SINGAPORE : Singapore-based renewable energy certificate (REC) service provider REDEX said on Tuesday it has raised $10 million from investors led by Aramco Ventures, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, to fund its expansion beyond Asia.
Other new investors in REDEX are from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Japan, the company said in a statement, without naming them.
“We are planning to get into the Middle East and Latin America markets in 2024 through the partnership with our strategic investors,” Jen-Wee Kang, founder and CEO of REDEX told Reuters.
“The first location is probably Saudi Arabia.”
REDEX operates a platform for utilities across Asia to register, verify and retire RECs. Each REC represents 1 megawatt hour of renewable electricity generated.
These certificates are traded on REDEX’s platform, purchased by companies seeking to offset their scope 2 emissions from fossil-fuel power generation.
While offset products have been criticised for undermining efforts to fight climate change by allowing fossil fuels to still be consumed, they are viewed as a viable way for businesses to lower total net emissions. RECs have also become a source of income for renewable power generators.
Separately, REDEX said it started in June a partnership with China Southern Power Grid, one of the country’s duopoly state power grids, to support the company in becoming a REC issuer in the world’s fastest growing renewable power market.