Japanese energy firm JERA Co., Inc. (JERA) has initiated corporate venture capital activities with the aim of accelerating innovation in the energy domain and generating new business opportunities.

JERA said in a statement on Friday that led by JERA Ventures, a newly established in-house organization, this initiative will make strategic investments totaling $300 million in start-up companies that have leading-edge technologies or business concepts and in venture capital funds that have close connections to such companies.

According to the statement, JERA Ventures aims to be a good partner for start-up companies that are taking on the challenge of changing the world in the energy domain, acting as a bridge between them and JERA.

The firm will contribute to accelerated technological development, preconditioned on safety and regulatory compliance, not only through capital participation but also by providing the value of its strengths as one of the world’s largest energy companies, such as its facilities and its liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, and ammonia value chains, for proof-of-concept, demo or testing projects using actual assets or facilities.

The following are the three main strategic technology areas for investment:

1. Energy transformation: Decarbonization technologies including making existing energy business smart, developing hydrogen and ammonia value chains, and renewables

2. Customer-centric: Digital technologies that offer new value to customers using digital energy platforms, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchains, etc.

3. Corporate: Well-being, femtech, and other technologies that contribute to the virtuous spiral of employee happiness and corporate value creation.

JERA said its mission is to provide cutting edge solutions to the world’s energy issues.

Overcoming issues such as climate change, resource constraints, and energy security, the firm said it will continue to deliver a stable, economically sustainable clean energy.

To achieve this, JERA Ventures will, with a strong sense of social responsibility and a belief in the power of imaginative innovation, co-create with visionary start-ups that brings new ideas or perspectives as it takes on the challenge of discovering new solutions that transcend received wisdom.

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