Investor Profile: TotalEnergies Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

TotalEnergies Ventures funding no longer exists in its old form — and founders need to know what replaced it before wasting a pitch. TotalEnergies Ventures was the corporate venture capital arm of French energy major TotalEnergies, founded in the second half of the 2000s as Total Ventures and rebranded as Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures in 2019 with a $400 million fund. In 2022–23 the company wound the unit down, selling its portfolio to venture firm Aster and pivoting to its TotalEnergies On accelerator. This profile covers the history honestly — and the live route founders should actually take today.

Thesis

At its peak, TotalEnergies Ventures invested in low-carbon energy and the energy transition, alongside internet-of-things and artificial-intelligence technologies. Its stated mission was finding, funding and fostering high-potential startups contributing to a low-carbon future, across renewables, distributed energy, new mobility, energy access, energy storage, bio-plastics, the circular economy, carbon capture and hydrogen.

Sectors & stages

Historically the fund covered the full climate-tech stack: renewable power, distributed energy management, energy storage, power trading and retail, electric mobility, plus enabling AI and IoT. The successor, TotalEnergies On, selects digital startups in electricity and renewables at MVP or early-scaling stage in North America, Europe or Asia.

Fund size & cheque size

The historical CVC managed a $400 million fund before its wind-down — a verified figure from the unit's closure coverage. There is no longer an active equity-cheque programme publishing ticket sizes, so current cheque sizes are not publicly disclosed and the old fund should not be treated as a live funding source.

Notable portfolio

The portfolio acquired by Aster included low-carbon cement producer Solidia, distributed renewable-energy provider Zola Electric and freight transporter OnTruck. Notable exits from the CVC era included energy-storage provider Stem and sugar-based fuel supplier Amyris.

Partners / team

The CVC era was led in its final years by unit president Girish Nadkarni, who left in March 2022, with the team subsequently dispersing. The transition was steered by François Badoual, then vice-president of acceleration and venturing, who framed the move as "changing gears" toward earlier-stage acceleration.

Programs & perks

TotalEnergies On is the live instrument: a six-month experimentation phase at Station F in Paris where startups test their solutions on real TotalEnergies use cases, with HEC incubator mentoring, introductions across the group's teams, and a Demo Day in front of the chairman and CEO.

How to apply for funding from TotalEnergies Ventures

Do not pitch the defunct CVC. Apply to TotalEnergies On at accelerator.totalenergies.com: the process starts with an online application describing what you build and why it matters, followed by pre-selection review from programme managers and TotalEnergies experts, a remote jury pitch for shortlisted startups, and final selection and onboarding. Eligible startups are building digital solutions in electricity and renewables, are at MVP or early-scaling stage, and operate in North America, Europe or Asia.