Context 

In view of the declining potential of its historical Oil & gas business, our client has a bold ambition to shift away from its old business by 2050 to become a leading, integrated sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials company.

In this context, the Low-carbon Business department wanted to evaluate the potential for diversification in the field of Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) and to identify innovative partners with whom to create a complementary business.

Mission

We carried out a deep dive study divided into four steps:

• A technology intelligence study to paint a complete picture of all the megatrends (investment patterns, benchmark, patent analysis, large-scale deployments) and map the technologies and sub-technologies in a design way
• A startup landscape to identify the innovative players driving CCUS forward worldwide
• A startup scoring to establish recommendations on the most relevant options for collaboration (R&D agreement, commercial partnership, investment, acquisition, etc.)

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Context 

Our client was the M&A department of a leading nuclear company.

Until now, the department had always taken majority stakes in established companies. However, an interesting opportunity for a minority investment in an innovative start-up was presented to them by a Business Unit of the group.

Aster Fab’s mission was to assist the department in evaluating the opportunity and then in structuring the investment proposal.

Mission

• Valuation of the startup using five different methods (comparable company analysis, precedent transactions, DCF analysis, R&D headcount, replacement cost value)
• Creation of a business plan in coordination with the Head of Business Unit to identify the business potential of such a partnership
• Structuring the investment proposal by drafting the letter of intent setting out the terms, governance, management package, performance criteria, etc
• Assistance, coordination and negotiation with all stakeholders throughout the process
• Support in the preparation of separate documents for the governance bodies

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Context 

Engagement with startups was carried out by a few isolated business units. The Strategy team asked us to think about the structuring of a future Open Innovation department, the vehicles to deploy and how to structure them.

Mission

• Carried out an audit on their knowledge of the different vehicles available at hand
• Definition of the objectives of the future open innovation department in line with the group’s strategy
• Evaluation of the different vehicles to meet these objectives
• Selection of 5 complementary vehicles to form a portfolio
• Definition of a ramp-up roadmap (walk, run, fly) for the deployment of these vehicles and associated human resources
• Support in the design of the future governance

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Context 

With over 1 million startups operating in the world, it takes time and expertise to build a robust deal flow. Yet, its quality is the cornerstone of success of Open Innovation, CVC, M&A and Strategy teams.

Aster Fab’s mission was to build for our client a robust startup deal flow from scratch, and then, throughout the last four years, to be in charge of qualified deal sourcing.

Mission

• Mapping of the topics and technologies of strategic interest to the group
• Selection of 10 topics to carry out deep dives on throughout the year
• Technology studies to deepen the group’s knowledge of a given technology and analysis of weak signals: technology analysis, patent analysis, fundraising analysis, competitor benchmark, mapping of the startups populating the space, etc.
• On-going outbound sourcing on strategic topics
• Qualification calls with the most promising startups
• Bi-monthly presentations to the client of qualified startup opportunities

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Context 

Industries are facing increasing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint swiftly.

Conducting a carbon footprint assessment is a starting point, as it allows to amount the company’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), compare them to established benchmarks and devise a robust decarbonization trajectory.

Aster Fab was missioned to conduct the company’s carbon assessment (scope 1, scope 2 & scope 3) and support in the establishment of their decarbonization trajectory.

Mission

• Definition of the organizational perimeter and operational scope 
• Data collection carried out in coordination with the client-side data collector (scope 1, scope 2, scope 3)
• Formulation of assumptions for missing emission factors
• Emission calculation and input of data into a structured table
• Creation of graphs to highlight the most important sources of emissions
• Recommendations on the action levers to reduce the carbon footprint and establishment of the client’s decarbonization trajectory

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Context 

Our client has long been a leading manufacturer of machinery for the construction, agricultural and logistics sectors.

More specifically, in recent years, the group has been developing electric machinery. Within the framework of this strategic orientation, our client has a double challenge: to invest in innovative technologies and to develop its electric vehicle business in order to present a competitive offer that meets the market’s needs.

Aster Fab’s mission was to support our client in the closing of a deal with a modular battery startup. In addition, Aster Fab has been commissioned to work on other M&A deals carried out by the group.

Mission

• Valuation of the startup using five different methods (comparable company analysis, precedent transactions, DCF analysis, R&D headcount, replacement cost value)
• Structuring the acquisition proposal by drafting the letter of intent setting out the terms, governance, management package, performance criteria, etc
• Assistance, coordination and negotiation with all stakeholders throughout the process until the completion of the transaction
• Support in the preparation of separate documents for the governance bodies: Audit Comittee, Strategic Committee and Board of Directors
• Coordination of the due diligence and the closing of the deal

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Context 

In a context of growing importance of EVs, our client’s core business (lubricant supplier) in thermal systems was set to be disrupted.

Driven by the belief that startups are a goldmine for its profound transformation, the client’s Innovation department wanted to explore the opportunity of creating a CVC.

Aster Fab’s mission was to support the client in its thinking and design the presentation to the board.

Mission

The final deliverable was structured in 4 steps:

• Benchmark and best practices to give the client food for thought on the variety of CVCs that exist and their key performance indicators.
• Investment strategy and thesis to support the client in defining these two key elements. On the one hand, we helped the client define the investment criteria (startup maturity, geography, portfolio model, ticket size, etc). On the other hand, we fine-tuned the topics of interest to reach a higher level of granularity.
• Structure and governance to support the client in the architecture of the CVC fund. Topics included fund size, level of independence, legal status, governance operating model, processes, document templates, etc.
• Calendar for structuring the workflows for the launch of the CVC.

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Context 

In a context of growing pressure on the grid, the Innovation department of a major European Transmission System Operator (TSO) wanted to set its innovation priorities for the coming year.

Convinced that the work done internally lacked methodology, Aster Fab’s was asked to map all the technologies of strategic focus.

Mission

We carried out a study into four steps:

• A megatrend analysis to paint a complete picture of all megatrends impacting TSOs in the short and long term. By combining this analysis with the group’s strategy, we were able to identify all the associated challenges for our client.
• Technology analysis to scout and navigate through the technologies to address these challenges. Through this analysis, we were able to prioritize and categorize the technologies and sub-technologies.
• Technology map to present in a visual way to the board the technologies of focus. 5 clusters, 27 technologies and 140 sub-technologies were mapped.
• Prospective analysis on 10 selected sub-technologies to give our client a first flavour of potential applications, the startups operating in the space and other weak signals of interest.

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