Following the example of other listed groups such as Schneider Electric and Alstom which launched Aster Capital with 70 M€ at the beginning of the year, Suez Environnement is starting its own investment fund. Called Blue Orange, it already got 50 M€ for ten years and will invest in new technology start ups in water and waste.

Managed by Adrien Henry it already has a team of ten people. This fund can invest between 500 K€ and 2 M€ from seed to capital development (as co-investor). With a five years exit, the industrial investor plans to take minority stakes in three to five start-ups a year, with a seat at the board of directors.

Each company chosen will also have to be sponsored by a subsidiary of Suez Environnement. With sales close to 12.3M€ last year, the group focused on environement is listed and 35% owned by GDF Suez. With 65000 employees, it will continue to invest in R & D (65M€ in 2009).  Blue Orange will benefit from industrial tests in partnership with the Innovation department of the group.

Blue Orange has already identified or received about ten files. It has already signed its first deal in the United Kingdom. It will participate in the financing of the project between Sita UK, already a subsidiary of Suez Environnement, and Cynar, an English company centred on the conversion technologies to launch an activity of changing plastic into diesel. The opening in the United Kingdom of about ten factories, each of them being able to treat 6 000 tons of plastics to be transformed into petrol, is gradually planned. The first one based in London suburbs will be ready at the end of 2011.