Nouryon, a global specialty chemicals leader, announced that it will invest in Icos Capital Fund IV, a collaborative venture capital fund connecting corporations and financial institutions with start-ups that have a potential for fast growth. The investment strategy of the Icos Capital Fund IV will be focused on new and emerging technologies in the areas of sustainable industry, decarbonization technologies, circular economy, and sustainable food systems.

“At Nouryon, we are focused on offering innovative and sustainable solutions for our customers,” said Philip Clark, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Nouryon. “Our investment with Icos provides Nouryon with an effective way of screening a very large number of start-ups and emerging technologies that are in and adjacent to our key end-markets with a focus on accelerating sustainability.”

Nouryon’s corporate partnership with Icos Capital goes back to 2017 with original investment in Icos Capital Fund III, which has enabled several strategic partnership discussions and insights into innovation critical to Nouryon.

Icos Capital is active in the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, and Germany, with activities across Europe. Icos Capital Fund IV will expand its geographic reach to other parts of the world, including North America, and its corporate partners will play an important role in setting the fund strategy, as well as identifying and evaluating the start-ups.

Additional terms of the investment were not disclosed.