VITO injects knowlegde, intellectual property and sustainability into the economy. By doing this VITO strengthens the Flemish economy, which is at the heart of VITO's mission. Technology is brought to market through a technology sale, a license, a spin-off or a joint-venture. Every technology transfer is different and the process is adapted case by case. 

 

Spin-off

New companies are established to introduce VITO technology into the market. This is done by VITO employees or external entrepreneurs. Are you an entrepreneur? Do you have specific knowledge of a certain market and could you help VITO bring one of it’s technologies to market? Please reach out! Here below you can find some more information about our latest spin-offs. 

LCV N.V.

Laser Cladding Venture specialises in laser cladding, a technology that uses a laser to melt metal powders onto an object, a so-called workpiece.

This way, you can apply high-quality coatings that make mechanical parts last much longer and perform 3D printing in a unique way.

In 2022, LCV was acquired by SKF, a Swedish company specialised in the development, design and production of bearings, seals and lubrication systems.

Unifly N.V.

VITO spin-off UniFly is the world's leading developer and provider of air traffic control systems focused on drones. As a software developer, the company builds platforms that can also control and monitor drone flights. Such platforms are essential for drone flights to comply with applicable airspace regulations, and thus safely integrate unmanned and remotely piloted aircrafts into the system, resulting in a unified airspace (unifly).

APEMCO S.A.

Atmospheric plasma technology is used to apply functional coatings (surface layers) in a sustainable manner. Numerous applications are already implemented in plastic and textile industries, ranging from water- and dirt-repellent surfaces to improved adhesion of low-compatible materials.

In 2017, VITO completed a major technology transfer to its spin-off APEMCO (Atmospheric Plasma Equipment Manufacturing Company). Apemco became MolecularPlasmaGroup.

Blue Foot Membranes

VITO developed a new technology, patented it, developed proto-types and from there the company Blue Foot Membranes was initiated.

Blue Foot provides the critical membrane component and integration know-how to reuse water in industrial and domestic wastewater treatment plants. With a new financial boost from its existing shareholders QBIC II, LRM, Innovation Fund and VITO, the company is entering the next phase. From VITO spin-off to scale-up and now ready to conquer the market.

iFlux

Since its launch in 2017, iFLUX has been providing solutions to determine the dynamics of groundwater flow and contamination in the soil. The company does so based on innovative measurement technology combined with targeted data analysis. iFLUX developed - in addition to analog measurement systems - a unique real-time, on-site digital technology for groundwater and pollution monitoring.

This goes one step further and helps predict and even prevent groundwater pollution risks. This technology can also contribute to better wildlife management and drought forecasting and monitoring.

Sitemark (DroneGrid)

Sitemark offers companies a new way to collect, analyse and use data from aerial images, for single or multiple locations. Sitemark's aerial image data platform provides actionable site information to customers in the energy, construction and mining sectors.

Servaco Product Testing

What began in 2019 as a joint venture between VITO and industrial partner Servaco is coming to an end. Servaco Product Testing specialised in analysing the impact of all possible products and materials on indoor air quality. Any material or product used indoors can, in fact, emit harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs). After three challenging but successful years, the company Normec decided to fully acquire the shares in 2022.

This enabled VITO, through its Clean Vision Invest fund, to realise another successful exit of one of its spin-offs.

HITA

HITA - Icelandic for heat - is a young and ambitious company focused on developing deep geothermal energy. HITA aims to drill more than 1,000m deep in order to use the earth's natural heat for heat networks and electricity generation. HITA's business model allows municipalities and companies to enter into a deep geothermal project in a phased manner, always with limited risk.

Enperas

Assessing the ecological footprint of building products usually takes a lot of time and effort. This is not the case with the software from Enperas, the latest digital solution from the spin-off programme through which VITO makes the Flemish economy sustainable and strengthens it.

Enperas stands for ENvironmental PERformance ASsessment - their core business. They carry out life cycle assessments (LCA), quantifying the environmental impact of products at each stage of the life cycle, from raw materials through production to disposal. The results of an LCA are communicated in an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). An EPD is a standardised way of quantifying and reporting the environmental footprint of a construction product, process or system.

MONA

Artificial intelligence can significantly, speed up and facilitate the detection of serious eye conditions, MONA proves with its new eye screening method. The VITO KUL spin-off combines medical research from KU Leuven with state-of-the-art AI techniques developed at VITO.  The result: an eye test that is very reliable, gives immediate results and does not cause the slightest discomfort. MONA introduced its screening kiosk in Belgium and meanwhile cameras with software have been installed in several hospitals in Belgium.

A-Membranes

Product separations today are often energy-intensive and not always optimised for efficiency. VITO and the University of Antwerp are commercialising spin-off A-membranes with an advanced technology for membrane separations in liquids. This is not only much more efficient, but also energy-saving and sustainable. Moreover, it can greatly reduce CO2 emissions from the chemical industry.

Clean Vision Invest

Clean Vision Invest remedies one of the toughest obstacles for very young spin-offs at a stroke: the quest for funding. Indeed, this fund supports new spin-offs in their early development, meaning they can very quickly join in the economic reality and grow. Clean Vision Invest is its own shareholding vehicle, a separate VITO entity with its own management that invests in VITO spin-offs.

This proactive policy is how Clean Vision Invest encourages spin-offs in which VITO includes its innovations. Thus, CVI raises these spin-offs' financial capacity and ultimately prepares these innovation companies for growth capital from investors or takeovers. Clean Vision Invest supports VITO's valorisation policy and aims to grow into a successful enterprise.

In five years' time, this fund will be evaluated to check whether it would be opportune to give external investors the chance to contribute to investments in sustainable technology too.

For the creation of a spin-off, it is first and foremost a matter of identifying valorization opportunities within VITO. ‘We have specific programs for that,’ says Bart Swaelens, head of tech transfer and venture development at VITO. ‘Take, for example, ‘accelerate your business idea’, or AYOUBI, an initiative that encourages our employees to share interesting business ideas. Once such an opportunity has been identified, it should mature into something commercially viable. 'We then build a team around it.' The success of a spin-off stands or falls with the quality of that team. ‘It is important here to strike a good balance between VITO expertise and external entrepreneurship. 

Bart Swaelens
Tech Transfer and Venture Development