MOL PLUS CO., Ltd., a wholly owned CVC (Corporate Venture Capital) subsidiary of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., has, for the first time, received a prize in the Climate Change Category at the 2025 NIKKEI Blue Ocean Awards. This prize recognizes specific efforts to combat climate change, and MOL PLUS was awarded for the "Next Generation Energy Storage System Installation Project to Decarbonize the Port and Logistics Industry" which the company is working on together with VFlowTech, a Singapore-based start-up in which it has invested.

This Project involves the installation of next-generation energy storage systems in port operations and logistics warehouses, using surplus energy from renewable energy sources, principally solar power, to convert the electricity supply to renewables. Business creation officers have been appointed at two overseas offices, MOL (Asia Oceania) and MOL (India), and efforts are currently underway to establish a leasing model for energy storage systems in Southeast Asia and India.

At the awards ceremony held on December 4, the jury commented that the Project was commendable from the three perspectives of "marketability to change society", "cooperativity and framework for realization", and "future development and growth potential". They also commented that the Project would contribute to the formation of a new international model for the decarbonization of port power sources by replacing conventional power sources with renewable energy and storage batteries. MOL Group's strengths through the effective utilization of the MOL Group's international network was also the key factor leading to the award, they added.

MOL PLUS continually works to generate synergetic effects based on startup companies' innovative ideas and technologies and MOL Group's resources through investment in and collaboration with startups, aiming to create new businesses PLUS new value to the ocean shipping industry and society.