Aquafin N.V.

What Aquafin N.V. does

Aquafin N.V. is a Flemish public utility company founded in 1990 and headquartered in Aartselaar, Belgium, wholly owned by PMV (Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen). Under a rolling 20-year cooperation agreement with the Flemish Region effective January 2023, Aquafin finances, builds, and manages above-municipal wastewater treatment and sewer infrastructure, operating 325 wastewater treatment plants (RWZIs) and 7,085 km of pipelines that treat household wastewater from 86–88% of Flemish residents, managing €4.5 billion in above-municipal infrastructure assets.

Its core technology stack combines mechanical, biological, and quaternary wastewater treatment with sludge digestion at 13 installations (producing biogas, biomethane, and dried pellets), riothermie heat recovery, and a layer of digital platforms (Rosi for municipal sewer inspection tracking, Blue Portal, Status Tool) plus a cloud-based AI digital twin (RWZI Beringen/Beveren) and smart storm water pump control integrating precipitation forecasts. FY2022 turnover was €631M with an allocatable profit of €5.1M, reflecting cost-recovery-plus economics typical of regulated public utilities.

Aquafin distributes its services through direct contracts with the Flemish Region (via VMM) for above-municipal infrastructure and through structural partnerships with Flemish drinking water companies Pidpa, water-link, De Watergroep (Riopact), and Farys for municipal sewer management, reaching more than half of Flemish cities and municipalities. Industrial wastewater services are delivered via its wholly-owned Aquaplus subsidiary, serving food & beverage, chemical, and pharmaceutical clients. Customer segments are cities and municipalities, the Flemish Region (VMM), companies and businesses (via Aquaplus), researchers and innovation partners, and industrial verticals, with pricing negotiated under government procurement frameworks rather than published.

Name

Aquafin N.V.

Legal name

Aquafin NV

Website

https://aquafin.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Aquafin N.V. is the Flemish public utility that finances, builds, and operates above-municipal wastewater treatment and sewer infrastructure for the Flemish Region, running 325 treatment plants and 7,085 km of pipelines serving 86–88% of Flemish residents, with industrial services via its Aquaplus subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Utility Services

NAICS

Sewage Treatment Facilities (22132), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Supply & Wastewater Utilities Administration (BPAIACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Municipal Wastewater Collection (Sewer Networks) (BPALAMAA), Water Reclamation & Reuse Production (Tertiary/Advanced Treatment) (EUANADAD), Industrial Wastewater & Effluent Treatment Services (BPALAHAD)

Keywords

• Wastewater treatment services
• Sewer infrastructure management
• Municipal water utilities
• Industrial water treatment
• Water resource recovery

Headquarters

HQ city

Aartselaar

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Government financing from Flemish Region: Aquafin receives public financing from the Flemish Region (via VMM) for financing, constructing, and managing above-municipal wastewater treatment infrastructure. Costs and revenues are allocated to activities for the Flemish Region, separate from municipalities. The 2023 cooperation agreement grants Aquafin a coordinating role and greater autonomy for investment programmes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Aquafin N.V. designs, finances, builds, and operates above-municipal wastewater treatment plants and sewer infrastructure for the Flemish Region and Flemish municipalities. The company manages 325 wastewater treatment installations (RWZIs) and 7,085 km of pipelines, purifying household wastewater from approximately 88% of Flemish residents to Flemish and European quality standards. It also delivers municipal sewer management services, industrial wastewater treatment through its Aquaplus subsidiary, and resource/energy recovery (biogas, heat via riothermie, sludge-to-pellets).

Product overview

Aquafin N.V. is a Flemish public utility company responsible for wastewater treatment and sewer infrastructure management in Flanders, Belgium. The core offering is municipal wastewater treatment serving 88% of Flanders residents across 325 treatment plants. The company operates through several sub-brands and platforms: Aquaplus handles industrial water treatment services for businesses; Rosi provides a digital platform for municipalities to track sewer inspections; and various digital technologies including Digital Twin and Smart Infrastructure Control systems optimize treatment operations. Additional services include rainwater management, biogas production, heat recovery (riothermie), and quaternary treatment for micropollutant removal. The company partners with drinking water companies (Pidpa, water-link, De Watergroep) for integrated municipal sewer management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aquamarkt: Water-related marketplace platform
• Aquaplus
• Rosi

Products and services

• Aquafin Core Wastewater Treatment

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.38% of RWZIs met all applicable norms in 2022 — third-best result in company history
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vlaamse Milieu Maatschappij (VMM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023VMM is the Flemish Environment Agency that oversees environmental policy, including water quality. Aquafin operates under a 20-year cooperation agreement with the Flemish Region, with VMM acting as the contracting body and supervisor. Together they monitor performance based on critical performance indicators with transparency.
• PidpacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPidpa is a Flemish drinking water company. Aquafin has a structural partnership with Pidpa for municipal sewer management in municipalities where Pidpa delivers drinking water. Aquafin handles infrastructure planning, construction, and management while Pidpa provides local service and citizen contact.
• water-linkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partnerwater-link is a Flemish drinking water company. Aquafin has a structural partnership with water-link for municipal sewer management. Aquafin handles infrastructure planning, construction, and management while water-link provides local service and citizen contact.
• De Watergroep (Riopact)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDe Watergroep is a Flemish drinking water company. Aquafin has a structural partnership via Riopact for municipal sewer management. Aquafin handles infrastructure planning, construction, and management while De Watergroep provides local service and citizen contact.
• FarysminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFarys is a Flemish multi-utility company. Aquafin cooperates with Farys in Aalst and Dendermonde for municipal sewer management services.
• Vlaamse Vereniging van Steden en Gemeenten (VSG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVSG is the Flemish association of cities and municipalities. Aquafin worked with VSG, AquaFlanders, VMM, Vlario, and municipalities to establish standards and minimum requirements for sewer inspections, helping all municipalities achieve full sewer inventory by end 2022.
• AquaFlandersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAquaFlanders is the sector association for water management in Flanders. Aquafin worked with AquaFlanders and other stakeholders to set standards for sewer inspections and minimum requirements for the Flemish sewer inspection programme.
• VlariominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVlario is a Flemish knowledge platform for water and sewer management. Aquafin collaborated with Vlario in the multi-stakeholder effort to establish sewer inspection standards and requirements in Flanders.
• ArcelorMittal GentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA new sludge mono-incineration installation at the ArcelorMittal site in Ghent (operational by 2026) will burn two-thirds of Aquafin's treatment sludge without adding other waste streams, allowing maximum recovery of energy and resources. ArcelorMittal will use the full steam production in its processes, reducing its CO2 emissions by 65,000 tonnes per year.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Suez Water Technologies & Solutions: Major global water and wastewater services provider with municipal and industrial offerings. Overlaps with Aquafin in treatment technology and operations, but operates globally on a commercial basis rather than a regional public mandate.
• Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions: Global water-services giant offering municipal and industrial water/wastewater treatment. Comparable on the wastewater-treatment technology and operations side, but vastly larger, commercial, and international versus Aquafin's regional public mandate.
• American Water Works: Largest US investor-owned water and wastewater utility. Overlaps with Aquafin on regulated water/wastewater service delivery, but operates as a listed for-profit across multiple US states rather than as a single-region public utility.

Direct peers

• Pidpa: Flemish drinking water utility that is one of Aquafin's three structural municipal sewer-management partners (alongside water-link and De Watergroep). Highly comparable regional mandate, customer base, and Flemish government-anchored business model.
• water-link: Antwerp-based Flemish drinking water company and structural Aquafin partner for municipal sewer management. Closely comparable in scale, geography, and the dual water/sewer public-utility mandate in Flanders.
• De Watergroep (Riopact): Largest Flemish drinking water utility, partnered with Aquafin via the Riopact vehicle for municipal sewer services. Direct comparable in scope, Flemish regional focus, and public-utility governance model.
• Farys: Flemish multi-utility (water, sewer, energy) cooperating with Aquafin in Aalst and Dendermonde. Comparable as a publicly-oriented regional water/sewer operator, though broader in scope.

Regional players

• Severn Trent: Large UK regulated water and wastewater utility. Comparable in being a publicly-accountable regional wastewater monopoly, though operates under a different regulatory regime and is investor-owned.
• United Utilities: UK-regulated water and wastewater company serving the North West of England. Similar regional monopoly structure and regulated utility economics, but geographically distinct and investor-owned.
• Sabesp: São Paulo state water and sewage utility. Comparable as a state-anchored regional wastewater provider serving tens of millions of residents, though operating in a very different regulatory and emerging-market context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aquafinnv
• Facebookfacebook.com/aquafinnv
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aquafin

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aquafin N.V.