ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that ITOCHU concluded a memorandum concerning a collaboration in the business of mobile energy storage systems for construction sites with Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Taito-ku, Tokyo; Masafumi Senzaki, President and Executive Officer, COO; hereinafter "Hitachi Construction Machinery") and Alfen B.V. (headquartered in Almere, Netherlands; Marco Roeleveld, CEO).

As specified in the memorandum concerning the collaboration, ITOCHU will collaborate in the sale, financing, rental and lease of mobile energy storage systems from Alfen in the European market using the sales network of Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) N.V., a subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery. In the future, ITOCHU will consider a business model including the expansion of sales into areas other than Europe, the reuse and recycling of used mobile energy storage systems, support for the realization of zero emissions and the provision of solutions for increased energy efficiency on construction sites.

Recently, there has been growing interest in the use of electric construction machinery on construction sites as they do not emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide during operation. Europe, in particular, is a market that has some of the strictest regulations related to global warming countermeasures and the realization of a global low-carbon society, and demand for electric construction machinery is high. On the other hand, construction machinery is often used in places where there is no charging equipment or temporary power supply devices nearby. The machinery needs to move to another construction site after the work is done. For these reasons, it is not efficient to install large-scale charging equipment every time. Therefore, it is essential that mobile energy storage systems be provided to realize zero emissions on construction sites, which led to the signing of this memorandum. Alfen’s mobile energy storage systems is the size of a 10-foot container and transported by truck in the way containers are transported in Europe. It can charge a 13-ton excavator roughly twice.

• Three parties conclude a memorandum concerning the handling of mobile energy storage system for construction sites to collaborate to realize zero emissions from construction sites.
• ITOCHU will consider horizontal expansion into other markets, effectively using the experience in future business.

･ITOCHU Corporation : Support for sales, finance, rental and lease of mobile energy storage system, build and procurement of power storage systems at construction sites and recycling and reuse of mobile energy storage system
･Hitachi Construction Machinery : Sale and rental of mobile energy storage system
• Alfen : Product development, manufacturing, delivery and maintenance of mobile energy storage systems
Alfen corporate website: www.alfen.com

■ Related information
October 24, 2023 Hitachi Construction Machinery’s news release
https://www.hitachicm.com/global/en/news/press-releases/2023/23-10-24/

ITOCHU concluded a capital alliance agreement with Hitachi Construction Machinery in August 2022 and the two companies collaborate in all areas of business including the sale, financing and rental of construction machinery and mining machinery manufactured by Hitachi Construction Machinery, the sale of used construction machinery and mining machinery manufactured by Hitachi Construction Machinery and related fields. ITOCHU also aims to realize business transformation by shifting to a market-oriented perspective and enhance our contribution to and engagement with the SDGs through business activities as stated in the basic policies in its Medium-Term Management Plan. Based on those policies, ITOCHU's goal is to help achieve the SDGs through the evolution of business models, maintaining the infrastructure supporting human lives, and protecting the environment.
ITOCHU will bolster collaboration to realize zero emissions on construction sites and provide solutions alongside Hitachi Construction Machinery in consideration of electrification and the transition to clean power sources on construction sites to respond to the recent trends toward decarbonization.