Acario Innovation

Acario Innovation is the corporate venture capital and open innovation arm of Tokyo Gas, established in 2017 and based in Silicon Valley, with the parent company headquartered in Tokyo. The unit invests in and partners with startups working across the new energy economy and sustainability - an activity that sits alongside the corporate venturing programmes operated by many utilities seeking exposure to technologies outside their core operations.

Its stated technical scope covers decarbonization, hydrogen, carbon capture, renewable fuels, electrification, energy storage, distributed energy resources, digital transformation for energy, and new energy services. Within this, two parallel programmes structure its work. The venture investment programme takes positions in startups developing solutions across decarbonization and hydrogen, new energy services, and digital transformation in the energy sector. The open innovation programme partners with portfolio companies on product development and market opportunities, connecting them with Tokyo Gas as well as with venture capital firms, accelerators and incubators.

Sector focus spans energy, utilities and gas, cleantech and sustainability, and decarbonization and heat. Investment stage, check size and fund scale are not disclosed. The company's name derives from Akari, the Japanese word for light, a reference to Tokyo Gas's gas-lamp origins; its stated orientation is toward sustainability and decarbonization in energy and heat.