The European Innovation Council (EIC) regularly hosts matchmaking initiatives under their EIC Corporate Partnership Programme. In the EIC Corporate Corner, we discover what makes these corporates tick, what's their approach to innovation and what they are looking for. After the EIC Corporate Day with Shell Ventures, we got together with their representative Bilal Ahmad, Venture Principal.
On 4 May, the EIC and Shell Ventures co-hosted a Corporate Day at the Energy Transition Campus in Amsterdam (Netherlands), bringing together 10 EIC beneficiaries that pitched their innovations on a wide array of CO2-related challenges. To better understand Shell’s approach to innovation, we sat down with Bilal Ahmad, Venture Principal at Shell Ventures. Here’s what he had to say!
Can you briefly describe your role within Shell Ventures?
I’m an investor partner at Shell Ventures, and my role is to find startups working in the energy and clean tech sectors that are working to accelerate the energy transition and help them along their journey of moving through the technology roadmap and scale-up.
Can you tell us about your approach to (open) innovation and the potential challenges you face in that aspect?
Shell Ventures looks to invest in companies with solutions and technologies that can significantly impact the energy transition. In addition, we work with mature companies to deploy their solutions and technologies in our business, which provides scale and revenue to the startup, while providing Shell with early access to innovative decarbonising technologies.
As a company, we have a long history of advancing innovative technology and business models through collaborations with startups and scale-ups. For example, we work together with academia to develop technologies through our Research Alliance team. Another team I would like to highlight is Shell GameChanger, which focuses on helping startups in their early stages to work through their proof of concept and de-risk their technology for further funding.
Recently you teamed up with the EIC to co-host an EIC Corporate Day. Can you explain the motivation behind joining forces with the EIC for this initiative?
The EIC possesses a network with many companies that seek funding and have been on the EIC’s radar for many years. As an investor, I look for companies that have, for one reason or another, escaped our attention. That’s why we see the EIC as a great partner that helps us understand what other companies are out there, particularly in Europe, and to find solutions that are relevant to Shell Ventures.
What are the benefits/advantages of working with the EIC?
Its wide range of companies (early-stage to later-stage ones) may present an opportunity for us. For instance, sometimes we may be searching for a mature or later-stage company, and we can turn to the EIC as a reliable source that’s working within that spectrum.
It helps that many of the companies on EIC’s radar have received funding from the EIC before, and therefore have gone through a certain level of due diligence and vetting.
What mindset and skills do you look for in companies you bring to your ecosystem?
Firstly, the type of leadership that a company might have – this is an important factor for us. We are looking for strong management teams that have good leadership skills. Secondly, how strong a company’s R&D spectrum is. Thirdly, we also look at how a company’s full-scale deployment of technology is done.
If a combination of these aforementioned factors is aligned with our own values, we have a higher chance of ensuring a potential future partnership will work smoothly and is relevant to Shell Ventures.
What type of partnerships are you looking for with startups?
From a Shell Ventures perspective, investing is our main purpose. So, we are looking to invest capital in companies that interest us and align with our ambition to accelerate the energy transition.
As a corporate VC, we also aim to facilitate ties between the startup company and the broader network of Shell to explore technology deployment opportunities. If there are opportunities where Shell can become a customer of the startup or we can help to set up a pilot facility, we are keen to help our portfolio companies pursue those opportunities.
Have you found any interesting opportunities in the companies that pitched at the event?
Definitely. We have co-invested with the EIC in a couple of companies already, so we do have a track record of how we continuously come across EIC companies that are worth investing in or are actively being evaluated for investment.
Any advice/tips for companies that want to work with you?
If you are interested in working with Shell Ventures or would like us to be an investor, make sure your technology or solution is something of relevance to us. Also, it’s always a good idea to demonstrate what a potential partnership could look like, what your progress has been, and any strong proof points of leadership skills within your team. To find out more about what areas we are looking to invest in, I would like to invite you to check out our website (www.shell.com/shell-ventures).
Looking for opportunities to connect with Europe’s largest corporates?
Check out the EIC Business Acceleration Services event calendar here and sign up to enhance your business.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.