- SCHOTT will join Emerald’s industrial innovation fund as a limited partner
- Partnership will spark corporate venture capital activity across SCHOTT’s business units
Zurich, Switzerland, June 14, 2022: Emerald Technology Ventures announced Tuesday that Germany’s SCHOTT, a leading international technology group and the inventor of specialty glass, will join Emerald’s industrial innovation fund as a limited partner. This deepens the pioneering venture capital firm’s engagement in advanced materials, a sector in which it has helped several partners supercharge their innovation efforts.
SCHOTT, whose products play vital roles in fields ranging from drug containment and delivery solutions, to semiconductors, to consumer electronics, to home appliances, intends to leverage the Emerald partnership to seek out opportunities deeper within its supply chain, find new uses for existing technologies, branch into adjacent fields, upgrade materials processing applications and boost its digitization efforts. The partnership will spark corporate venture capital activity across SCHOTT’s business units in a formalized, structured way, according to Dr. Matthias Mueller, Executive Vice President of R&D at SCHOTT.
The global specialty glass sector is expected to expand in the coming years. Alongside this growth comes heightened expectations for sustainability and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Via the Emerald partnership, SCHOTT will also keep an eye on creative solutions to technological challenges, such as electrification or hydrogen adoption, with the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
“At SCHOTT, we intend to become the world’s first climate neutral specialty glass manufacturer,” says Mueller. “This is an ambitious goal and we do not have all the answers yet. We look forward to working with Emerald, whose diligence, professionalism and deep experience will help us explore new technologies.”
“SCHOTT plays an important role in a pivotal slice of the industrial economy, and we are excited to connect it with startups that can help it boost its digitization efforts and uncover smart applications for glass,” says Emerald Managing Partner Gina Domanig.