Repsol and Suma Capital have established a new Venture Capital fund to invest in cleantech
SC Net Zero Tech Ventures is a new venture capital fund specializing in energy transition technologies. The fund will help companies develop decarbonization and circular economy technologies. It will be endowed with €150 million and will invest in early-stage technology startups.
Repsol joins forces with Suma Capital, Spain's leading ESG and impact investment manager, to launch the SC Net Zero Tech Ventures fund, which will invest in companies developing promising decarbonization and circular economy technologies with the goal of accelerating their industrial application.
Repsol will contribute €50 million to this fund, which will attract new investors and raise up to €150 million in total capital. The fund will have clear sustainability goals and will promote the double transition, digital and green, in the critical challenge of combating climate change, where new technologies will play a critical role.
Repsol Corporate Venturing, the multi-energy company's vehicle for investing in technology startups that was launched in 2016, will also be renamed Repsol Deep Tech for the next stage. It will be entirely owned by the company and endowed with €50 million to make minority investments in startups developing decarbonization technologies in their early stages.
Repsol creates a new model of open innovation and collaboration with the entrepreneurial ecosystem through these two new funds that complement each other. The goal is to diversify its venture capital investment strategy by combining internal capabilities in innovation and proprietary technology development with involvement in technology startups. These funds' strategic objectives support the company's goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 by identifying new opportunities and technologies that will help it meet its decarbonization targets.
South Carolina Net Zero Tech Ventures Fund
Net Zero Tech Ventures' activities will center on advanced mobility, industrial decarbonization and the circular economy, renewable energy, and digital energy solutions. The fund will be global in scope, but will be primarily focused on Europe and North America.
The fund will be managed by a team that combines Suma Capital's extensive experience in ESG investments with Repsol's experience in venture capital investments and solid understanding of energy transition technologies. This management team, which has experience driving company growth, will be supported by a technology committee comprised of Repsol scientists and independent experts.
Suma Capital currently manages several private equity funds that invest in high-growth SMEs through two complementary strategies ("Growth Capital" and "Sustainable Infra"). Suma Capital has established itself in recent years as a European leader in sustainable investment in the segment of small and medium-sized companies and projects, with nearly €700 million under management.
Repsol and Suma Capital join forces in this way to seize greater opportunities in the energy transition and sector transformation.
Repsol Deep Tech Fund is the next step in the evolution of Repsol Corporate Venturing.
Repsol Corporate Venturing, a corporate venture capital fund, was established eight years ago. It has materialized its activity over the course of its existence by accelerating business models in more than 30 startups in which it has invested. In addition to receiving technical advice from the Repsol Technology Lab, which has over 230 scientists, industry knowledge, and access to Repsol's innovation network, startups will be able to test technologies and business models in real assets of the multi-energy company as a test bed.
Repsol Corporate Venturing - now Repsol Deep Tech - will focus in this new phase on startups with technologies in the early stages of development but with high potential in the energy transition. It will have a new €50 million endowment and an international presence focused primarily on Europe and the United States. Sunrgyze and Perseo Biotechnology are already investors in this fund. The first is a spin-off formed by Repsol and Enagás to deploy the business model of the renewable hydrogen production technology developed by both companies: photoelectrocatalysis. Perseo Biotechnology, in which Repsol owns a 25% stake, focuses on converting the organic fraction of solid urban waste into bioethanol, a high-value product that can be used as a renewable fuel.
Source: Repsol news
