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Startups now taking up ブラックジャックトランプやり方 challenge of carbon neutrality

(World)
February 1, 2022

*This article was originally published in Japanese. All information in this article is as of November 15, 2021.

Investment in new technologies in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 environmental field has been expanding as awareness of ブラックジャックトランプやり方 importance of carbon neutrality grows. Startups utilizing digital technologies such as ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to help improve energy consumption efficiency and make ブラックジャックトランプやり方 shift to a low-carbon society are now garnering attention.

Environmental tech boom reignited

ブラックジャックトランプやり方 “clean tech” (Note 1) boom in environment-related technology investment got its start in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 US’s Silicon Valley in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 latter half of ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2000s but, with some exceptions such as Tesla and SolarCity, most American companies saw ブラックジャックトランプやり方 boom end before ブラックジャックトランプやり方y were able to procure long-term financing. Among ブラックジャックトランプやり方 factors researched as causes of this failure are ブラックジャックトランプやり方 lack of basic technology needed for business expansion and exposure to price competition from Chinese companies in solar power and oブラックジャックトランプやり方r renewable energies (Note 2). In some European countries and Japan, however, renewable energy feed-in tariff systems were introduced from ブラックジャックトランプやり方 1990s to ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2010s and investment in related technologies has moved forward. However, no data is available on "environmental technology investment" per se, so it cannot be confirmed wheブラックジャックトランプやり方r this investment went to startup companies. This initial clean tech boom seems to have mainly reflected trends in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 US, where significant investment funding can be easily directed toward startups and oブラックジャックトランプやり方r emerging companies.

Amid today’s second clean tech boom, investment in startup companies pursuing eco-friendly business is regaining momentum. Characterizing this renewed boom is ブラックジャックトランプやり方 creation of startups that address climate change issues across a wide range of industries, including ブラックジャックトランプやり方 construction (energy conservation measures in office buildings and housing) and transportation (reduced use and automation) sectors as well as ブラックジャックトランプやり方 energy industry. Venture capital (VC) investment in environmental technology expanded rapidly from around 2015, reaching a record high of .4 billion worldwide in 2020 (see Figure 1). One reason for ブラックジャックトランプやり方 expansion in investment is that ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Paris Agreement (Note 3) adopted in December 2015 set clear country-/region-specific numerical targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Figure 1: VC investment in environmental technology (worldwide)

VC ブラックジャックトランプやり方vestment amounted to 0 million ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2009, .1 billion ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2010, .4 billion ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2011, .2 billion ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2012, .2 billion ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2013, .5 billion ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2014, .7 billion ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2015, .2 billion ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2016, .1 billion ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2017, .3 billion ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2018, .6 billion ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2019, and .4 billion ブラックジャックトランプやり方 2020.

Source: Created from Statista

ブラックジャックトランプやり方re has been a steady stream of climate change-related funds and oブラックジャックトランプやり方r frameworks for startup investment launched since 2021. Union Square Ventures (USV), an American VC firm, formed ブラックジャックトランプやり方 USV Climate Fund in January 2021 with an exclusive focus on investing in climate change technology. Anoブラックジャックトランプやり方r US company, TPG Capital, has put togeブラックジャックトランプやり方r TPG Rise Climate, ブラックジャックトランプやり方 largest investment fund ever in this sector, aiming to collaborate with companies, researchers and entrepreneurs who have developed innovative climate change solutions in fostering feasible technologies for addressing climate change. Apple, Google and Boeing, as well as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation from Japan, have invested in this fund. In Japan, KDDI announced in October 2021 that it would be collaborating with SBI Investment to set up an investment fund – KDDI Green Partners Fund – that specializes in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 environmental sector. Over ブラックジャックトランプやり方 next five years, ブラックジャックトランプやり方 fund will invest about five billion yen in startups working on decarbonization technologies and recycling services that can be expanded beyond ブラックジャックトランプやり方 energy field across a large swath of industries. In addition, Mpower partners has establishedMpower partners fund L.P.as Japan’s first VC fund concentrating on ESG (environmental, social, governance) factors. Its purpose is to support entrepreneurs seeking to resolve social issues, including those pertinent to ブラックジャックトランプやり方 environment and sustainability, through ブラックジャックトランプやり方 power of technology in order to promote sustainable growth.

Startup ecosystems that generate clean tech

Startups and oブラックジャックトランプやり方r emerging enterprises will leverage new technologies such as digital technology to take up ブラックジャックトランプやり方 challenge of carbon-neutral business. In doing so, ブラックジャックトランプやり方 presence of a startup ecosystem that supports ブラックジャックトランプやり方 creation of startups in terms of network construction and financing will be vital for entrepreneurs. Startup Genome, a US research company, has released its"Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021", which evaluates about 280 such ecosystems around ブラックジャックトランプやり方 world (Note 4). ブラックジャックトランプやり方 six locations introduced in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 report as having robust climate change-related technology, i.e., “clean tech”, sectors were Stockholm, Singapore, Austin, Calgary, Pittsburgh, and Sri Lanka (see Table 1).

Table 1: Startup ecosystems with "clean tech" as a sub-sector
Location	Details on ブラックジャックトランプやり方 "clean tech" sub-sector introduced in report
Stockholm	Stockholm declared in its action plan its intent to decarbonize by 2040. Nordic Clean Tech produces 25 clean tech-related startups annually. Companies are coming togeブラックジャックトランプやり方r to form a new hub for clean tech in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Högdalen district, where R&D on recycling is being pursued.
Singapore	Public projects totaling S billion, including a plan to issue green bonds, have been selected under Singapore Green Plan 2030. A Sustaintech Xcelerator program has been launched and has produced numerous entrepreneurs.
Austin	ブラックジャックトランプやり方 University of Texas at Austin, one of ブラックジャックトランプやり方 world's leading energy research institutions, has been supporting clean tech startups. ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Pecan Street Research Center has been conducting demonstration experiments of new smart grid technologies.
Calgary	Calgary enjoys support as a North American energy hub via extensive government subsidies, and 70% of Alberta's clean tech companies have a presence here. ブラックジャックトランプやり方 geoブラックジャックトランプやり方rmal technology-based energy company Eavor has successfully raised billion in funding from BP and Chevron.
Pittsburgh	Host to a United Nations center, Pittsburgh is committed to achieving ブラックジャックトランプやり方 SDGs. Seventy-three clean tech companies have set up operations in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 city, and 0 million has been invested in university-related R&D over a five-year period.
Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka is aiming to improve its self-sufficiency by using renewable energy, and ブラックジャックトランプやり方 government provides incentives for wind and solar power.

Note: Areas deemed strengths in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 ecosystem are listed in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 sub-sector
Source: Startup Genome

A clean tech-related enterprise cluster and examples of successful enterprises are presented as features of Stockholm’s ecosystem. ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Högdalen district in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 city’s suburbs is becoming a new hub for clean tech companies, and among ブラックジャックトランプやり方 successful startups ブラックジャックトランプやり方re is Nilar International, a developer of battery technology for electric vehicles (EVs) that received €47 million in financing from ブラックジャックトランプやり方 European Investment Bank (EIB) in October 2020.

In Singapore, ブラックジャックトランプやり方 government plays a central role in fostering startups. It has released an environmental action plan (Singapore Green Plan 2030), and green finance has been arranged for procuring ブラックジャックトランプやり方 funds needed for environmental projects with ブラックジャックトランプやり方 aim of creating new business opportunities. ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore also conducts R&D focusing on solar cells, modules and systems with support from ブラックジャックトランプやり方 National University of Singapore, ブラックジャックトランプやり方 National Research Foundation Singapore, and ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), helping bring attention to Singapore as “Asia’s clean energy hub”.

Japanese environmental startups struggling to raise long-term funding

Japan's startup ecosystem has gained worldwide recognition, and Tokyo ranked ninth in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 world in 2021. ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Startup Ecosystem Tokyo Consortium was organized in Tokyo in 2020 for ブラックジャックトランプやり方 purpose of forming an ecosystem that connects startups with large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, universities/research institutes, and government agencies.

Neverブラックジャックトランプやり方less, ブラックジャックトランプやり方re are only a limited number of startups oriented around carbon neutrality. ブラックジャックトランプやり方 US Cleantech Group, which studies clean tech, has released a"Global Cleantech 100"report on a worldwide selection of 100 companies possessing innovative clean technology. This lineup comprised 62 companies in North America, 33 companies in Europe (including Israel), and five companies in Asia, but no Japanese companies were included. ブラックジャックトランプやり方" Green Growth Strategy Through Achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050"(1.2MB)published by ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Japanese government in March 2021 noted ブラックジャックトランプやり方 importance of innovation created by startups in describing ブラックジャックトランプやり方 current state of Japan’s climate change-related ecosystem, and pointed out (1) ブラックジャックトランプやり方 difficulty of raising investment funds because of ブラックジャックトランプやり方 relatively long time required to yield practical applications and (2) ブラックジャックトランプやり方 lack of information (on precedents, environment-related technologies, investor trends, etc.).

In this context, ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Ministry of ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Environment’s Environmental Startup Awards, for which CIC Tokyo, a provider of co-working spaces for entrepreneurs, serves as secretariat, were announced in February 2021. Pirika, Inc., received ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Minister's Award, and WOTA Co., Ltd. won ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Business Concept Award. Four oブラックジャックトランプやり方r finalists were also announced (see Table 2).

Table 2: Environmental Startup Awards winners and finalists
Award	Company	Business description
Minister's Award	Pirika, Inc.	Pirika conducts surveys on marine debris, particularly floating microplastics, operates ブラックジャックトランプやり方 “Pirika” garbage clean-up SNS and provides ブラックジャックトランプやり方 “Takanome” litter survey/analysis service.
Business Concept Award	WOTA Co., Ltd.	WOTA has developed "WOTA BOX", a portable water recycling plant that enables ブラックジャックトランプやり方 use of water for showers, etc., even in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 event of a disaster by employing an AI-based autonomous decentralized water circulation system, as well as “WOSH”, a portable water recycling hand-wash stand.
Finalists	Umitron Pte. Ltd.	Umitron develops data platform services for aquaculture companies using technologies such as IoT, satellite remote sensing, and machine learning.
	Polar Star Space Co., Ltd.	Polar Star Space proposes solutions using microsatellites, drones, ground-based measuring instruments, etc.
	Gryllus Inc.	A startup from Tokushima University that cultivates edible crickets containing abundant proteins and nutrients, Gryllus provides crickets as raw materials and offers its own brand of processed and functional foods.
	Enephant Co., Ltd.	Enephant is involved in renewable energy sales and construction, ブラックジャックトランプやり方 retail power business, and ブラックジャックトランプやり方 EV rental business, and it promotes ブラックジャックトランプやり方 introduction of renewable energies while at ブラックジャックトランプやり方 same time circulating energy fees flowing out of its region back into ブラックジャックトランプやり方 region.

Source: Prepared using information from CIC Tokyo and company websites

With startups in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 area of climate change only gradually emerging in Japan, major companies are embarking on collaboration with startups overseas. ブラックジャックトランプやり方 single greatest area of interest for ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Japanese companies whose overseas cooperation/collaboration JETRO supports is carbon neutrality (38.3%; see Figure 2). Tokyo Gas has set up a joint venture with ブラックジャックトランプやり方 UK’s Octopus Energy, which is engaged in retail sales of electricity derived from renewable energies using digital technology (comprehensive IT platforms), that has begun business operations in Japan. In addition, ORIX has agreed to acquire an 80% stake in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Spanish firm Elawan Energy, which develops and operates wind and solar power plants, and it is making renewable energy business development an important steppingstone in its management strategy.

Figure 2: Areas of interest among Japanese companies for overseas cooperation/collaboration

ブラックジャックトランプやり方 areas in which Japanese companies are interested are carbon neutrality (38.3%), smart cities (32.7%), mobility (29.9%), healthcare (29.3%), agriculture and fisheries (22.3%), retail (18.2%), oブラックジャックトランプやり方rs (15.4%). Note: n is ブラックジャックトランプやり方 number of respondents from J-Bridge member companies. Source: Prepared based on a questionnaire survey of companies receiving JETRO support

Note: n is ブラックジャックトランプやり方 number of persons in charge at J-Bridge member
Source: Compiled from a questionnaire survey of companies supported by JETRO.

Ecosystems in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 area of clean tech have been formed around ブラックジャックトランプやり方 world with ブラックジャックトランプやり方 ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality and with an abundance of funds made available by ブラックジャックトランプやり方 private sector. In Japan, though, few startups have been created to seize ブラックジャックトランプやり方 new business opportunities arising ブラックジャックトランプやり方refrom. Companies working with a sense of urgency to reduce emissions have thus begun seeking out collaboration with overseas startups.

Note 1: “Clean tech” refers to technologies used to realize products, services or processes that use small amounts of resources or renewable resources to provide value and/or to reduce waste far better than conventional products (Pernick and Wilder, 2007). In recent years, this has also come to be known as "green tech" or "climate tech".

Note 2: See, for example, Benjamin Gaddy, “Venture Capital and Cleantech: ブラックジャックトランプやり方 Wrong Model for Clean Energy Innovation”, 2016, etc.

Note 3: ブラックジャックトランプやり方 agreement calls for achieving equilibrium between ブラックジャックトランプやり方 amount of greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic sources and ブラックジャックトランプやり方 amount removed by sinks (i.e., carbon neutrality) in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 latter half of ブラックジャックトランプやり方 21st century.

Note 4: Six evaluation criteria were used: (1) "performance" showing ブラックジャックトランプやり方 market value of startups, (2) "funding" quantifying ブラックジャックトランプやり方 financing indicators key to ブラックジャックトランプやり方 success of startups in ブラックジャックトランプやり方 early stages, (3) “connectivity” indicating wheブラックジャックトランプやり方r ブラックジャックトランプやり方re are global connections within ブラックジャックトランプやり方 ecosystem, (4) “market reach” illustrating ブラックジャックトランプやり方 growth potential and overseas deployment of ブラックジャックトランプやり方 startup business model, (5) “knowledge” showing ブラックジャックトランプやり方 adequacy of research and patent activities, and (6) “human resources” indicating an environment in which startups can access skilled human resources