MITIS S.A., a company based in Liège, is pioneering a clean energy transition by successfully transferring advanced space technology to the commercial world. The project HyNav, a recipient of ESA Spark Funding, focused on adapting the company’s robust Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system — originally developed for the ESA-funded HYGUANE
Mitis’ team
(HYdrogène GUyanais À Neutralité Environnementale) project, a key sustainability initiative aimed at producing green, renewable hydrogen power generators for the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou — for non-space use.
The primary target application is the
The Mitis power unit prototype
maritime sector, where the hydrogen-based UPS/Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) can help decarbonize vessels by serving as an onboard power supply. This system is a powerful alternative to traditional diesel units for ship powertrains (400 kW – MW scale) or as an APU/UPS (5–400 kW), particularly on small and medium-sized vessels. One of the first applications will be for transport on inland waterways, which account for almost a billion tonnes of freight in the EU.
Beyond maritime, MITIS is strategically positioning the technology for diverse new revenue streams, including critical industries (like hospitals and data centers), energy communities, temporary power solutions, and EV charging stations.
While the maritime market is a key focus, MITIS is also positioning the technology to be applied in a diverse set of other applications, for example: hospitals, data centers, energy, events, construction sites, battery charging stations, etc… In parallel to manufacturing power plants for all these applications, an additional revenue stream could be the services for fuel cell integration, leveraging MITIS’ existing UPS expertise.
As the ESA Tech Broker for Belgium, Verhaert helped Mitis craft the application for this promising tech transfer case.
Since 2016 Verhaert Masters in Innovation has been a leading player in the field of technology transfer for the European Space Agency (ESA) and other deep-tech sectors, such as energy fusion technology, facilitating the adoption of innovative solutions across various sectors.