Portfolio

Lier, Belgium - 16 December 2016 - Europem, a Lier (Belgium) based engineering and technology company specialized in environmental and energy related process technologies, has received a 2 million Euro capital injection from its existing shareholders: Marcel Goemans - Europem’s CEO, Vuurvast and Tialoc, as well as from its new shareholder, Finindus.

Europem develops and delivers “environmental payback projects” using a range of in-house developed proprietary technologies. These technologies recover energy and/or valuable products from industrial effluents, waste and residues, generating a new source of income for its clients.

Europem’s proprietary technologies are applied in different solutions:

•       for energy production: advanced multifuel/flexifuel burners, advanced thermal oxidizers, boilers and heaters, energy-from-waste systems;

•       for product recovery: vapor recovery units (VRU), flare gas recovery units (FGRU) and sulfur recovery units (SRU);

•       for safety and environmental protection: vapor extraction and treatment (ATEX Zone 0), elevated flares, ground flares and combustors, deNOX and gas cleaning systems

Europem is a well-known supplier to the chemical and petrochemical as well as steel industry, and is further extending its reach in new geographies and newly developing business areas. The company has activities worldwide and has established branches and subsidiaries in France, Italy, the UAE (Dubai) and India. Through a partnership with Tialoc, one of its shareholders, Europem also serves the Chinese market.

The company experienced double digit year-on-year growth for the last three years. An ambitious expansion in strategic growth markets outside Europe was started in 2014, which has resulted in major commercial breakthroughs in India, the Middle East and South America in 2016:

In January Europem was awarded the design and construction of a hazardous waste treatment plant for the leading waste management company in Ecuador;
In July the company won a 6 million Euro contract with the Oil and Natural Gas Company of India (ONGC) – the largest public oil & gas company in India – in a project to eliminate H2S emissions at their largest gas treatment plant, located in Uran, near Mumbai (India);
In November the company won a repeat order to supply thermal processing equipment for a new sulfur recovery unit (SRU) at the Numaligerh Refinery in Assam (India);
In December the company was awarded the design and construction of a hazardous waste incineration facility as part of a multi-billion Euro green field chemical project in Oman.
In a comment to the transaction Marcel Goemans, CEO of Europem states: ’With the recent sharp growth in high profile customer projects it was clear we needed to strengthen our balance sheet. Finindus helped us to do exactly that, while also bringing an industrial mindset and strong network to the table.’

‘We are excited to be able to support a Flemish technology company in its international growth,’ added Hans Maenhout, Investment Director of Finindus, ‘especially since Europem offers innovative but proven technologies focusing on environment and energy, not co-incidental two key topics for both our shareholders.’

ABOUT EUROPEM

Europem was founded in 1999 by a group of combustion engineers, combining over 150 years of cummulative experience in the field. Europem started as an engineering & technology company and EPC contractor and has grown into a full-service provider along the project life cycle: from performing feasibility studies over full engineering, procurement and construction activities to offering operational support and maintenance services, once in operation.

Europem has built over 250 installations in more than 35 countries on all continents.

(www.euro-pem.com)

ABOUT FININDUS

Finindus is a Belgian investment company backed by ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region. Finindus invests in early stage and growth companies, with a specific focus on materials, material processing and sustainable manufacturing.

(www.finindus.be)

For further information please contact:

Marcel Goemans, CEO

Tel.         : +32 473 92 93 32

Email     :  mgoemans@euro-pem.com

Hans Maenhout, Investment Director at Finindus.

Tel.         : +32 9 - 345 12 07

Email     : hans.maenhout@finindus.be

Hillerod, Denmark – 28 December 2016 - Expanite, a Danish company specialized in surface hardening of stainless steel, titanium and other high performance metals attracted 1.3 million euro in capital from its existing shareholders to fund further international expansion.

Expanite was founded in 2010 by three scientists from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The company commercialises a patented gas phase technology for the surface hardening of stainless steel, titanium and other high performance metals, while maintaining or even increasing the material’s corrosion resistance. In 2012, Expanite entered into its first commercial licensing agreement. In August 2013 it opened a development and production facility in Hillerod (near Copenhagen). Since then the business has grown significantly: in the course of 2016 new license agreements were signed, the company started commercial activities as well as production in the United States and it invested in an additional service center in Europe (Frickenhausen, Germany), set to be operational early 2017.

"Expanite has been able to make great progress in both its service center as well as its licensing business model, serving many industries incl. automotive, process equipment for the food and pharma industry, oil & gas, medical devices and more general industrial products. The next logical step is towards further international expansion, "says CEO, Thomas Abel Sandholdt.

"The mix of Danish and foreign shareholders provide the company with a solid financial basis combined with a true international view and industrial network, "says company chairman Thomas Folmann.

For Finindus, which is owned by the Flemish Region and ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel supplier, the investment in Expanite is in line with their strategy. "We are constantly looking for innovative companies in the area of materials and material processing that are enablers for different relevant industries. Expanite stands out not only in technology but also in team and commercial approach to the market. We have already seen the first series of commercial successes, but we are convinced the best is yet to come," says Hans Maenhout, Investment Director at Finindus.

Press contact
Thomas Abel Sandholdt, CEO of Expanite, +45 2040 7207, tsa@expanite.com

About Expanite
Expanite offers the state of the art solutions for surface hardening of stainless steel, titanium and other high performance metals. With Expanite's processes for the curing of stainless steel, it is possible to increase the material’s surface hardness tenfold while at the same time maintaining and even increasing its corrosion resistance. Expanite has a combined development and production facility near Copenhagen, Denmark, and operates service centers in the USA and Germany. Expanite's solutions are flexible and can be tailored to be introduced into a customer’s own production line as part of a licensing arrangement.
www.expanite.com

About Seed Capital
SEED Capital is the largest venture fund in Denmark within the pre-seed and seed segment and specializes in identifying and developing new and innovative technology companies.
www.seedcapital.dk

About LF Investment
LF Investment is the investment arm of the Lauritzen Foundation, the parent company of the shipping companies J. Lauritzen and DFDS. LF Investment has, among others invested in companies in the oil, software and biotech industry.
www.lauritzenfonden.com

About Finindus
Finindus is a Belgian investment company backed by ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region. Finindus invests in early stage and growth companies, with a specific focus on materials, material processing and sustainable manufacturing.
www.finindus.be

Pioneer in surface hardening of stainless steel raises capital to support further growth
Expanite, a Danish company specialized in surface hardening of stainless steel and other high performance metals attracted several million euros in capital from the Danish capital funds SEED Capital and LF Investment, as well as Belgium-based Finindus and a number of smaller Danish investors. The proceeds will be used to support further commercial development and for international expansion.

Expanite was founded in 2010 by three scientists from The Technical University of Denmark. The company commercialises a gas phase technology for the surface hardening of stainless steel and other high performance metals, while maintaining or even increasing the material’s corrosion resistance. In 2012 Expanite entered into its first commercial licensing agreement with an industrial customer. In August 2013 it opened a brand new combined development and production facility in Hillerod (near Copenhagen).

"Expanite's technology adds significant value in many industries incl. automotive, process equipment for the food and pharma industry, oil & gas, medical devices and more general industrial products. With a proven technology and the necessary financial backing, the company is now well positioned for international growth, "says CEO, Thomas Abel Sandholdt.

Danish and foreign capital to come together:

"It's no secret that Expanite’s strong value proposition attracted the attention of different potential investors. It gave us the opportunity to carefully select the investor team in relation to the opportunities that the company faces and it allowed the company to attract not only Danish, but also foreign capital, "says company chairman Thomas Folmann.

Fredrik Siwmark, CFO at LF Investment, says: "At LF Investment, we aim to invest in Danish entrepreneurship and potential growth companies. With Expanite's combination of cutting edge technology and a strong team, we see them as a good exponent of just that. "

For Finindus, which is owned by the Flemish Region and ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel supplier, the investment in Expanite is in line with their strategy. "We are constantly looking for innovative companies where we can contribute not only capital but also our knowledge and network. With Expanite we found a great match," says Hans Maenhout, Investment Director at Finindus.

SEED Capital invested already in Expanite in 2010 and again in 2012, thus supporting the company since its inception. "Expanite’s technology has a large long-term potential. We are pleased to see that other investors see the opportunities as well, and in this investment round we have created the basis for the company to realize the full potential of what we saw very early on, "says Managing Partner at SEED Capital, Ulla Brockenhuus-Schack.

Press contact
Thomas Abel Sandholdt, CEO of Expanite, +45 2040 7207, tsa@expanite.com

About Expanite
Expanite offers the best solutions for surface hardening of stainless steel and other high performance metals. With Expanite's processes for the curing of stainless steel, it is possible to increase the material’s surface hardness tenfold while at the same time maintaining and even increasing the corrosion properties. This is unprecedented in the heat treatment and hardening of the stainless steel. Expanite has a combined development and production facility near Copenhagen, Denmark. The installed production equipment includes various ovens from very small to the 'full size' furnaces with capacities of up to 600 kg and a size of 60x60x90cm. Expanite's solutions are flexible and can be tailored to be introduced into a customer’s own production line.
www.expanite.com

About Seed Capital
SEED Capital is the largest venture fund in Denmark within the pre-seed and seed segment and specializes in identifying and developing new and innovative technology companies.
www.seedcapital.dk

About LF Investment
LF Investment is the investment arm of the Lauritzen Foundation, the parent company of the shipping companies J. Lauritzen and DFDS. LF Investment has, among others invested in companies in the oil, software and biotech industry.
www.lauritzenfonden.com

About Finindus
Finindus is a Belgian investment company backed by ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region. Finindus invests in early stage and growth companies, with a specific focus on materials, material processing and sustainable manufacturing.
www.finindus.be

Eindhoven, the Netherlands, October 10, 2016 – Innecs Power Systems BV, a Dutch provider of solutions that enable industrial sites to increase their energy efficiency, has received a substantial growth equity investment to support its further international expansion.

The financing was led by main investor Brabant Development Agency (BOM Capital) and Finindus, a Belgian investment company backed by ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region.The new funds will be used to invest in sales and marketing and to set up a network of local distribution partners to capitalize on international growth opportunities.

“We are experiencing active demand from Europe, the Middle East and Asia across our product portfolio. The new funds enable us to scale up the organization and take advantage of these promising opportunities,” said Reidar Koolen, CEO of Innecs. “Apart from continuing our productive partnership with BOM, we are very pleased to welcome our new investor Finindus. They have relevant expertise, an extensive industry network and a direct link to ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel producer. We look forward to working with them as we realize our growth plans.”

Founded in 2004, Innecs offers a range of intelligent solutions to help industrial sites and small to medium-sized businesses increase their energy efficiency and reduce their environmental impact. In Europe, multiple customers are already relying on Innecs’ BoilerBurner to comply with regulation to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Meanwhile, Innecs’ SteamExpander and PowerBurner use innovative technology to help industrial clients generate both steam and electricity to power on-site processes in a cost-effective and responsible manner.

“There’s an enormous potential for energy savings in the industry segment. In an ideal world everyone, even industrial sites, should exclusively use renewable energy, but the energy transition is a process that won’t happen overnight. With more than 60,000 steam boilers in Europe alone, fossil fuels will remain crucial to the energy supply of industrial sites for decades to come,” Koolen continued.

“Innecs has a unique and realistic approach to addressing the energy and environmental efficiency of industrial companies, which account for a considerable share of total energy consumption in the world,” commented Miriam Dragstra, Director of BOM Capital. “We are pleased to continue our partnership and enable this innovative company to realize its ambitions in and outside Europe.”

“After years of development work, Innecs has managed to build a balanced portfolio of intelligent solutions that are ready to address a serious need in the market. Industrial groups are increasingly interested in energy efficiency, not only because of cost considerations but also to reduce their environmental footprint,” said Hans Maenhout, Investment Director at Finindus. “Innecs’ solutions have been designed with simplicity and efficiency in mind, they are compact and have a short payback period, which are all key differentiators in an industrial context.”

About Innecs
Founded in 2004, Innecs Power Systems BV is a Dutch provider of solutions that help industrial sites, and small and mid-sized businesses increase their energy efficiency and reduce their environmental impact when using steam. The BoilerBurner is an industrial burner that enables clients to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, while the SteamExpander and PowerBurner use innovative technology to generate both steam and electricity to power on-site processes in a cost-effective and responsible manner. (www.innecs.nl)

About BOM
The Brabant Development Agency (BOM) endeavors to promote an innovative and resilient economy in the Dutch province of Brabant, giving the region a lasting competitive edge in a rapidly globalizing world. The emphasis in this policy is focused on the top economic clusters, crossovers between these clusters, and linking these clusters to social issues.

BOM encourages companies, local and national authorities and knowledge institutes to realize the economic ambitions nurtured by the province of Brabant. The starting point in this is to provide smart solutions to social problems. BOM’s core tasks involve forging alliances between companies and institutions, attracting foreign companies, investing risk capital in both innovative startups as well as growing companies and developing business sites. (www.bom.nl)

About Finindus
Finindus is a Belgian investment company backed by ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region. Finindus invests in early stage and growth companies, with a specific focus on materials, material processing and sustainable manufacturing. (www.finindus.be)

For further information please contact:

Reidar Koolen, CEO at Innecs.

Tel.       : +31 (0)85 – 27 33 160

Email    :  r.koolen@innecs.nl

Westminster, CO, USA - 30 October 2017 – Keystone Tower Systems Inc, a Colorado based technology company, has secured significant growth capital to further support the global roll out of its advanced wind turbine tower manufacturing technology.

Keystone Tower Systems has developed and patented an innovative process for spiral welding conical steel structures, enabling greater production efficiencies. The company is tailoring its spiral welding technology for the production of wind turbine towers. The technology significantly reduces the overall cost of tower manufacturing through increased throughput and lower labor and material costs, resulting in a reduction of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for wind. The first commercial tower production is planned for 2019.

Earlier this year, Keystone partnered with a leading equipment OEM in the steel industry to roll out the technology worldwide. The first phase focuses on licensing its spiral welding technology to existing tower manufacturing plants for conventional dimension towers. In the follow-up phase, they will pursue mobile manufacturing facilities producing large diameter wind towers at the wind farm site, eliminating limitations on the tower diameter imposed by road transport restrictions.

The current investment round is led by a consortium of Keystone’s existing investors together with Finindus, a Belgium based venture capital company funded by ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region; the Colorado Impact Fund, a Colorado based fund dedicated to supporting Colorado companies that generate consistent investment returns in addition to positive community impact; and Zoma Capital, the investment arm for the family office of Ben and Lucy Ana Walton, based in Denver, which invests in a broad range of market-based sustainable solutions addressing environmental and social problems.

“We are thrilled to bring onboard incredible partners who will help us accelerate our roll-out plan,” Eric Smith, CEO of Keystone Tower Systems, commented on the transaction.

“Steel and welding technology are at the core of the business of one of our shareholders. It is clear that Keystone Tower Systems is a natural fit within our investment focus,” Hans Maenhout, Investment Director at Finindus, commented.

“The Colorado Impact Fund is excited to support Keystone Tower Systems as it develops and commercializes a world-class technology that will further cement Colorado’s position as a leader in the wind energy sector,” said Scott Reich of the Colorado Impact Fund.

Melissa Cheong, Zoma's Chief Investment Officer, remarked, “We are excited to support an innovative Colorado-based business whose technology has the potential to accelerate the adoption of wind power and expand the geographic reach of renewable energy development.”

ABOUT KEYSTONE TOWER SYSTEMS

Keystone Tower Systems, founded in 2010, is a Colorado based company specializing in innovative wind tower manufacturing technologies. It is the only company in the world with the technology to spiral weld wind towers.

www.keystonetowersystems.com

ABOUT FININDUS

Finindus is a Belgian investment company backed by ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region. Finindus invests in early stage and growth companies, with a specific focus on materials, material processing and sustainable manufacturing.

www.finindus.be

ABOUT COLORADO IMPACT FUND

The Colorado Impact Fund, founded in July 2014, is a venture capital firm dedicated to supporting local Colorado companies that generate consistent investment returns in addition to positive community outcomes. Investors in the Fund include some of Colorado’s most respected executives, families, foundations and corporations, each of whom is committed to making a difference in the State of Colorado and beyond. Targeting investments in the areas of community health, natural resource conservation, education and workforce development and economic development, the Colorado Impact Fund leverages its collective experiences, resources and networks to help Colorado entrepreneurs create exceptional and lasting companies.

www.coloradoimpactfund.com

ABOUT ZOMA CAPITAL

Zoma Capital is the investment arm for the family office of Ben and Lucy Ana Walton, based in Denver. Zoma manages an investment portfolio with strategies in Colorado and in Chile focused on issues of energy, water, community development, workforce development and mental health.

For further information please contact:

Anna Moon, VP of Business Development & Strategy

Email     : info@keystonetowersystems.com

[Gothenburg, Sweden, October 14, 2015.]  PowerCell Sweden will establish PowerCell Germany GmbH. Mr André Martin, who is a senior fuel cell expert and former executive in the automotive and supply chain industry and Member of the Board of Directors of PowerCell Sweden, was appointed Managing Director of the company.

“I am happy to announce that we are about to establish PowerCell Germany GmbH and look forward to work together with Mr André Martin to expand our business in the German region”, said Per Wassén, CEO at PowerCell Sweden AB.

PowerCell is a leading energy technology company with a unique and patented technology for generating electricity from fuel cells in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. PowerCell develops and distributes advanced fuel cell stacks and systems for stationary and mobile applications. PowerCell Sweden AB is listed at NASDAQ First North after a successful IPO, since December 2014.

The foundation follows the objective to strengthen the market development in one of the most important European markets and consolidate the company’s growth strategy.

Initially, marketing activities for PowerCell fuel cell products shall be expanded and on-going development activities for the automotive sector shall be facilitated by higher customer proximity.

PowerCell furthermore undertake conversations with potential strategic partners to strengthen their portfolio and to increase the momentum of commercialization activities by support of partnerships.

Mr Per Wassén, CEO of PowerCell Sweden, stated: “The establishment of the German branch is a logic step for implementation of our commercialization strategy. The support by Mr. André Martin is a core element for us to facilitate this development.“

PowerCell Sweden consider the establishment of the German branch as an important step for the achievement of their strategic objectives and set high expectations in the collaboration with their German customers and partners.

For additional information please contact:

Per Wassén

CEO, PowerCell Sweden AB (publ)

Phone: +46 76 553 37 71

Email: per.wassen@powercell.se

[Gothenburg, Sweden, Jan 15, 2015.] Recently listed Nordic fuel cell technology leader PowerCell Sweden AB (publ) and technology agnostic African power-as-a-service player Mitochondria Energy Company (Pty) Ltd have signed a Letter of Intend to collaborate to develop diesel-fed fuel cell power solutions to the African market. PowerCell’s power supply unit, the PowerPac, is currently under development. Mitochondria will be involved in the pre-production development and testing processes to ensure the end product meets customer requirements.

PowerCell’s power supply unit, the PowerPac, takes electricity power generation to a new level of economy for remote or bad-grid sites with an average power demand of 1 – 6kW. The PowerPac is a fuel cell system that converts diesel fuel into electricity in a reliable, competitive and environmentally friendly way. By using widely available road diesel as fuel, it will offer a cost-effective power supply solution that has no noxious emissions and a noise level kept to a minimum.

The PowerPac reforms diesel into a hydrogen-rich gas, which is fed to a fuel cell to produce DC electric power. It requires minimal on-site maintenance and is operated and monitored remotely through the cellular data network.

The next generation of the PowerPac is now being assembled and will be deployed for testing in South Africa and Sweden in 2015.

Mitochondria are committed to offer customers competitive solutions that combine energy cost reduction and greater environmental- and social development-friendliness. The use of a diesel fuel cell solution supports this mission immediately; by reducing carbon and noxious emissions and, in the foreseeable future, by using sustainably produced diesel from waste and biomass.

Magnus Henell, CEO at PowerCell Sweden AB said: “For PowerCell it is very important to get our PowerPac product developed and tested in conjunction with partners and potential customers. This will greatly improve the product we bring to market, starting in Africa. We are very pleased with the positive responses in South Africa to this cutting-edge technology from solutions providers, potential customers and the positive attitude of the state, and particularly for the support and encouragement of Mitochondria. We look forward to a long and rewarding partnership for many years forward.”

Anthea Bath, CEO at Mitochondria said “As a power-as-a-service company, minimising the total lifetime cost of power, taking into consideration full value chain risks and operational requirements, is core to our customers, and for Mitochondria as service providers, CAPEX is by no means the dominant consideration. Product reliability, durability, fuel efficiency and strong support from our vendors are essential. Our commitment to society and the environment is not window-dressing, but a core value that will improve the performance of our business. We see in PowerCell’s PowerPac the potential to address these needs for multiple customers and customer applications. We are pleased to be engaged with them at this stage of their development cycle so we can shape the product requirements to meet the holistic solution specification.”

For additional information please contact:

Magnus Henell
CEO, PowerCell
Phone: +46 739 10 37 03
Email: magnus.henell@powercell.se

About PowerCell Sweden AB (publ)

PowerCell Sweden AB (publ) is the Nordic leading fuel cell company with a unique and patented technology for generating electricity from fuel cells in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. PowerCell develops and distributes advanced fuel cell systems for the transport industry and the telecommunication industry.

PowerCell has developed fuel cell technology for more than a decade, and has perfected a unique design that enables the production of a lightweight, versatile and reliable power source for automotive, transport and stationary applications.

By combining their fuel cell- and reformer technology PowerCell has developed a fuel cell system that converts diesel fuel to electricity in an energy efficient and environmentally friendly manner, with minimal emissions and quiet operation. The fuel cell system is initially adapted to supply electric power to the telecom industry.

PowerCell is a spinout from the Volvo Group with the objective to develop and produce environmentally friendly power systems based on a unique fuel cell and reformer technology that matches existing fuel infrastructures. PowerCell is based in Gothenburg, Sweden. PowerCell Sweden AB is listed on First North at Nasdaq Stockholm. Among the biggest owners are Volvo Group Venture Capital, Fouriertransform, Midroc New Technologies and Finindus. For further information, please visit: www.powercell.se

About Mitochondria Energy Company (Pty) Ltd

Mitochondria is a South African based customer-centric and service dominant, power-as –a-service company. Mitochondria’s vision is to deliver sustainable energy services for all, all the time, across Africa and when they are needed.

Mitochondria designs, constructs and develops end-to-end, easy-to-deploy, distributed energy solutions for mission critical (telecommunications, hospitals), mobile, prime (industry, commercial) and backup power (emergency) applications.

Mitochondria believes that distributed and onsite energy generation solutions have a major role to play in alleviating Africa’s acute energy shortages. For Further information please visit: www.mitochondria.co.za 

Unbreakable composite material revolutionizes cycling industry

Today cycling enthusiasts fear falling with their often very expensive carbon fiber bicycles. They realize that small cracks or damages may lead to sudden and dramatic failure while riding. “The cause is the material’s poor impact resistance and the effect is that riders’ lives are put in danger and bicycle frames are reduced to scrap,” explains Dave Luyckx, Chief Product Officer of REIN4CED.

“Our new material combines carbon composites with specifically developed steel fibers and radically increases impact resistance while maintaining high stiffness and low weight. In contrast to traditional brittle composite materials, REIN4CED’s steel-fiber composite exhibits a compact visible dent upon impact and maintains frame integrity ... similar to an aluminum or steel frame.”

Production automation enables reshoring bicycle frames in Europe & US

Michaël Callens, CEO and Co-founder of REIN4CED: “At this stage, REIN4CED secures the financing to set up an automated production line through a major capital increase supported by three widely respected Belgian parties: KU Leuven Gemma Frisius Fund, Finindus and Innovation Fund. With its new processing method, REIN4CED is able to utilize its new material in automated series production – projecting an annual production output of thousands up to tens of thousands of light and unbreakable bicycle frames.”

“As a result, REIN4CED enables to bring the bicycle frame production back to the brands’ respective home markets,” says Dave Luyckx. “Compared to the existing manual and labor-intensive process, REIN4CED implements the material in an accurate, qualitative and fully automated manner and produces parts with consistent properties. This will also bring along other advantages such as locking in less working capital and enabling a more flexible and responsive supply chain.”

Institutional investors have strong ties with activities of REIN4CED

Gemma Frisius Fund, the seed capital fund of KU Leuven, supports REIN4CED in research and technology as well as financial and business aspects. Finindus offers extensive expertise in industrial upscaling and commercialization and is linked to OCAS, a metal research research center in Belgium. Specialists in Innovation Fund’s network are heavily involved in modeling chemical and composite materials.

Need for impact-resistant composites in automotive & aerospace

“The impact-resistance of the new composite material and the high degree of production automation and repeatability are not only of interest to the bicycle industry,” concludes Michaël Callens. “For us the bicycle market is our first target market because it is characterized by fast technology adoption and market introduction. We are however convinced that the distinct advantages of highly consistent quality in high-volume production are also much desired in other markets where composites are used extensively, including automotive and aerospace.”

About REIN4CED

REIN4CED was incorporated in January 2015. "From the start we have, as an engineering firm, explored the market and acquired sufficient budgets to develop materials ourselves,” says Dr. ir. Michaël Callens, Co-founder and CEO. In the meantime, REIN4CED has developed and patented its new fiber-strengthened composite material, and the team is working to bring the automated production method from a lab to an industrial scale. REIN4CED will manufacture impact-resistant and lightweight bicycle frames for brands wishing to offer their cyclists maximum performance with enhanced safety and durability. https://rein4ced.com/

CEO Michaël Callens – Mobile: +32 485 20 81 19 – Email: michael.callens@rein4ced.com

CPO Dave Luyckx – Mobile: +32 486 16 53 47 – Email: dave.luyckx@rein4ced.com

REIN4CED NV

Interleuvenlaan 62, 3001 Leuven, Belgium

Telephone: +32 16 39 47 68

Email: info@rein4ced.com

Website: www.rein4ced.com

About KU Leuven Gemma Frisius Fund

Gemma Frisius Fund (GFF) is a seed capital fund, established in 1997 as a joint venture between KU Leuven, KBC Private Equity and BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity. It combines the research and technology transfer expertise of the university with the financial and investment expertise of the two financial partners. GFF provides seed capital in the early development phases of innovative, research-based spin-off companies originating from all technology domains and provides support in their further growth process. http://lrd.kuleuven.be/en/spinoff/gemma-frisius-fund

About Finindus

Finindus is an investment company backed by ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region and is linked to OCAS, a world class metal research center with campuses in Zelzate and Zwijnaarde (Belgium). Finindus provides early stage and growth financing to innovative companies active across the metal value chain that focus on materialsmaterial processing, sustainable manufacturing and industrial tech. http://www.finindus.be/

About Innovation Fund

Innovation Fund invests in innovative startups and companies active in the field of chemistry and life sciences. The Fund has been created in February 2015 thanks to major industrial companies, like Total, Solvay, BASF, Carmeuse, Recticel, Sioen, Soudal, Domo, Ravago, Officium, Arkema France, etc. This makes Innovation Fund unique, bringing added value to the supported projects. Innovation Fund works in close collaboration with the Innovation Circle, an initiative of captains of the chemical industry. Since 2013, they have benevolently accompanied more than 50 projects, of which some, like REIN4CED, are mature and require capital for their development. http://innovationfund.eu/

Silicon photonics based fiber optic sensing allows for highly accurate, small, robust and cost-efficient structural health monitoring and process control

Ghent (Belgium) - September 10, 2018 – Ghent University (UGent) and imec today announced the incorporation of Sentea, a spin-off from their world leading Photonics Research Group. An initial 1.6 million Euro in funding was raised from Fidimec, Finindus, PMV and QBIC II and the founders. Sentea will develop and market advanced silicon photonics based fiber optic sensing solutions. These will be used to continuously monitor engineering structures for signs of damages that over time could lead to catastrophic failure, as well as to control industrial installations to maximize their efficiency.

According to the new market research report from MarketsandMarkets, the structural health monitoring market is estimated to grow from USD 1.48 billion in 2018 to USD 3.38 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 17.93% between 2018 and 2023. The major factors driving the growth of the structural health monitoring market include concerns about catastrophic failure due to aging infrastructures in the developed countries, stringent government regulations pertaining to the sustainability of structures, and the superior benefits of structural health monitoring. Furthermore, the structural Health Monitoring Market for the Energy vertical is expected to grow at a rate of more than 20% from 2018-2023, owing to various applications such as wind turbines, nuclear power plants and hydropower plants.

“Integrating all optical functions into a single silicon photonics component will allow us to make highly accurate, small and robust fiber optic sensor interrogators. Silicon photonics is also very cost-effective, which makes fiber optic sensing affordable for a wide range of new markets and applications and facilitates universal and continues monitoring of structures”, commented Karsten Verhaegen, CEO of Sentea. “Key potential customers have expressed great interest in Sentea’s solutions, stating that better infrastructure lifetime management and process control makes them more competitive in their respective markets.”

“Sentea builds on state-of-the-art silicon photonics technology IP that has been developed at the Photonics Research Group of imec and the UGent for the past 20 years, a technology in which both organizations are perceived as world-leading,” stated Luc Van den hove, president and Chief Executive Officer at imec. “This firm technology base will provide Sentea a kick-start to develop its sensor technology that is answering an existing need in a broad range of market segments.”

To develop its first products and bring them to market, the company raised 1.6 million Euro in funding from a consortium of investors including Fidimec, Finindus, PMV and QBIC II.

About Structural Health Monitoring

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a process in which engineering structures are continuously monitored throughout their lifetime for early signs of damages that over time could lead to catastrophic failure. By detecting any damage early on, and repairing or replacing the damaged part, catastrophic failure and the resulting downtime and huge repair costs can be avoided. A range of SHM solutions, such as fiber optic sensing, have found their way into engineering structures such as wind turbines, nuclear power plants, ships, trains, airplanes, buildings, bridges, dams, tunnels, heavy machinery, blast furnaces and so on.

About fiber optic sensing

Fiber optic sensing is a technology where the sensor itself is a specialty fiber designed such that it can sense pressure and temperature at multiple point along the length of the fiber. An interrogator device then captures the signal of the multiple sensing points in the fiber and interprets the signal into pressure, temperature or other derived parameters (e.g. acceleration or vibration). The inherent advantages of fiber optic sensors such as light weight, small size, passive, low attenuation, immunity to electromagnetic interference, wide bandwidth and environmental ruggedness are heavily used to offset their major disadvantages of high cost of the interrogator. Cost reduction of fiber optic sensor interrogators, together with new trends like IoT, big data and industry 4.0 will boost the utility and demand of fiber optic sensing in SHM and process control even further.

About Silicon Photonics

Silicon photonics allows for major cost savings and a significant increase in capabilities in developing and fabricating optical components. The ability to use standard CMOS manufacturing processes makes silicon photonics commercially very attractive. The sub-micron precision of these standard microelectronic CMOS processes allow for silicon photonics components to integrate a variety of optical functions in a very small chip that consumes far less power than traditional optical components. Decades of experience in making (electronic) chips from silicon as well as the installed base of (silicon) semiconductor manufacturing capacity can be leveraged to build highly integrated low-cost optical components for a variety of applications.

About Sentea

Sentea aspires to be a market leader in advanced fiber optical solutions for structural health and process monitoring. The company was incorporated in 2018 as a spin-off of the Photonics Research Group of Ghent University and imec to commercialize more than a decade of research in silicon photonics and fiber optic sensing. Benefitting from the advantages of silicon photonics, Sentea will develop and market fiber optic sensing interrogators that offer high accuracy, small size and advanced functionality, positioned for deployment in a wide range of applications and markets, hence enabling continuous monitoring of structural integrity to become the standard. Sentea is privately held by a consortium of investors including Fidimec, Finindus, PMV and QBIC II.

Contact: Karsten Verhaegen, CEO, e-mail: karsten.verhaegen@senteatech.com

About imec

Imec is the world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. The combination of our widely acclaimed leadership in microchip technology and profound software and ICT expertise is what makes us unique. By leveraging our world-class infrastructure and local and global ecosystem of partners across a multitude of industries, we create groundbreaking innovation in application domains such as healthcare, smart cities and mobility, logistics and manufacturing, energy and education.

As a trusted partner for companies, start-ups and universities we bring together more than 4,000 brilliant minds from over 85 nationalities. Imec is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium and has distributed R&D groups at a number of Flemish universities, in the Netherlands, Taiwan, USA, China, and offices in India and Japan. In 2017, imec's revenue (P&L) totaled 546 million euro. Further information on imec can be found at www.imec-int.com.

Imec is a registered trademark for the activities of IMEC International (a legal entity set up under Belgian law as a "stichting van openbaar nut”), imec Belgium (IMEC vzw supported by the Flemish Government), imec the Netherlands (Stichting IMEC Nederland, part of Holst Centre which is supported by the Dutch Government), imec Taiwan (IMEC Taiwan Co.) and imec China (IMEC Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.) and imec India (Imec India Private Limited), imec Florida (IMEC USA nanoelectronics design center).

Contact: Hanne Degans, Press communications manager, +32 16 28 17 69 // +32 486 06 51 75 // Hanne.Degans@imec.be

About UGent

Ghent University was founded in 1817 and is one of Europe’s leading institutions of higher education and research in the Dutch-speaking region today. It comprises eleven faculties offering education driven by its innovative research in the many scientific disciplines. Located in Flanders, Belgium, the cultural, political, and economic heart of Europe, Ghent University is an active partner in many national and international educational, scientific and industrial collaboration projects.

The Photonics Research Group in the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture is one of Europe’s leading groups in the field of photonic integration and silicon photonics. It is associated with imec and hosts 80 researchers including six ERC-grantees. The Photonics Research Group is part of the Center for Nano and Biophotonics – NB-Photonics – a multidisciplinary research and technology transfer platform clustering the resources and knowhow of 23 professors across four different faculties.