Since 1999, Chevron Corp., a $264 billion energy company that does business in 180 countries, has used venture capital investments to help it innovate. What Chevron does is collaborate with experienced venture capitalists and what it calls “promising pre-commercial technology firms” to identify new technology products that can benefit its business. “We basically look for any technology that can help us bridge the gap between Chevron’s technology needs and emerging, new technologies,” says Trond Unneland, vice president and managing executive of venture capital at Chevron Technology Ventures, in a Chevron video. After 10 years of priming the innovation pipeline, Chevron has 30 companies in its venture investment portfolio, with one-third of them in renewable energy and energy-efficiency markets. The company says that it has transferred various technologies into Chevron more than 100 times as a result of the investment strategy. Among the companies in which Chevron has invested are BrightSource Energy, a solar thermal producer; BlueArc, a developer of high-performance data systems used in seismic data modeling; and Sub-One Technology, a maker of metal coating technologies that can reduce corrosion in pipes. In an article published last month on Forbes.com, Unneland said the venture investment strategy not only benefits Chevron, but also is advantageous for start-ups looking to field test their technologies in real business environments. He also said the current economic downturn may be a “perfect time” for other companies to consider a VC investment strategy of their own to stimulate innovation. Not surprisingly, Unneland said Chevron has learned a number of lessons over the past 10 years about VC investing, and he shared a few of them. The first is to avoid too much emotion about new technologies and “let the numbers dictate your actions.” Unneland said that any potential investment should be thoroughly screened using analysis tools and financial modeling. He also suggested that companies form cross-disciplinary teams with both business and technical skills, make sure they have and keep high-level corporate support for the VC program, and make strong efforts to cultivate relationships with early-stage technology companies. “The technology that will create a turning point for your business a decade later is probably being developed by a small group of individuals right now,” he said in the article. “There isn’t a better time to find and fund that start-up than now.”