Nomura announces new climate-tech investment scheme

Nomura Securities, a subsidiary of Japanese financial services conglomerate Nomura Group, has announced a new investment scheme aimed at financing climate tech start-ups in the country. The ‘sustainable innovation investment scheme’ will look to invest in early-stage climate tech start-ups with a view to scale these businesses.

The group, one of Japan’s largest financiers, has adopted a net zero by 2050 target for its investment and loan portfolio. Nomura’s net zero pathway includes a commitment to deploy $125 bn in ‘sustainable finance’ by March 2026.

The investment universe

The scheme has a broad investment universe with a few defining features. According to the company’s announcement Nomura will primarily target “companies seeking to commercialize and scale operations leveraging advanced technologies in the environment, energy, decarbonization, health and education fields”.

“At this point in time, we would be primarily targeting early-stage start-up companies first”, a spokesperson for Nomura told Net Zero Investor.

It is still early days for Nomura’s latest financing venture in climate-tech. In terms of the scheme’s financing, Nomura says it will have skin in the game. “This is Nomura’s own and principal investment scheme – we are not seeking investment from institutional investors”, the spokesperson added.

Nomura’s asset management arm is Japan’s leading investment trust manager with $584bn assets under management. However, it is not clear if this scale directly impacts the funding available. Details on the scale and structure of funding for this scheme remain undisclosed.

Climate policy shifts

In February 2025, Prime Minister Ishiba’s administration approved a set of climate policy reforms including the 7^th Strategic Energy Plan and the GX 2040 vision.

To their critics, the reforms fall short of addressing critical issues in Japan’s energy transition such as the phase-out of coal power. Nomura’s announcement also suggests the group’s investment hypothesis is unlikely to be swayed by recent policy shifts.

“These initiatives often take time to commercialise and require the establishment of new markets and transformations across supply chains. This high level of uncertainty is a source of concern for many entrepreneurs and investors”, the group’s statement reads.

Nomura’s announcement of a new climate-tech investment scheme leaves the details for later but for now, it suggests a conviction in not only the returns Japan’s climate entrepreneurs could offer but also in Nomura’s ability to reap the rewards of early-stage investing.