Zürich, Switzerland: Emerald Technology Ventures will serve as the exclusive investment advisor for Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (Idemitsu), a major conglomerate with a significant presence in energy and materials in Japan and beyond. The JPY 10B (€60M) partnership will help Idemitsu transform its business to meet emerging challenges in sustainability and augment its competitive position in the markets of tomorrow. It is Emerald’s second exclusive investment mandate in Japan and fifth overall.
Idemitsu is one of the largest energy and materials companies in Japan by assets and a key supplier of fuels and chemicals. It has announced several decarbonization goals, including a 46% reduction in scope one and two emissions, relative to their 2013 levels, by 2030, and full carbon neutrality by 2050. Circular economy solutions, bio-fuels, new battery materials, green hydrogen, and synthetic fuels all rank among the company’s top priorities for development, alongside carbon capture and storage and other climate-positive solutions. The company is also implementing several circularity initiatives, including recycling of plastics, solar panels, lithium-ion batteries and materials made from carbon.
Under Emerald’s unique corporate venture capital-as-a-service (CVCaaS) model, Idemitsu intends to explore investments and partnerships with startups working on a range of technologies in its areas of interest. Over the course of its more than two decades in operation, Emerald has honed its ability to forge collaboration opportunities at the intersection of innovation and sustainability for corporates like Idemitsu.
Emerald pioneered the CVCaaS model with Nabtesco Technology Ventures of Japan in 2018. Since then, it has launched similar mandates with Sasol Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of South African chemicals and energy company Sasol, and Switzerland-based SIG, a major producer of food and beverage cartons and packaging. Under the arrangement, Emerald handles all of its clients’ CVC investment activity. This allows the client to focus on their strategic goals, enabling them to capture the value of working with start-ups and bringing new technologies and solutions to scale.
Emerald tie-ups with Japanese corporates have increased in recent years as the VC firm deepens its presence in the world’s third largest economy. Emerald counts among its limited partners several major Japanese industrial companies, including Mitsubishi Chemical Group, Mitsui Fudosan and Murata.