Fluves announces the investment of Virya Energy, resulting in a significant minority share in Fluves and its daughter company Marlinks

3.03.2022

Ghent, 15 February 2022 - Fluves announces the investment of Virya Energy, the energy holding group of Colruyt group and Korys, resulting in a significant minority share in Fluves and its daughter company Marlinks.

Fluves, an engineering company founded in 2014, provides predictive maintenance systems for critical infrastructure such as pipelines and offshore power cables (Marlinks). The innovative technology consists of a combination between fiber optic sensing technology and AI models allowing for a cost-efficient predictive maintenance approach. A steady and organic growth in the past years has allowed Fluves to continuously optimize its product portfolio resulting in a clear and strong positioning in the Belgian market. Yet, with internationalisation in mind and the rapid growth of, for example, the offshore wind industry globally, the management welcomes its first significant external investment which will allow Fluves to accelerate its growth ambitions. The choice for Virya Energy was a natural one backed by several years of successful collaboration between Fluves and Parkwind (100% owned by Virya Energy) resulting in the joint venture better known as Marlinks. "With the investment of Virya Energy in Fluves we take a major step in the growth strategy of our company, allowing us to dedicate more resources to focus on international growth and product innovation" said Fluves founders Thomas Van Hoestenberghe and Roel Vanthillo. "The investment will mainly be dedicated to expand and further professionalize the sales and marketing efforts of both Fluves and Marlinks”. Paul Tummers, CEO Virya Energy added that “The arrival of Fluves in the Virya Energy portfolio allows Virya to build an attractive and technologically advanced service offering that enables renewable energy developers and operators to significantly reduce the risks linked to critical infrastructure failures." Their existing relationship with Fluves and its daughter Marlinks made them confident to grow this partnership and expand this unique technology and applications to the broader industry. With its investment in Fluves, Virya adds yet another innovative technology provider active in renewables to its expanding energy service portfolio. Virya Energy is convinced that the technology solutions offered by Fluves perfectly fit within the strategic ambitions of Virya Energy and strengthen its unique position in the rapidly evolving renewable energy industry.

For more information please contact:

About Fluves

Fluves provides predictive maintenance systems that enable full and remote control for crucial assets, such as pipelines, furnaces or high voltage cables.  Using advancements in fiber optic technology to reduce monitoring costs, Fluves’ goal is to optimize the asset performance and decrease maintenance costs.

Fluves’ daughter company Marlinks is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) firm specialized in the continuous monitoring of offshore infrastructure. Marlinks is committed to enhancing the lifespan, efficiency and thus profitability of wind farms and other offshore installations.

Marlinks was founded in 2017 as a joint venture between engineering firm Fluves and offshore wind energy developer Parkwind. Hailing from Flanders (BE), a region brimming with expertise in offshore wind, the company finds itself both at the heart and the forefront of a bustling industry.

About Virya Energy

Virya Energy is active in the development, financing, construction and operation of renewable energy sources. Established at the end of 2019 by the Colruyt Group and its majority shareholder Korys, Virya Energy today owns 100% stakes in Parkwind, Eurowatt, Eoly Energy and Sanchore. Virya Energy is set to further develop renewable energy generation capacities and deliver services across the full value chain of sustainable energy solutions including storage. Based in Belgium, Virya Energy and its subsidiaries own and operate over 1 GW of green energy production capacity globally and are active in numerous green hydrogen initiatives.