Total to invest US$300 million in JV with Adani Green Energy

TOTALENERGIES plans to invest US$300 million in a joint venture with Adani Green Energy, marking the first public deal between the French oil giant and Gautam Adani since a short-seller levelled fraud allegations against the Indian billionaire industrialist’s business empire.

Total will hold a 50 per cent stake in the new JV firm, with Adani Green holding the rest, said an exchange filing on Wednesday (Sep 20). This investment is part of the companies’ drive to expand their portfolio of clean-energy projects. Bloomberg reported this investment last week, citing people familiar with the developments.

The deal increases Total’s presence in India’s fast-growing energy market, while giving Adani Green more means to develop new renewable energy projects. Under the deal, Total will deepen its ties with Adani Green, which is already the second-largest shareholder, with a 19.75 per cent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The latest announcement shows the conglomerate’s growing ability to attract global investments again. After Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud earlier this year, Total put on hold a plan to develop about US$5 billion of green hydrogen projects with Adani Enterprises. The Adani Group strongly denied the allegations by the short-seller.

The French energy producer and the Indian conglomerate had announced a partnership in June last year to fund billions of dollars for green hydrogen development in India as the world’s third-largest polluter seeks to decarbonise. 

Total has partnered with Adani Group in the past and is looking to boost its clean-energy output, in an effort to mollify shareholders demanding greater efforts to fight climate change. That aspiration dovetails with India’s ambitions to become a net-zero carbon nation by 2070 and curb its reliance on oil and coal.