Energy company Eneco today announced they will invest 100 million euro in startups, making it one of the biggest corporate funds for innovative businesses in the Netherlands.

Director of Innovation Hans Valk said on BNR Nieuwsradio the corporate’s looking for startups complementary to Eneco. “We’re looking for the ‘1+1=3′ effect. We don’t want to invent something someone else is better at”, he said.

Eneco will at least partner with the startups for two years. “As a corporate, we might expect results by then. But we need to learn that not all startups succeed within two years. Some may fail. We’re still getting used to this, but this is how the new world works.”

An expected question came from presenter Paul van Liempt: will Eneco always aim for a majority stake in the startups, since corporates tend to take control? According to Valk, that’s not always the case with this fund.

Earlier this year, Eneco took a substantial stake in both Nerdalize and Peeeks. In the past the energy company did similar partnerships, like with smart meters Toon and Quby, and solar panel startup Zon-IQ.

Eneco transition

The fund is part of a new innovation department, the Eneco Innovation Center, consisting of approximately 30 people. The transition to such kind of department was already going, meaning Eneco won’t start from zero with investing. For instance, the stake in Peeeks is already done from that 100 million euro fund, said a spokesperson to StartupJuncture.

Valk describes the transition to a more innovative company as follows: “We may be a smart dinosaur, but we’re still a dinosaur. We need to change.”

There is no specific end date known to the fund. But Valk expects that “by 2020 a substantial part of the investments in innovation will pay out.”

Frontpage image by Montaplex @ Pixabay