Clean Energy, Total SE Joint Venture

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq: CLNE) and its largest shareholder, Total SE, have agreed on a 50/50 joint venture to develop carbon-negative renewable natural gas (RNG) production facilities in the United States, as well as credit support to build additional downstream RNG fueling infrastructure.

The initial firm commitment is $100 million and can increase to $400 million as development opportunities progress, Newport Beach-based Clean Energy said in a news release today.

Since Clean Energy and Total will be providing the equity portion of the investments, the actual amount of capital invested in RNG projects may be higher than $400 million depending on the amount of leverage that is deployed, according to the news release. In addition, Total will be providing credit support for Clean Energy development in the RNG value chain, including $45 million for contracted RNG fueling infrastructure.

Shares in Clean Energy climbed 5.1% to $12.89 apiece for a market cap of almost $2.6 billion after the announcement of the joint venture.