The specialty chemicals group Evonik started its venture capital business in 2012 with €100 million and launched its first venture capital fund. In this way, the Essen-based company aims to secure access to forward-looking technologies and innovative business models. A total of 25 investments in start-ups in the fields of health care, new materials, animal nutrition and special additives were created from the first fund. Up to 5 million euros were available to the founders for the realisation of their ideas and their successful market entry. Evonik's portfolio also includes Numaferm in Düsseldorf. The start-up company has developed a biotechnological process with which peptides can be produced cost-effectively and in large quantities for a broad range of industrial applications.

Evonik as the world's leading chemical investor

Evonik has now launched a second venture capital fund worth €150 million, more than doubling its venture capital. “The extension of the fund volume to €250 million manifests our ambition to establish Evonik Venture Capital as one of the global leading investors in the specialty chemicals space”, says Bernhard Mohr, Managing Director of Evonik Venture Capital GmbH.

Entry into market-ready innovations

With the new fund, Evonik intends to invest more in companies whose innovations are already ready for the market. In return, the maximum amount to support the founders has been raised to €15 million per company. According to Evonik, this time the focus will increasingly be on start-ups that support Evonik's digital transformation and on minority shareholdings that could later prove to be attractive takeover targets for the chemicals group.

“Our venture capital arm is a vital link to tomorrow’s technologies and way of doing business,” says Harald Schwager, Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik and responsible for Innovation. The start-ups will not only receive financial support, but will also benefit from the specialty chemicals group's experience and network. For several years, for example, the Essen-based company has been supporting the American start-up Structured Polymers, which specializes in plastic powders for technical printing. At the beginning of this year, Evonik took over the American 3D printing specialist.

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