Three European corporations have committed an undisclosed amount to Emerald Technology Ventures’ Cleantech Fund III, which invests in early and expansion stage companies in the energy, water, and materials sectors with particular focus on Europe and North America.
Emerald said the three corporate venturing units on behalf of Evonik Industries, Mahle and Cofisa (Sibelco) joined as part of a second closing as it targets €100m ($130m) in its third fund.
Evonik Industries, a Germany-based chemicals company’s $100m Evonik Corporate Venturing programme, said its Emerald commitment was its third to a venture capital fund.
Last year, Evonik invested in the High-Tech Gründerfonds II, cross industry seed-stage investor Germany and the North-American Pangaea Ventures Fund III.
Bernhard Mohr, head of Evonik Corporate Venturing, said: “Partnering with innovative start-up companies supplements our approach of open innovation and creates excellent opportunities for accelerating the development of new businesses and opening up future growth fields.”
Armin Messerer, director of corporate planning at Mahle, said: “This investment represents an essential step in strengthening the technology and innovation driven business of Mahle.”
Kai Engelhardt, head of corporate venture capital at the group, added: “We trust in the pronounced clean-tech expertise of Emerald and are looking forward to collaborating with this excellent team.”
By email, Engelhardt added: “In the near future we won’t invest in another investment funds. Direct investments are possible, however, the investment ammount depends on the investment opportunity.”
Sam Leese, senior research and development adviser at Sibelco, concluded: “Open innovation is a key avenue for Cofisa, a wholly owned subsidiary of industrial mineral producer Sibelco, and given the Emerald competence and deal flow, this investment represents an important pillar to support our efforts in partnering with external start-ups.”