ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that ITOCHU has decided to transform i GRID SOLUTIONS, Inc. (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Tomokazu Akita, President; hereinafter “i GRID”), in which ITOCHU has investment, into an equity method company by subscribing to shares i GRID will issue by means of a private placement. With i GRID as a core business partner in the next-generation electric power field, ITOCHU will advance the introduction of distributed power supply, harnessing renewable energy and the integrated energy supply and demand platform business with the partner for realizing a decarbonized society.

To date, ITOCHU has led the way in Japanese business for third party-owned distributed power supply using renewable energy, by operating 265 on-site photovoltaic power plants that effectively use rooftop space at supermarkets, distribution warehouses and other facilities (whose combined output is approximately 54,000 kW) across Japan through VPP Japan, Inc. (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Tomokazu Akita; hereinafter “VPPJ”), which has received an investment from ITOCHU and is a subsidiary of i GRID. ITOCHU will begin offering next-generation energy platform services that facilitate the local circulation of renewable energy by controlling photovoltaic equipment, storage cell devices, electric vehicle (EV) chargers and other equipment in an integrated manner and networking distributed photovoltaic power plants, including those described above and others operated by other companies, using the power big data analysis and energy management technologies where i GIRD’s strength lies, and benefiting from the relationships strengthened through the equity method application to i GRID on this occasion.

As part of efforts to realize business transformation by achieving a shift to a market-oriented perspective and enhance contribution to and engagement with SDGs through business activities, targets adopted in its Medium-term Management Plan, ITOCHU will contribute to realizing a carbon-neutral society in 2050 by facilitating the introduction of photovoltaic generation, a major power source based on renewable energy, to all types of facilities, including industrial, housing, rooftop and land-based facilities, and networking them on a next-generation energy platform.