Air Liquide’s venture capital arm ALIAD has invested in China for the first time by taking an equity stake in the Cathay Smart Energy Fund. The fund is dedicated to investing in new technologies and new business models in the Chinese energy sector, particularly focusing on energy platforms and storage, smart grids, hydrogen energy, clean transportation, renewable energy and low-carbon solutions.

ALIAD joins Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures, Hubei Provincial High Technology Industry Investment Group, CMA CGM Group and Wuhan Jingkai Industry Investment Fund Management in investing in the fund, which raised $120 million this month in its first fundraising effort.

Matthieu Eyries, ALIAD’s managing director, commented: “Through this first fund investment in China, we intend to foster our innovation strategy with start-ups in one of the most active and fast-transforming innovation ecosystems. I am convinced that this collaboration will help bring to market the most promising technologies aiming at decarbonizing energy production, transportation, storage and usages.”

Cathay Smart Energy Fund has already made its first investment – in Shanghai-based Allsense Technology, an IoT [Internet of Things] solutions provider specializing in the digitization and optimization of China’s thermal power industry.

The fund said, thanks to cutting-edge  data collection tools integrated  across the industrial ecosystem, Allsense can create a digital twin and  calculate in real time the most optimal parameters and direct processes, saving millions in costs for its clients and contributing to cleaning China’s energy industry.

Mingpo Cai, founder and chairman of Cathay Capital, said digitalization has triggered profound changes in China’s energy industry. He commented: “Cathay’s Smart Energy Fund will build and strengthen the connections between the energy sector’s superpowers and the smaller players developing technologies from the ground up. Cathay will leverage its capital, its industrial resources and international influence to accelerate the growth of its participation and partners, and China’s transition towards a clean and digitized energy system.”

Created in 2013, ALIAD has made more than 35 investments worldwide, committing around €100 million in total. The venture capital firm targets three sectors: energy transition; healthcare; and digital.