b'The Energy Innovation Initiative Americas (EIIA) aims to develop next-generation businesses in the de-carbonization and next-generation energy sector in North, Central and South America. In the carbon-free energy related businesses sector, we develop new busi-nesses that include sustainable aviation fuel, the hydrogen and ammonium business, and a new energy supply business based on facilities for the large-scale receiving and distribution of hydrogen, etc. In the CO 2capture, storage and utilization sector, we develop and expand environmental value-creating businesses in areas such as waste management, as well as the biomass fuel business, the next-generation bio-energy development business, pursuing low-carbon natural gas & LNG trading, and more. The cost of achieving Carbon Neutrality, especially in abating industry emissions, is very expen-sive. This could create resistance against taking action. Efforts must be made to lower whats called the Green Premium. Ultimately, we need that premium to be so low that everyone everywhere can choose and afford the clean alternative. Some people say that the Green Premi-um shall be covered by governments subsidies. However, in the end, someone has to bear the burden, and that would be most likely be the people and the private sector.In order to move forward with energy transition, we as Sumitomo Corporation must make the effort to reduce the Green Premium by cooperating with governments, companies, research institutes, and financial institutions, etc., realizing cost reduction by utilizing technical innovation and financial schemes, and creating a Green Benefit which will be good for every stakeholder, including customers, societies, and our entire planet.What energy innovation is the EIIA group mostly looking for?I believe that the time axis is extremely important to promote Energy Transition. At EIIA, we draw roadmaps considering short-term, medium-term, and long-term time frames. In the short-to-medium term, around 2030, we are focusing on the development of so-called drop-in fuels that can be used with existing infrastructure. Specifically, we are focusing onTrsustainable aviation fuels (SAF) that use biomass as feedstock.From medium-to-long-term, we will produce these drop-in fuels from a wide variety of feedstock using new technologies, and also to promote the production of new fuels such as hydrogen based fuels and construction of new infrastructure. Regarding hydrogen, it can be used in the Fuel Cell for mobility, but I feel hydrogen has a great potential to use as a feedstock to produce various final products. For example, ammonia, SAF and methanation. We believe that it is extremely important to capture and utilize CO 2in the pro-duction of these final products, and therefore, we are also focusing on CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage). Furthermore, as a long-term effort, EIIA has just invested in a fusion technology company this year, which is expected to be a future disruptive technology.(continued)Sumitomo Corporation of Americas 17'