OptiFluids

What OptiFluids does

OptiFluides is a French engineering consultancy founded in 2011 by Nicolas Boisson and headquartered in Villeurbanne (Lyon metropolitan area), specializing in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation and experimental measurements in fluid mechanics. The firm employs a team of five to six doctor-engineers plus one administrative assistant, all holding PhDs and averaging nine years of company tenure. Services span 3D numerical simulation of liquid, gaseous, and multiphase flows (including heat transfer, combustion, and chemical reactions), experimental measurements using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and infrared thermography, custom R&D code development, and professional training. Software tooling covers ANSYS Fluent, OpenFOAM, STAR-CCM+, the spectral-element code NEK5000, Code_Saturne, FDS, and TELEMAC, executed on a proprietary ~2,700-CPU HPC cluster cooled by a self-designed free-cooling system.

The company's revenue model is project-based professional services, sold through a six-stage direct sales process (consultation, quotation, kickoff, intermediate reviews, final delivery) at fixed-price (forfait) terms ranging from €1,000 to €100,000 per study, with occasional time-and-materials (régie) engagements. Customers are predominantly large French and European industrial enterprises distributed across at least ten verticals: nuclear (EDF, CEA, JST Transformateurs), energy and environment (EDP, CNR, GE Vernova), chemical and process (Solvay, Air Liquide, Kernéos), transportation (Stellantis), life sciences (Sartorius), industrial equipment (Pyrex), hydraulics (SETEC Hydratec, Hydroplus), and building services (Chabal Architectes, Engie Axima). The firm has completed 420 projects since founding, holds ISO 9001:2015 certification, and is embedded in the Lyon academic research ecosystem (LMFA, LAMCOS, INSA Lyon, INSA Valor, Nuclear Valley). A discrete packaged software product — Wind Stability of Tower Cranes — has been launched alongside the core services portfolio.

Name

OptiFluids

Legal name

OPTIFLUIDES

Website

https://optifluides.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

French CFD engineering consultancy providing numerical simulation, experimental measurements, and R&D code development in fluid mechanics to industrial clients across nuclear, energy, chemical, hydraulics, life sciences, and transportation sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Villeurbanne

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. CFD Simulation Studies: Fixed-price (forfait) project-based consulting engagements for computational fluid dynamics simulations. Projects range from €1,000 to €100,000 depending on complexity, number of scenarios, software used, deliverables, and timeline. Billing occurs at predefined milestones. Some specific cases use time-and-materials (régie) billing with hourly invoicing.
2. Experimental Measurement Services: PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) and infrared thermal measurements to complement numerical simulations, determine boundary conditions, or validate models.
3. R&D Development Services: Custom code development for fluid dynamics applications, including simplified predictive models (Excel spreadsheets, Python/Fortran/C++ scripts), delivered with documentation.
4. Training Services: Customized professional training on CFD concepts, numerical modeling fundamentals, and specialized applications in their industry sectors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

OptiFluides is an engineering consultancy that delivers Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation studies of liquid, gaseous and multiphase flows, complemented by experimental measurements (PIV velocimetry and infrared thermal imaging) and custom R&D code development for fluid mechanics problems. The firm sells fixed-price and time-and-materials project engagements to industrial clients across energy, nuclear, hydraulics, chemical, life sciences, defense, transportation and industrial equipment sectors, using an in-house HPC cluster and a multi-software CFD toolchain.

Product overview

OptiFluides is a consulting firm specializing in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation and experimental measurements for fluid mechanics. The company offers a portfolio of services including numerical simulation (their core offering), experimental measurements (PIV and thermal imaging), R&D development, wind stability analysis for tower cranes, and professional CFD training. They operate as a service-based consultancy rather than a software product company, delivering customized analyses for industrial clients across sectors including energy, hydraulics, health, chemical, nuclear, and transportation. Their team of engineers and PhDs provides services ranging from conceptual design support to failure analysis and optimization, using industry-standard CFD software tools including ANSYS Fluent, OpenFOAM, STAR-CCM+, NEK5000, Code_Saturne, and FDS.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Numerical Simulation Services (CFD) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation of liquid, gaseous or multiphase flows in three dimensions with associated physical phenomena such as heat transfer, combustion and chemical reactions, delivered as fixed-price consulting studies for enterprise clients across energy, nuclear, chemical, transportation and industrial equipment sectors.
• Experimental Measurements Experimental measurement and analysis services including velocimetric measurements using the PIV method and thermal measurements using infrared cameras, used to determine boundary conditions, validate CFD models and analyze fluid flows in industrial settings.
• Research & Development Code Development Custom development of computational or data processing codes related to fluid flows, executed as part of research programs or in response to industrial problems. Deliverables include calculation codes with documentation and simplified predictive models in Excel, Python, Fortran and C++.
• Wind Stability of Tower Cranes Software Specialized CFD simulation software for analyzing wind stability of tower cranes, intended for construction and crane operators needing to ensure structural safety and operational stability under wind loading.
• Professional CFD Training Customized training programs covering fundamental concepts and applications of CFD modeling, including thermal transfer modeling, introduction to numerical fluid mechanics, and turbulence model theory and implementation, delivered to professionals seeking to build internal CFD capability.

Quantifiable outcome

• Free cooling system is 5 to 7 times more energy-efficient than conventional air-conditioning systems
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Comité Français des Barrages et des RéservoirsminorOthers · 1 January 2015French Committee for Dams and Reservoirs. OptiFluides' dam flow modeling results were published at a conference organized by this committee.
• EC2-ModélisationcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPrivate partner for modeling and simulation services. OptiFluides exhibited alongside EC2-Modélisation at the Rendez-vous Carnot 2019 event, presenting joint capabilities in fluid mechanics simulation and experimental measurements.
• MécaniumminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPrivate partner providing complementary mechanical engineering services to extend project capabilities.
• INSA ValorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology transfer and valorization entity of INSA Lyon, enabling collaboration between academic research and industrial applications.
• Nuclear ValleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompetitiveness cluster for nuclear industry, providing network and collaborative opportunities in the nuclear sector where OptiFluides conducts transformer cooling and fusion reactor simulations.
• Instituts Carnot NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of research laboratories with Carnot label, providing access to cutting-edge research and collaborative development opportunities.
• CADFEM FrancecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint webinar partnership for specialized CFD topics. CADFEM France and OptiFluides co-presented on 3D atmospheric dispersion modeling, leveraging CADFEM's position as an ANSYS channel partner.
• P2CHPD (Pôle de Compétence en Calcul Haute Performance Dédié)minorOthersHPC computing center located at La Doua campus, part of the Fédération Lyonnaise de Calcul Haute Performance. Provides additional computational resources for large-scale simulations.
• CINES (Centre Informatique National de l'Enseignement Supérieur)minorOthersNational computing center in Montpellier providing access to supercomputers for simulations requiring computational power beyond on-site cluster.
• IDRIS (Institut du Développement et des Ressources en Informatique Scientifique)minorOthersMajor CNRS computing center for intensive numerical computation, providing high-performance computing resources in partnership with academic collaborators.
• LAMCOS (Laboratoire de Mécanique des Contacts et des Structures)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch laboratory affiliated with INSA Lyon, specializing in mechanics. Collaborative research partner for advanced simulation methodologies.
• LMFA (Laboratoire de Mécanique des Fluides et d'Acoustique)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint laboratory affiliated with CNRS, Ecole Centrale Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, and INSA Lyon. Primary research partner for fluid mechanics expertise, including collaboration with Marc Buffat, L. Le Penven, and A. Cadiou for HPC computing.
• HydroplusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigner of Fusegates for reservoir dams. OptiFluides provides CFD simulations of spillways in partnership with Hydroplus, working on the design of fusegates for hydroelectric facilities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ESI Group: Larger French CAE software and services group serving industrial simulation globally. Comparable as a French-headquartered player in industrial CFD/CAE, though significantly larger and more software-product oriented.
• Onera: French aerospace research lab with deep CFD expertise across defense and aerospace applications. Comparable technical depth in numerical fluid mechanics, though much larger and government-affiliated.
• AVL: Austrian engineering services giant providing powertrain and vehicle development including CFD. Comparable for delivering CFD simulation to industrial/automotive clients, though at vastly greater scale.
• CADFEM (France): ANSYS channel partner and engineering simulation services provider in France. Already partners with OptiFluides on webinars and operates in the same CFD services market with broader software-resale activities.

Direct peers

• NUMECA International: Belgian CFD software and engineering services firm focused on turbomachinery, aerospace, and multiphysics simulation. Comparable for its blend of CFD software tools and applied consulting for industrial clients.
• Transvalor: French software and consulting company specializing in numerical simulation for material forming and fluid mechanics. Comparable as a French-headquartered CAE firm with both software products and engineering services.
• Bertin Technologies: French engineering consultancy offering measurement, instrumentation, and simulation services for defense, energy, and life sciences. Comparable to OptiFluides in serving French enterprise customers with technical expertise and custom R&D.
• Cenaero: Belgian non-profit R&D center combining HPC and CFD expertise for industrial applications. Comparable in combining numerical simulation, HPC infrastructure, and applied engineering services across sectors like aerospace, energy, and turbomachinery.
• EC2-Modélisation: French CFD and numerical simulation consultancy that co-exhibits with OptiFluides at industry events and serves as a mutual private partner. Both firms deliver project-based CFD studies to industrial clients in France.

Others

• IFP Energies nouvelles: French public research organization covering oil & gas, energy, and environmental engineering with strong CFD and process simulation capabilities. Comparable as a French R&D body working on fluid mechanics for energy applications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/optifluides

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 OptiFluids