South Africa-headquartered energy and chemicals group Sasol has appointed Germany-based Sven Godorr as venture capital lead for its newly formed corporate venturing subsidiary, Sasol Ventures.
A Sasol veteran, Godorr joined the corporation as a process engineer at its Johannesburg branch in 1994. He has since held various positions having most recently been vice president of technology, which he held for nearly nine years.
Godorr also held a four-year stint as a process engineer at Sasol’s German hydrogen distribution subsidiary, Linde Engineering. He began his professional career as a lecturer in chemical engineering at the University of Witwatersrand in 1990.
Formally launched last week, Sasol Ventures invests in the chemicals and industrial sectors and was formed through a partnership between Sasol and venture capital firm Emerald Technology Ventures. The €50m ($53.3m) fund will focus on decarbonisation and net-zero technology developers over the next five years.
Regarding Sasol Ventures, Sasol president and chief executive Fleetwood Grobler, said in a statement: “As the world accelerates its energy systems towards more sustainable systems through emerging and disruptive technologies, Sasol Ventures places us in a position to access technology opportunities that will contribute to transforming our business.”