ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Yoshihisa Suzuki, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has made a strategic investment in Winch Energy Limited (headquartered in London, UK; Nicholas Wrigley, CEO; hereinafter “Winch Energy”) through its wholly owned subsidiary ITOCHU Europe PLC (headquartered in London, UK; Hiroshi Sato, President & CEO).

Winch Energy develops, markets, and operates autonomous mini generation and distribution systems comprised of PV panels, battery storage, distribution lines and smart meters (hereinafter, “Mini-Grid Systems”). 1.2 billion people are currently estimated to reside in non-electrified regions throughout the world. For every Mini-Grid System installed, 100 African households can gain access to electricity for the first time. Winch Energy has initiated pilot projects in Benin, Uganda, Togo, Mauritania and Sierra Leone and aims to expand the Mini-Grid System as an electricity solution across the continent and beyond. In addition to providing electricity, Winch Energy will introduce important new services to non-electrified regions, including Wi-Fi internet, postal services, and cold storage (hereinafter, “New Services”), which will improve living standards and assist with the development of local industry.

Through Winch Energy, ITOCHU intends to introduce electricity to non-electrified regions in Africa and Asia and help to increase living standards by providing New Services. By its strategic investment in Winch Energy, ITOCHU will continue to take a proactive role in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of providing clean energy and supporting climate action.

By packaging the components of the Mini-Grid System in the form of containers, shipping efficiency is improved and assembly and installation at site is completed in 1 to 2 days. In addition to providing electricity to non-electrified regions, the system can also be utilized as emergency power supply to regions affected by natural disaster.