Essar Group has established a sustainability-focused business which will invest $3.6bn in its home market of India and the north of England. On February 27 the energy conglomerate announced it had created Essar Energy Transition (EET), which will develop low-carbon energy transition projects to “reposition Essar for growth and resurgence”.

In its statement, Essar said $2.4bn of EET’s capital will help transform its oil refinery at Stanlow, between Liverpool and Manchester, into “the UK’s leading energy transition hub in north-west England”. The funds, which will be invested over the next five years, will decarbonise the refinery and develop projects spanning blue and green hydrogen, ammonia and biofuels. 

“We are excited about the opportunity to drive the UK’s energy transition by producing low-carbon future fuels which will help eliminate around 20% of the industrial carbon dioxide in north-west England,” said Essar Capital director Prashant Ruia.

Ocior plans $4.8bn hydrogen plant in India

Abu Dhabi’s Ocior Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government of Gujarat, India, to develop a Rs400bn ($4.8bn) green hydrogen and ammonia plant. Announced on February 27, the project will be located in the Kutch district, in the country’s west, and will produce one million tonnes of clean fuels each year. 

The project will begin operations in 2030 and will create more than 10,400 direct and indirect jobs. By that year, Ocior Energy is aiming to deploy four gigawatts of green hydrogen capacity globally.

Stellantis takes stake in Argentinian copper

European automaker Stellantis is investing $155m into McEwen Copper, which owns the Los Azules copper project in Argentina. Announcing the news on February 27, the Netherlands-headquartered firm said the investment makes “a major contribution to the company’s plan to become carbon net zero by 2038”.

The deal sees Stellantis acquire a 14.2% equity stake in McEwen Copper which “helps Stellantis secure projected copper demand starting in 2027”, the company said in the same statement. From that year, the mine will produce 100,000 tonnes per year of cathode copper, which is a strategic raw material for the production of electric vehicle batteries.

“Stellantis and McEwen are ideal partners for a large project like Los Azules. Together, we share a collective vision to build a mine for the future based on regenerative principles and innovative technologies,” said McEwen Copper CEO Rob McEwen.