Director in Macquarie’s Commodities and Global Markets group, said:
“Storegga’s Acorn Project is on course to be one of the UK’s first large scale carbon sequestration projects and, as a business that has been active in the country’s energy market for many years, we see supporting businesses like Storegga as a key part of our own energy transition journey. We are extremely excited to increase our support for this business and its projects, which we believe could provide a unique economic opportunity for Scotland and the wider UK. We look forward to working with two other world class investors, GIC and Mitsui & Co, to make Storegga the UK’s leading independent carbon reduction and removal company.”
Masaharu Okubo, Chief Operating Officer of the Energy Business Unit 1 Mitsui & Co said:
“We will work closely with Storegga’s management team and help accelerate its vision and commitment by using our extensive knowledge of the energy sector and strong global networks. Mitsui believes providing low-carbon solutions to hard-to-abate industries such as energy will be critical in achieving net-zero carbon targets. Through development of CCS projects globally, Mitsui will help create an eco-friendly society.”
For further information please contact:
Camarco (PR and Media)
Billy Clegg, Georgia Edmonds, Monique Perks 020 3757 4983
Madano (Public Affairs)
Andrew Turner 07702 962043
Notes to Editors:
Storegga Geotechnologies
Storegga is an, independent, low-carbon project delivery business at the forefront of the global Net Zero strategy. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Pale Blue Dot, Storegga is the lead developer of the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage (“CCS”) and Hydrogen project, providing essential infrastructure to help the UK meet its net zero targets.
Storegga has partnered with leading engineering and technology groups at the forefront of their fields to accelerate project activity. The Company has partnered with Carbon Engineering to develop Air Capture (“DAC”) in the UK,
Storegga Geotechnologies: (https://www.storegga.earth/)
For more information on the Acorn CCS and Hydrogen Project, please visit: About Acorn – Acorn CCS (theacornproject.uk)
GIC
GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign reserves.
As a disciplined long-term value investor, GIC is uniquely positioned for investments across a wide range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate, and infrastructure. Headquartered in Singapore, GIC has investments in over 40 countries and employs over 1,700 people across 10 offices in key financial cities worldwide.
For more information on GIC, please visit http://www.gic.com.sg/ or LinkedIn
Mitsui
Mitsui & Co., Ltd (8031: JP) is a global trading and investment company with a diversified business portfolio that spans approximately 65 countries in Asia, Europe, North, Central & South America, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania.
Mitsui has over 5,600 employees and deploys talent around the globe to identify, develop, and grow businesses in collaboration with a global network of trusted partners. Mitsui has built a strong and diverse core business portfolio covering the Mineral and Metal Resources, Energy, Machinery and Infrastructure, and Chemicals industries.
Leveraging its strengths, Mitsui has further diversified beyond its core profit pillars to create multifaceted value in new areas, including innovative Energy Solutions, Healthcare & Nutrition and through a strategic focus on high-growth Asian markets. This strategy aims to derive growth opportunities by harnessing some of the world’s main mega-trends: sustainability, health & wellness, digitalization and the growing power of the consumer.
Mitsui has a long heritage in Asia, where it has established a diverse and strategic portfolio of businesses and partners that gives it a strong differentiating edge, provides exceptional access for all global partners to the world’s fastest growing region and strengthens its international portfolio.
For more information on Mitsui Corporation, please visit www.mitsui.com
Macquarie
Macquarie Group Limited (Macquarie) is a diversified financial group providing clients with asset management and finance, banking, advisory and risk and capital solutions across debt, equity and commodities. Founded in 1969, Macquarie employs over 16,300 people globally. Macquarie’s assets under management (AUM) at 30 September 2020 were $A556.3 billion.
Macquarie is a global leader in environmental products and the energy transition more generally. It was recently awarded a number of awards at the Energy Risk Awards, including 2020 Environmental Products Bank of the Year, 2020 Oil & Products and Derivatives House of the Year and the 2019 Natural Gas/LNG House of the Year. Macquarie is active in both voluntary and compliance carbon markets globally and continues to innovate in the delivery of environmental commodities products and markets.
For more information on Macquarie Group, please visit www.macquarie.com/uk/en
