Construction Completed on Yorii Biogas Plant

TOKYO, Japan - June 10, 2021 - ORIX Environmental Resources Management Corporation (“OERM”) announced today that it has completed construction of Yorii Biogas Plant in Yorii-machi, Saitama. Yorii Biogas Plant is a dry methane fermentation biogas power generation facility with a capacity of 1.6 MW, making it one of the largest facilities to use general waste for fuel in Japan^*1; it is the first dry methane fermentation biogas power generation facility to be constructed in the Kanto region. Trial operations will begin in June this year, with commercial operations set to commence in January 2022.

Yorii Biogas Plant is a renewable energy power generation facility, where general waste such as food and paper waste (biomass) is fermented using methanogens to generate biogas; this biogas is then used to fuel power generation.

Wet methane fermentation technologies are now widely used in biogas power generation facilities in Japan, but they are suited to processing organic matter with high moisture content, such as livestock excrement and food leftovers.

In contrast, Yorii Biogas Plant will use dry methane fermentation technologies, which are capable of extracting biogas in a highly efficient manner from organic matter with low moisture content—which had previously been difficult to process. Dry biogas power generation facilities make it possible for food retailers and restaurants, which generate waste containing foreign matter such as paper and plastic, to recycle food and non-food waste without having to separate them. Yorii Biogas Plant will enable what was previously categorized as combustible waste to be used as energy, in the form of both electricity and warm water; this will lead to reductions in the volume of waste that is incinerated, and so contribute to reductions in CO₂ emitted during waste incineration processes.

Since 2006, OERM and Saitama Prefecture have jointly operated a zero-emission^*2 advanced waste processing facility at the Sainokuni Resource Circulation Plant in Yorii-machi, Saitama. The facility, which is run as a Private Finance Initiative (PFI), uses cutting-edge thermal decomposition and gasification and reforming methods. It is capable of processing 450 tons of waste per day, making it one of the largest private-sector facilities of its kind in Japan.

OERM intends to use the knowhow and networks it has cultivated via the operation of waste processing facilities to operate both the zero-emission advanced waste processing facility and Yorii Biogas Plant in an integrated manner.

Going forward, OERM will continue to leverage the expertise it has accumulated to reduce environmental load through the construction of circular societies, and to contribute to stable local communities through its sustainable waste processing business.

*1 According to in-house research.
*2 A facility that achieves 100% recycling by recycling melted solids, metals and other generated matter such that it does not rely on final disposal sites.

■Methane fermentation tank

■Biogas power generator

Contact Information:
Investor Relations and Sustainability Department
ORIX Corporation
Tel: +81-3-3435-3121

About ORIX:
ORIX Corporation (TSE: 8591; NYSE: IX) is a financial services group which provides innovative products and services to its customers by constantly pursuing new businesses.
Established in 1964, from its start in the leasing business, ORIX has advanced into neighboring fields and at present has expanded into lending, investment, life insurance, banking, asset management, automobile related, real estate and environment and energy related businesses. Since entering Hong Kong in 1971, ORIX has spread its businesses globally by establishing locations in 31 countries and regions across the world.
Going forward, ORIX intends to utilize its strengths and expertise, which generate new value, to establish an independent ORIX business model that continues to evolve perpetually. In this way, ORIX will engage in business activities that instill vitality in its companies and workforce, and thereby contribute to society. For more details, please visit our website: https://www.orix.co.jp/grp/en/
(As of March 31, 2021)

Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements:
These documents May contain forward-looking statements about expected future events and financial results that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements are based on our current expectations and are subject to uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results that differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those described under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual report on Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and under “(4) Risk Factors” of the “1. Summary of Consolidated Financial Results” of the “Consolidated Financial Results April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021.”