Germany-based energy utility RWE plans to establish a corporate venturing fund that will be sized at up to €130m ($145m), it said on Friday.
The move will be made as part of a company-wide innovation drive, according to RWE chief executive Peter Terium, who announced plans for the fund following a visit to its Silicon Valley-based RWE New Ventures unit.
“I decided to make Innovation a CEO priority, as I firmly believe it is crucial to our future success.” Terium said. “And the progress our innovation division has made in the space of one year is quite remarkable. Our small US team in the hot spot of Silicon Valley plays a very special role in this.”
RWE, which already spnsors the cleantech-focused Innogy Venture Capital unit, has built up a substantial portfolio of startups spanning Europe and the US, and is undertaking several initiatives to help them make the leap to the other side of the Atlantic.
Those include helping to bring the energy management system developed by US-based Bidgely, in which it invested in November, to Europe.
RWE will also partner Silicon Valley-based incubator Mach 49 to export the business energy trading business pioneered by Netherland-based Powerhouse to the US, and will act as the power provider in the scheme.
In addition, RWE will make a $15m investment in green technologies-focused venture capital fund, though it is yet to reveal the identity of the fund in question.