JGC Holdings Corporation ((Representative Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: Masayuki Sato) and JGC Japan Corporation (Representative Director and President: Shoji Yamada) announce that they have used their jointly managed corporate venture capital fund (CVC) called the "JGC MIRAI Innovation Fund" to invest in Enecoat Technologies Co.,Ltd., a Kyoto University start-up that is engaged in the development of "perovskite solar cells", which are expected to be the next generation of solar cells.

Based on the research results of a group led by Professor Atsushi Wakamiya of the Institute of Chemistry, Kyoto University, Enecoat Technologies is developing perovskite solar cells with the aim of realizing a carbon-neutral society. Its high level of specialization has garnered wide attention and in December 2021 it was the only start-up to be adopted for support by NEDO (the National Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) from among candidates for its publicly solicited "Green Innovation Fund Project - Development of Next Generation Solar Cells".

Perovskite solar cells are lighter and much thinner than current mainstream silicon solar cells, and can also be bent. Therefore, they are especially suited to installation in a wider range of locations such as building walls and roofs with small load-bearing capacity. Additionally, they are capable of maintaining power generation efficiency even in low-light environments such as indoors, cloudy skies, and shaded areas, where the generating power of existing solar cells is limited.

Making use of the CVC Fund, the JGC Group plans to invest in domestic and foreign start-ups with innovative technologies and business models that will contribute to building a safe, secure, and sustainable social system. The themes to be targeted for investment are "realizing a carbon neutral economy," "building sustainable and resilient infrastructure," "enhancing lifestyle quality while looking ahead to the 100-year-life society," and "making industries smart."

Through this investment, the JGC Group will be able to utilize the engineering technology, operational expertise, and know-how that it has developed through numerous solar power plant construction projects as we examine how we can develop more efficient power generation systems and methods of constructing and installing perovskite solar cells. We also aim to utilize the characteristics of perovskite solar cells, which can generate power even in low-light conditions, and use them as a power source for IoT and sensors in plants and factories that are making greater use of 'smart' systems.

From now on, the JGC Group will invest in start-ups with innovative technologies and business models that are expected to contribute to building a safe, secure, and sustainable social system.

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