Asahi Kasei has established a ‘Care for Earth’ investment framework as a new initiative for carbon neutrality by investing $100 million worldwide in early-stage startups that aim to solve issues in environmental fields such as hydrogen, energy storage, carbon management, and bio-based chemicals over the 5-year period up to fiscal year 2027.
Since 2008, Asahi Kasei has advanced corporate venture capital (CVC) activities in order to create new businesses by investing in startups and performing joint developments with them. Based in Silicon Valley since 2011, this activity has facilitated investments in more than 50 startups in the United States, Europe, China, and Japan, resulting in numerous collaborations and the two acquisitions of Crysal IS, a U.S.-based provider of UVC LEDs for air, water and surface disinfection, and Swedish Senseair, a manufacturer of CO2 and alcohol sensing solutions.
Until now, Asahi Kasei has focused its CVC investments in the area of ‘Care for People’ such as healthcare, IoT, and homes, which have relatively short timeframes to commercialization. The area of ‘Care for Earth’, in contrast, tends to have longer-term commercial prospects, while fields such as hydrogen and energy storage lack established value chains, making it difficult to invest under the conventional framework.
To achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, Asahi Kasei aims to reduce its own GHG emissions and to contribute to reducing GHG emissions throughout society, while creating new businesses through the newly established ‘Care for Earth’ investment framework whose investment horizons and investment decision criteria are different than before. The new investment framework is also expected to help Asahi Kasei advance the transformation of its material sector portfolio through participation in business ecosystems for carbon neutrality.
The Asahi Kasei Group aims to further contribute to sustainable society while achieving sustainable growth of corporate value by leveraging its accumulated technologies and expertise while accelerating investment for Green Transformation (GX).
