The focus of much of recent corporate venturing in the natural resources and energy sector has shifted from a broader focus on clean technologies, which could produce new forms of energy, to an emphasis on deals nearer to the core of what the natural resources groups in the sector do.
This is leading to a varied approach to investing. Francois Badoual, chief executive of Total Energy Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of the France-based oil and gas company, said: “We are chasing all kinds of energy innovation opportunities. This is not all the clean-tech space but also our classical focus of oil and gas. It is all sectors which could be pertinent to Total as an energy company, encompassing all business units and branches of the group from upstream, to downstream, to new energy. To read more, go to our October issue PDF.