Cenergy Holdings: Wiring the Energy Transition

I. Introduction & Episode Roadmap

On a windswept stretch of the Greek coastline near Corinth, roughly 80 kilometers west of Athens, something remarkable happens every day. Giant spools of submarine cable—copper and aluminum cores wrapped in layers of sophisticated insulation and armoring—emerge from one of the world's most advanced cable manufacturing facilities. These cables, some stretching hundreds of kilometers without a single factory joint, will soon snake across the floor of the North Sea, the Baltic, the Atlantic, carrying the electricity generated by offshore wind turbines to millions of European homes. Not far away, in the industrial zone of Thisvi, steel pipes certified to carry hydrogen at extreme pressures roll off production lines destined for the energy networks of tomorrow.

Based in Belgium, Cenergy Holdings was founded in 2016 and is listed on Euronext Brussels and the Athens Stock Exchange. The company operates through two primary subsidiaries: Hellenic Cables and Corinth Pipeworks, both Greek industrial champions with histories stretching back decades. The trailing twelve month revenue for Cenergy Holdings is $1.94B. As of 31-Dec-2024, Cenergy Holdings has a trailing 12-month revenue of $1.94B.

The central question this article seeks to answer: How did a Greek industrial spin-off, formed in the depths of the European debt crisis's aftermath, become one of Europe's critical infrastructure suppliers for the energy transition?

The Company focuses on long-term value creation by investing in leading industrial companies, focusing on the growing global demand of energy transfer, renewables, data transmission and construction. This isn't a story of software eating the world or viral consumer brands—it's a story about unglamorous industrial capabilities, multi-decade investment cycles, and the strategic patience to build technical moats before the tailwinds arrived.

The themes that emerge are instructive for any serious student of industrial strategy: the power of strategic combination, riding megatrends before they become consensus (offshore wind, hydrogen, carbon capture), the governance advantages of family-controlled holding company structures, and Greece's unexpected emergence as a hub for energy infrastructure manufacturing. The magnitude of this corporation is visible in the fact that 7 percent of Greek exports are made by the broader Viohalco group.

What makes Cenergy particularly fascinating is its positioning at the nexus of multiple secular trends. Every gigawatt of offshore wind capacity requires cables. Every kilometer of hydrogen pipeline requires specially certified steel pipes. Every carbon capture and storage project needs infrastructure to transport CO₂. Cenergy supplies all of this—the "picks and shovels" of the energy transition.

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II. Viohalco Origins & The Greek Industrial Story

To understand Cenergy Holdings, one must first understand Viohalco—the sprawling Greek industrial conglomerate from which it emerged. Viohalco started more than 85 years ago as a family business and is now a leading Belgium-based holding company of leading metal processing companies across Europe. Viohalco subsidiaries focus on technological advancement and R&D and specialise in the manufacture of aluminium, copper, cables, steel and steel pipes product solutions.

The Company was incorporated in 1937 under the name Hellenic Copper Industry S.A., and obtained a listing on the Athens Stock Exchange in 1947. This wasn't merely a company but a family enterprise that would grow into something resembling a Southeast European industrial empire. Its president, Nikos Stasinopoulos, is one of the richest businessmen in Greece.

Nikos Stasinopoulos—the "patriarch," as they call him in his 80 subsidiaries, but also in the industry—comes from Arcadia. His father, Michael Stasinopoulos, was born in Tegea, Arcadia. His children, Nikos and Evangelos, created the Michael Stasinopoulos Foundation. The family's roots in the Peloponnese region connect to a broader story of Greek industrial development—families who survived the chaos of the 20th century (war, civil war, military dictatorships, economic crises) by building real things: factories, machinery, products that could be exported.

The Viohalco group's strategy has been consistent across generations: build industrial scale in Southeast Europe, leveraging lower labor costs and strategic geographic positioning while investing in state-of-the-art technology to compete on quality, not just price. Viohalco companies generate a consolidated annual revenue of more than EUR 6.6 billion (2024) and have main production facilities in 8 countries and sales in about 100 countries worldwide.

Greece's emergence as an energy infrastructure manufacturing hub is counterintuitive. The country is better known for tourism, shipping, and olive oil than heavy industry. But several factors converged to make places like Corinth and Thisvi ideal locations:

First, geographic positioning. Greece sits at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Port access to the Mediterranean enables cost-effective shipping of heavy products—steel pipes and cable spools—to project sites across three continents.

Second, technical education. Greek universities have historically produced strong engineering graduates, and the Viohalco industrial ecosystem created a cluster effect, with specialized technical knowledge concentrated in specific regions.

Third, the crisis dividend. The Greek debt crisis of 2010-2018, while devastating for many sectors, created opportunities for export-oriented manufacturers. A weaker euro and cost restructuring made Greek industrial products more competitive internationally at precisely the moment when global demand for energy infrastructure was accelerating.

By 2002, Viohalco companies' portfolio included a series of promising major investments including Bridgnorth Aluminium Ltd (United Kingdom), Stomana Industry S.A. (Bulgaria), Sofia Med S.A. (Bulgaria), Icme Ecab S.A. (Romania) and Corinth Pipeworks S.A. (Greece). The expansion across Southeast Europe wasn't colonial exploitation but rather a hub-and-spoke model—Greek expertise deployed to build manufacturing capacity where labor costs were even lower, while maintaining quality standards enforced from Athens.

For investors, the Viohalco governance structure offers both advantages and risks. Family control provides long-term thinking and willingness to invest through cycles. But it also creates potential conflicts of interest in related-party transactions and limited minority shareholder influence on strategic direction. Cenergy Holdings exists as a separately listed entity precisely to address some of these concerns—providing investors direct exposure to the high-growth energy infrastructure segment with enhanced visibility compared to investing through the broader Viohalco conglomerate.

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III. The Two Pillars: Founding Stories of the Subsidiaries

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A. Corinth Pipeworks (1969–2016)

Steel pipes might seem like a commodity business—cylinders of metal, indistinguishable from one supplier to the next. But in the energy infrastructure world, pipes are anything but commodities. The specifications for a deepwater offshore pipeline operating at extreme pressures bear no resemblance to a basic construction-grade hollow section. The certification processes can take years. A single welding defect in a subsea pipeline can trigger catastrophic failure and environmental disaster. This is an industry where reputation, certification, and technical capability matter more than price.

CORINTH PIPEWORKS started operating in 1969 and became a robust Group of companies, which manufactures medium- and large-diameter steel pipes used to transmit oil, natural gas and water. The company emerged during Greece's post-war industrialization, initially serving the domestic market and neighboring countries.

The transformative moment came in 2002, when the plant's construction was completed in 2002 and the facilities include two pipe production units, two exterior coating units and one internal lining unit. This wasn't merely a factory—it was a statement of intent. The Thisvi facility represented a bet that Greece could compete in sophisticated energy infrastructure manufacturing.

Geography proved crucial to the business model. Within the Industrial Area of Thisvi, where the plant is located, a port equipped with dock and port cranes, fork-lifts and other cargo loading/unloading machinery operates. The use of the port guarantees CORINTH PIPEWORKS reduced delivery times for raw materials and delivery of final products and also lower transportation costs. For customers shipping pipes to offshore installation sites, port-integrated manufacturing eliminates expensive overland transportation and reduces project timelines.

International Recognition: The Company is placed in international oil and gas companies' lists of approved suppliers and undertakes the steel pipe production for technologically demanding projects around the world. Getting on an oil major's approved vendor list is a multi-year process involving facility audits, quality certifications, test projects, and ongoing monitoring. Once approved, switching costs for customers are high—why risk project delays or quality issues to save a few percent on pipe costs?

Corinth Pipeworks' clients include ABB, Allseas, AnlgoAmerican, BP, Cheniere Energy, Chevron, DCP Midstream, Denbury, DEPA, DESFA, DNOW, E.ON, EDF, Enbridge, Energy Transfer, ENGIE, ENI, EPCO, EXXON MOBIL, GASCO, Gaz System, Genesis, KPO, MRC Global, National Grid, Noble Energy, OGC, OMV, PDO, PEMEX, Plains All American, Qatar Petroleum, Repsol, Saipem, Sapura energy, Saudi Aramco, Shell, Snam, Socar, Sonatrach, Spartan, Spectra Energy, STEG, Subsea 7, TechnipFMC, Terega, Total, Whitewater Midstream, Wintershall etc. This customer list reads like a who's who of global energy infrastructure—and each relationship represents years of qualification work.

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B. Hellenic Cables (1949–2016)

With 70 years of successful cable manufacturing, Hellenic Cables is recognized today as one of the leading energy transfer and distribution companies in Europe, renewables and offshore wind, telecom and data networks, construction and industry markets.

The evolution from basic copper cables to high-voltage submarine systems spanning hundreds of kilometers represents one of the most remarkable technical journeys in European manufacturing. Hellenic Cables started producing telecom cables in 1962. In 1973, the Company was incorporated as an independent subsidiary under the name Hellenic Cables, expanding its production and trade operations.

The submarine cable business requires extraordinary technical precision. A submarine power cable operating at hundreds of kilovolts must withstand crushing pressures, salt water corrosion, potential anchor strikes from ships, and thermal cycling over decades of operation—all while transmitting electricity efficiently across hundreds of kilometers.

Hellenic Cables has four cable production plants in Thiva, Eleonas and Corinth (Greece) and Bucharest (Romania), and two auxiliary production plants. The Corinth production unit is one of the largest and most advanced submarine cable factories in the world.

A critical acquisition shaped Hellenic Cables' future trajectory: Subsidiary Hellenic Cables S.A. acquired Fulgor S.A., increasing substantially its cables production capacity and expanding its product portfolio into medium and high voltage submarine cables. Fulgor S.A. brought submarine cable expertise and the Corinth production facility that would become the crown jewel of the cables segment.

Through its fully owned subsidiary Fulgor, Hellenic Cables operates its submarine cables plant in Corinth, Greece, where the production and testing of some of the longest submarine cable lengths without factory joints on a worldwide basis is empowered by the Company's state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.

The ability to produce extremely long cable lengths without factory joints is a critical competitive advantage. Every joint in a submarine cable represents a potential failure point. Longer continuous production means fewer joints, which means higher reliability and lower installation costs. This capability requires specialized facilities—continuous vertical extrusion towers, massive turntables, testing basins—that represent substantial capital investment and technical know-how that competitors cannot quickly replicate.

The Company is distinguished for its strong exports orientation and building long-term partnerships and links with major organizations in Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada and the United Kingdom. These aren't transactional customer relationships but long-term partnerships built on years of successful project delivery.

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IV. The 2016 Merger: Creating Cenergy Holdings

The creation of Cenergy Holdings in 2016 was a carefully orchestrated financial engineering exercise designed to unlock value while creating a focused vehicle for capital allocation to the high-growth energy infrastructure segment.

In December 2016, Cenergy Holdings S.A., a Belgian holding company obtains listing on Euronext Brussels and on Athens Stock Exchange, as a result of the completion of the cross-border merger by absorption by Cenergy Holdings of the Greek listed companies Corinth Pipeworks Holdings S.A. and Hellenic Cables S.A. Holdings Société Anonyme.

On Friday September 23, 2016, the Boards of Directors of (i) the Belgian limited liability company Cenergy Holdings SA, a non-listed subsidiary of Viohalco S.A., and (ii) Viohalco's affiliated Greek holding companies, Corinth Pipeworks Holdings S.A. and Hellenic Cables Holdings S.A., both listed on the Athens Exchange, decided to proceed with a cross-border merger by absorption.

Why Belgium? The structural considerations were both practical and strategic. Belgium offers a favorable holding company regime with extensive tax treaties, corporate governance frameworks aligned with international investor expectations, and enhanced credibility with institutional investors accustomed to Western European listing standards. The dual listing on Euronext Brussels and Athens Exchange maximized liquidity and investor access across different pools of capital.

The Cross-Border Merger will enable CPW Holdings and Hellenic Cables Holdings to group their financial leverage and business outreach, and thus to provide to the underlying industrial companies in Greece and abroad solid sponsorship and reliable reference when bidding for demanding international projects or seeking access restricted international financing. As a listed company, both in Brussels and in Athens, the company will present the international investor community with an opportunity to invest in a promising business sector under conditions of increased visibility and scrutiny. The ability of the company to access the international financial markets will help consolidate the underlying industrial Greek companies' achievements and secure long term employment for their highly qualified workforce.

The strategic logic went beyond financial engineering. Through their new partnership, Corinth Pipeworks and Hellenic Cables will be able to vie for larger projects which they would normally not be in a position to take on alone. Their access to better financing deals will also be made easier, while the partners stand as a more attractive and competitive business prospect for major international players. The development prospects of international interconnection projects over the next few decades stood as a key incentive behind this merger decision.

According to forecasts for 2050, the world's population is expected to reach 9 billion; electricity production will double; demand for interconnection projects in Europe will rise as a result of the region's energy security policy; while renewable energy and natural gas demand will rise as a result of the international climate change agreement reached in Paris. The 2015 Paris Agreement had just been signed. The energy transition was accelerating. The management team saw what was coming and positioned accordingly.

The merger timing proved prescient. Greece was just emerging from its debt crisis, with Greek assets trading at depressed valuations. Energy infrastructure demand was about to surge. By creating a focused, transparently governed vehicle for the high-growth segments, Cenergy attracted investor attention that might otherwise have bypassed Greek-listed industrial conglomerates.

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V. Key Inflection Point #1: The Submarine Cable Transformation (2012-2020)

The transformation of Hellenic Cables from a respectable regional cable manufacturer into a global submarine cable powerhouse represents one of the most consequential strategic investments in Greek industrial history. Since 2012, Hellenic Cables has implemented a EUR 350 million investment plan for the production of high and extra high-voltage submarine cables at the Corinth plant.

To appreciate the magnitude of this investment, consider the context: This was 2012. Greece was in the depths of its sovereign debt crisis. Banks had collapsed. Unemployment exceeded 25%. Most Greek companies were fighting for survival, not making multi-hundred-million-euro capital investments.

But Viohalco and the management team saw what others didn't—or couldn't afford to act upon. The offshore wind industry was about to explode. The UK, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands had committed to massive offshore wind capacity expansions. Every turbine installed in the North Sea or Baltic would need cables to transmit power to shore. Supply of qualified submarine cable manufacturers was limited. Demand was about to surge.

With an approx. EUR 65 million-investment plan, Corinth production unit becomes a state of the art facility and one of the largest and most advanced submarine cable factories in the world. High Voltage cable production line begins operations as well as the 2nd HV/EHV line up to 500kV.

The investment program included continuous vertical extrusion lines for cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation, specialized testing facilities capable of type-testing cables at extreme voltages, and expanded cable handling systems to manage the enormous weights and lengths involved in submarine cable production.

At the same time recognition as a worldwide supplier through the award of major contracts from leading European electricity transmission system operators (TSO), firmly establishes the Company internationally. The certification process with major TSOs like TenneT (Germany/Netherlands), Energinet (Denmark), and National Grid (UK) took years and represented a crucial moat against competitors.

Hellenic Cables recently implemented a EUR 200 million-investment plan for the production of high and extra high-voltage submarine cables at Corinth plant. The investments continued, expanding capacity as order book visibility improved.

The results validated the strategy. Hellenic Cables, leading provider of submarine cable solutions, has been awarded its biggest to-date contract for inter-array cables by DEME Offshore for the supply of approx. 650 km 66 kV inter-array cables and accessories to Dogger Bank offshore wind farm phases A & B, in the UK. Dogger Bank Wind Farm is located more than 130 km off the North East coast of England and is currently being developed in three 1.2 GW phases by joint venture partners SSE Renewables and Equinor. Dogger Bank will be the world's largest offshore wind farm when complete and will generate enough energy to power over 4.5 million homes every year – around 5% of the UK's electricity needs.

"This is a pivotal moment for our company," noted CEO Alexios Alexiou. "Being awarded the largest ever contract for inter-array cables is testament to our world-class manufacturing capabilities, following more than EUR 200 million investments in our Corinth plant."

The submarine cable investment exemplifies a critical lesson: Building industrial moats requires counter-cyclical capital allocation. Investing during a crisis—when competitors are retrenching and capital is scarce—can create insurmountable advantages when the cycle turns.

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VI. Key Inflection Point #2: The JCOE Investment (2013-2015)

While Hellenic Cables was transforming its submarine cable capabilities, Corinth Pipeworks was making a parallel strategic bet on advanced pipe manufacturing technology.

In early 2013, CORINTH PIPEWORKS S.A. signed a memorandum of understanding with the German Manufacturer of equipment SMS Meer, for the supply of a new pipe mill that will have the capability of producing natural gas and oil transmission pipes with external diameters ranging from 18" to 56", wall thicknesses of up to 40 mm, pipe lengths up to 18.3m, and Steel Grades up to X100, using the LSAW/JCOE production technique. By making this investment, CORINTH PIPEWORKS aims at expanding its product range in order to capture the fast growing global demand for high strength pipes that are used in the manufacture of offshore and onshore natural gas and oil transmission pipes.

The JCOE (J-ing, C-ing, O-ing, Expanding) production technique represents the state of the art in large-diameter pipe manufacturing. The process involves precision forming of steel plates into pipe shape through a series of mechanical operations, followed by submerged arc welding and expansion to exact specifications.

In 2013, Corinth Pipeworks (CPW) from Athens, Greece, commissioned SMS group to supply an 18-m JCOE® plant for longitudinally seam-welded large-diameter pipes. Only two years later, the first pipe was welded on the new plant. The large-diameter pipe plant is designed for a capacity of 400,000 tons of pipes, with outer diameters between 16" and 56", a wall thickness of up to 40 millimeters and a length of up to 18.3 meters.

"ShapeView" was used at CPW for the first time in the world—enabling an optimized control of the forming process in real time. Therefore, the new large-diameter pipeline at Corinth Pipeworks is the most modern in the world.

The investment paid immediate dividends when Corinth Pipeworks won a landmark contract for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). Corinth Pipeworks announces that the Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) has awarded to the Company a contract for the supply of large diameter pipes, for a total length of approximately 495 km, for the onshore part of the pipeline across Greece. The contract for approximately 270,000 tonnes of 48" diameter line pipe was awarded to Corinth Pipeworks, in partnership with the Japanese group Marubeni-Itochi Steel, following an international tender and a strict evaluation procedure.

Construction on the €4.5bn ($5.16bn) pipeline project was officially started in May 2016. The TAP project represented exactly the type of large-scale, technically demanding project that the JCOE investment was designed to capture. This new capacity of the large-diameter pipe plant is already being used: the contract to supply large-diameter pipes—LSAW (Longitudinally Submerged Arc Welded) as well as HSAW (Helically Submerged Arc Welded)—for a total length of approx. 495 kilometers was awarded by Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) to Corinth Pipeworks. The large-diameter pipes are required for the onshore part of the pipeline via Greece.

The significance of vertical integration cannot be overstated. The company offers—in one location—all welded pipe manufacturing methods (4 pipe mills) and pipe coating operations required for the supply of a complete on/offshore pipeline package. Customers can source their complete pipeline package—pipes, anti-corrosion coating, concrete weight coating—from a single supplier with integrated port facilities. This simplifies logistics, reduces interface risk, and strengthens customer relationships.

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VII. Key Inflection Point #3: The Offshore Wind Boom (2020-Present)

The investments made during the 2012-2015 period positioned Cenergy Holdings perfectly for the offshore wind boom that accelerated after 2020. The order book transformed from one dominated by island interconnections and traditional energy projects to one increasingly weighted toward offshore wind farm cables.

Greek cable manufacturer Hellenic Cables, owned by Belgian Cenergy Holdings, signed contracts with Ørsted and Eversource for the supply of inter-array cables for their South Fork Wind and Revolution Wind offshore wind projects in the United States. Under the contracts, Hellenic Cables will design, manufacture, test and supply some 260 kilometres of 66 kV XLPE-insulated subsea inter-array cables and associated accessories for the two offshore wind farms.

The South Fork Wind project has successfully powered up New York's first offshore wind turbine, a major milestone in the construction of the US' first utility-scale offshore wind farm in federal waters that will supply renewable electricity to about 70,000 homes in the state. Hellenic Cables was responsible for designing, manufacturing, supplying, testing and termination of 30 km of 66 kV XLPE-insulated subsea inter-array cables and associated accessories. The cables were manufactured at Hellenic Cable's state-of-the-art submarine cables manufacturing facility in Corinth, Greece. The delivery of South Fork Wind marks Hellenic Cables' first successful project delivery in the growing US offshore wind sector.

The Gennaker contract demonstrated Hellenic Cables' growing capabilities in export cable systems—the high-voltage connections between offshore substations and onshore grid connections. Hellenic Cables was awarded a contract by 50Hertz Offshore GmbH for the turnkey delivery of two export cable systems for the interconnection to the German grid of the Western Offshore Sub Station of Gennaker. The Gennaker offshore wind farm will have a capacity of approximately 927MW and is located in the German Baltic Sea. Hellenic Cables scope of works includes the design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of two export cable systems. The two export cable systems will include 80 km of 220kV submarine and 210 km of 220kV underground cables. The value of the contract is approximately € 450 million.

The Hornsea 3 contract extended Hellenic Cables' relationship with Ørsted to the world's largest offshore wind zone. Cenergy Holdings announces that Hellenic Cables signed a contract with Ørsted, the world's most sustainable energy company, for the supply of inter-array cables for the Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm. The scope of supply involves approximately 262 km of 66kV inter-array cables with XLPE insulation, comprising approximately 50% of the overall wind farm requirements. Manufacturing will begin in Q4 2025 in Hellenic Cables' state-of-the-art submarine cable plant in Corinth, Greece. With a capacity of 2.85 GW, Hornsea 3 will be able to produce enough low-cost, clean, renewable electricity to power over 3 million UK homes. When fully online, Ørsted's Hornsea zone—comprising Hornsea 1, 2 and 3—will have a total capacity in excess of 5 GW.

Poland's emerging offshore wind market opened new opportunities. Hellenic Cables has signed a new contract to supply inter array cables for the Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III offshore wind farms in Poland. The joint venture of Equinor and Polenergia have been developing the MWF Bałtyk II & III offshore wind farm projects in Poland. Hellenic Cables was appointed by Seaway7 as the key subcontractor for the design, manufacturing, testing and supply of up to approx. 205km 66kV submarine inter array cables and related accessories for these projects. The Bałtyk II and III wind farms extend into 122km2 and 117km2 areas, respectively, and are strategically positioned in the southwestern Baltic Sea within Polish waters. Hellenic Cables will manufacture the submarine cables at its vertically integrated state-of-the-art plant in Corinth, Greece.

Greek cable manufacturer Hellenic Cables has launched an investment program of approximately €80 million over a two-year horizon in order to address the growing demand for electrification. Capacity expansion continued to keep pace with order book growth.

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VIII. Key Inflection Point #4: Hydrogen & CCS Positioning (2021-Present)

While offshore wind drove the cables segment's growth, Corinth Pipeworks was positioning for the next wave of energy infrastructure investment: hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Through new technological solutions that allow the increasing use of renewable sources in the energy mix and the successful penetration of hydrogen technologies, carbon capture and storage, as well as energy storage, Corinth Pipeworks is ready for the energy shift. The technological solutions provided by products focus on the main pillars of energy transition which are gas, hydrogen and CCS technologies.

The Snam project in Italy represented a watershed moment. Corinth Pipeworks, the steel pipes segment of Cenergy Holdings, is executing with Snam, one of the world's largest energy infrastructure companies, orders for 440 km of pipes. The above orders are among the first high-pressure newly manufactured pipes certified to transport up to 100% hydrogen for a transmission gas pipeline in Europe. Following the framework of ASME B31.12 Option B, Corinth Pipeworks and Snam cooperation provides a technically and economically feasible solution for the safe transportation of hydrogen at high pressures through large diameter/high strength steel pipelines.

"We are very excited to be an innovative producer and early adopter, providing certified, large-diameter/high strength steel pipes for hydrogen transportation through a high-pressure network," noted Ilias Bekiros, CEO of Corinth Pipeworks. "The potential of hydrogen to build a sustainable energy mix in the future and achieve global decarbonisation targets is significant."

Corinth Pipeworks along with International energy infrastructure companies is leading the hydrogen era with the first high pressure gas pipeline network, certified to transport up to 100% hydrogen. Now we are going one step further by expanding our capabilities with our accredited testing center: a new state-of-the-art hydrogen testing laboratory. This laboratory is among the first of its kind for a pipe manufacturer worldwide, offering capabilities to address the need of the energy market for the development of a hydrogen network.

We are one of the leading manufacturers of steel pipes for the energy sector and the first, globally, to participate in the European Alliance for Pure Hydrogen (Hydrogen Alliance) as well as in Hydrogen Europe.

The carbon capture and storage market opened another avenue for growth. NEP and Net Zero Teesside Power have confirmed contracts with engineering, procurement, and construction contractors including: Linepipe – Onshore and Offshore – Marubeni-Itochu Tubulars Europe Plc with Liberty Steel Hartlepool, Corinth Pipeworks and Eisenbau Kramer GmbH as the nominated pipe-mills.

NEP expects to commence construction from the middle of 2025 with start-up expected in 2028. The infrastructure includes a CO2 gathering network and onshore compression facilities as well as a 145km offshore pipeline and subsea injection and monitoring facilities for the Endurance saline aquifer located around 1000m below the seabed. The infrastructure will transport and permanently store up to an initial 4 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

In the first six months of the year, Corinth Pipeworks manufactured and executed several significant projects such as: OMV Petrom's Neptun deep offshore gas pipeline in Romania (162Km of 30" LSAW pipes), Several pipes for Snam in Italy, including parts of the Adriatica gas infrastructure, the majority of which are certified to transport up to 100% of hydrogen.

Looking ahead, Corinth Pipeworks anticipates continued demand for natural gas infrastructure, which remains the dominant transitional fuel globally. In parallel, the energy transition is driving short-term demand for CCS projects and longer-term investment in hydrogen infrastructure—both areas where Corinth Pipeworks has established itself as a market leader.

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IX. The Business Model Today

Cenergy Holdings operates a relatively simple but strategically powerful business model: two industrial subsidiaries with differentiated capabilities serving complementary end markets, unified by a holding company structure that allocates capital across the group and provides financial and strategic oversight.

The company provides turnkey solutions, such as installation, repair and replacement, original equipment manufacturer, custom-adapted application, supervision, technical support, transport and storage, customer instruction and training, and spare parts for the maintenance of installed energy and telecommunications systems. It also provides onshore and offshore pipelines for transportation of oil, gas, and hydrogen, as well as carbon capture and storage applications.

It serves power grids, interconnections, offshore and onshore wind, solar energy, telecommunications and data transmission, oil and gas, and heavy industries.

The turnkey solutions model represents a critical differentiator. Rather than simply manufacturing and shipping products, Cenergy's subsidiaries increasingly offer integrated project delivery—from initial design and engineering through manufacturing, installation, testing, and commissioning. This captures more value per project, strengthens customer relationships, and creates switching costs.

Project-based vs. Commodity Business Dynamics: The key to understanding Cenergy's financial performance is recognizing that the majority of revenue comes from project-based work rather than commodity product sales. Project-based business has several distinctive characteristics:

• Visibility: Order backlogs provide 2-3 years of revenue visibility
• Margin variability: Margins depend on project mix, execution efficiency, and competitive dynamics at the time of bidding
• Working capital intensity: Large projects require significant working capital investment before cash collection
• Lumpy revenue recognition: Revenue recognition timing depends on project milestones and delivery schedules

Geographic Diversification: While manufacturing remains concentrated in Greece (with subsidiary facilities in Romania and Bulgaria), customer relationships span the globe. Major markets include the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Poland, and increasingly the United States.

Customer Concentration: The customer base includes major utilities, TSOs, oil and gas companies, and offshore wind developers. While individual contracts can be large, the diversification across end markets and geographies provides resilience.

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X. Financial Performance & Current Position

Cenergy Holdings' financial performance over the past several years tells a story of successful strategic execution against favorable market tailwinds.

Very strong margins: Adjusted EBITDA reaches EUR 272 million (+27% y-o-y) thanks to record-high 16.4% margin for the steel pipes segment while cables also grow their already solid margins. Top line growth: Revenue stands at EUR 1.80 billion, +10% year over year. Disciplined Balance Sheet: net debt of EUR 152 million and leverage ratio less than 1x. Solid backlog: Solid order intake in both segments throughout the year drives the order backlog to EUR 3.44 billion as of 31.12.2024. Higher dividends: Consolidated net profit after tax increases to EUR 139 million and allows for a proposed dividend of EUR 0.14 per share, +75% compared to previous year.

In the first half of 2025, Cenergy Holdings continued its positive results with adjusted EBITDA reaching EUR 171 million, a 43% increase over H1 2024. Revenue surpassed the EUR 1 billion threshold during the first half of the year with improved margins across all business units. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 43% compared with H1 2024 and reached EUR 171 million. Profitability was driven by efficient execution of awarded energy infrastructure projects and an improving sales mix with the steel pipes segment maintaining its strong momentum and boosting its adjusted EBITDA margin to 18.2% (2.1pp higher than H1 2024). As for the cables segment, it also strengthened its margin to 16.3%, up from 14.2% in H1 2024.

The steel pipes segment demonstrated an even stronger performance in the first half of 2025, with revenue reaching EUR 280 million and a record-high EBITDA margin of 18.2%, up from 16.1% in H1 2024. Profit before tax rose to EUR 40 million, marking a 53% increase. The order backlog remained solid at EUR 560 million.

Both Hellenic Cables and Corinth Pipeworks secured new projects that kept the Group's total backlog above the EUR 3 billion threshold (EUR 3.33 billion as of 30 June 2025).

Based on future performance estimates, corroborated by a strong order backlog, Cenergy Holdings expects its adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of EUR 310 – 340 million for the FY 2025.

The EUR 200 million capital increase completed in October 2024 represented a significant milestone. Koutalidis Law Firm acted as Greek legal counsel in connection with the 200 million share capital increase of Cenergy Holdings S.A., a subsidiary of Viohalco S.A., dually listed on Euronext Brussels and on Athens Exchange. The proceeds of the offer, which was oversubscribed multiple times, shall be used to finance the first phase of the construction of a cable manufacturing facility of the Group in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.

As a result of Cenergy Holdings' share capital increase, the completion of which was announced on 15 October 2024, Viohalco's voting rights in Cenergy Holdings decreased and dropped the 75% threshold, from 79.78% to 71.46% of Cenergy Holdings' voting rights.

The US expansion represents a major strategic bet. Hellenic Cables Americas will be building an approximately $300 million cable manufacturing facility at 3901 Asiatic Ave. in the Wagners Point industrial area in South Baltimore. The long-vacant 38-acre property, just east of the Curtis Bay neighborhood, is expected to see construction at the end of this year. Hellenic Cables Americas is a subsidiary of Belgian-based company Cenergy Holdings. During the construction period, Hellenic estimates hiring approximately 200 people in trades related positions. An estimated 120 new manufacturing jobs will be created when the factory is fully operational, toward the end of 2026.

Hellenic received a federal tax credit of up to $58 million from the Department of Energy as a Qualifying Advanced Energy Project.

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XI. Playbook: Business & Strategic Lessons

Cenergy Holdings offers several instructive lessons for students of industrial strategy:

The Power of Strategic Patience: The investments made during 2012-2015—at the depths of Greece's economic crisis—took a decade to fully pay off. Management didn't invest in response to current demand; they invested in anticipation of future demand. This required patient capital (provided by the Viohalco family holding structure) and conviction in a long-term thesis about energy transition.

Vertical Integration Advantages: In complex infrastructure projects, the ability to offer complete solutions from a single source provides compelling advantages. Corinth Pipeworks can supply pipes, apply coatings, and ship from its own port. Hellenic Cables can design, manufacture, test, and commission complete cable systems. This integration captures more value and creates switching costs.

The "Picks and Shovels" Approach: Cenergy doesn't develop wind farms or hydrogen production facilities. It supplies the infrastructure that enables others to do so. This approach offers several advantages: exposure to the growth trends without the development risk, diversification across multiple projects and developers, and recurring demand as the installed base grows and requires maintenance.

Greek Industrial Clusters: The concentration of manufacturing expertise in specific locations—Corinth for submarine cables, Thisvi for pipes—creates network effects. Specialized suppliers cluster nearby. Workers develop domain expertise. Universities orient programs toward industry needs. These clusters become self-reinforcing competitive advantages.

Family/Holding Company Governance: The Viohalco structure provides long-term thinking unconstrained by quarterly earnings pressure. This enabled counter-cyclical investment during the crisis years. However, it also requires monitoring for related-party transaction fairness and minority shareholder protections.

Capital Allocation Discipline: Management has demonstrated willingness to reinvest in capacity ahead of demand while maintaining balance sheet discipline. The timing of the 2024 capital increase—after demonstrating strong execution and with a clear use of proceeds (US expansion)—reflects thoughtful capital allocation.

Building Technical Moats: The multi-year certification processes with major oil companies, TSOs, and offshore wind developers create barriers that financial capital alone cannot overcome. A well-funded new entrant cannot simply build a factory and start competing for major projects—they must spend years qualifying with customers.

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XII. Porter's Five Forces & Hamilton's 7 Powers Analysis

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Porter's Five Forces

Force	Intensity	Analysis
Threat of New Entrants	LOW	Extremely high capital requirements (EUR 300M+ for a new submarine cable plant), multi-year customer qualification cycles with major TSOs and oil companies, specialized technical expertise that takes decades to develop, and need for vertically integrated facilities with port access create substantial barriers. A new entrant cannot simply build capacity and compete—they must earn the trust of risk-averse customers through years of successful project delivery.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers	MODERATE	Raw materials (copper, aluminum, steel) are commodities with multiple sources. However, specialty equipment has limited suppliers—SMS Meer for JCOE pipe mills, specialized extrusion equipment for submarine cables. Steel pricing volatility creates margin risk that must be managed through hedging or contract pass-through provisions.
Bargaining Power of Buyers	MODERATE-HIGH	Concentrated customer base of major TSOs, oil majors, and offshore wind developers like Ørsted have significant negotiating leverage. However, the project-based nature of the business, long qualification cycles, and technical switching costs provide some protection. Customers value reliability and execution capability, not just price.
Threat of Substitutes	LOW	No viable alternatives to submarine cables for offshore power transmission—the physics of electricity transmission over water require cables. Hydrogen pipelines have no substitutes for long-distance, high-volume transport. Alternative approaches (like shipping hydrogen as ammonia) address different use cases rather than substituting for pipeline infrastructure.
Competitive Rivalry	MODERATE	Three main players: NKT, Nexans and Prysmian have shared more than 75% of offshore wind export cable awarded length since 2016. Again, just three companies have the lion's share of the array cable market with JDR, Prysmian and Hellenic Cables taking 80% of the awarded length in that time period. Oligopolistic market structure allows multiple winners in a growing market. Specialization (inter-array vs. export cables, different voltage classes) reduces head-to-head competition.

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Hamilton's 7 Powers

Power	Presence	Evidence
Scale Economies	STRONG	The Thisvi and Corinth facilities represent massive fixed-cost investments that would be uneconomical to replicate at smaller scale. Port access provides logistics cost advantages versus inland competitors. Production efficiency improves with volume, spreading fixed costs across more units.
Network Effects	WEAK	Not present in traditional sense. The business is fundamentally bilateral (manufacturer-customer) rather than multi-sided. However, reputation effects create self-reinforcing dynamics—successful project delivery leads to repeat business and referrals.
Counter-Positioning	MODERATE	Western European competitors (Prysmian, Nexans, NKT) face higher labor costs. Asian competitors lack proximity to European markets and qualification with European TSOs. Cenergy occupies a favorable middle ground—European credibility with Greek cost structure.
Switching Costs	STRONG	Multi-year qualification processes with oil majors and TSOs create substantial switching costs. Technical certifications (hydrogen-ready specifications, deep-water capabilities) take years to obtain. Once a supplier is qualified and has successfully delivered projects, the risk of switching to an unproven alternative is substantial.
Branding	MODERATE	Brand matters less than technical reputation in infrastructure. However, the track record of successful project delivery—cables for Dogger Bank, pipes for TAP, hydrogen certification for Snam—creates competitive advantage through demonstrated capability.
Cornered Resource	MODERATE	Through its fully owned subsidiary Fulgor, Hellenic Cables operates its submarine cables plant in Corinth, Greece, where the production and testing of some of the longest submarine cable lengths without factory joints on a worldwide basis is empowered by the Company's state-of-the-art facilities and equipment. The ability to produce exceptionally long cable lengths without joints is a specialized capability. The industrial clusters in Corinth/Thisvi represent accumulated human capital that cannot be quickly replicated elsewhere.
Process Power	STRONG	Decades of manufacturing know-how are embedded in processes, procedures, and institutional knowledge. Vertical integration from raw materials to installation requires process excellence across multiple domains. The ability to coordinate complex projects—design, manufacturing, testing, logistics, installation—represents accumulated process knowledge.

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Competitive Positioning

Key Market Players in submarine power cables include Prysmian Group, Nexans SA, Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited, NKT A/S, LS Cable & System Ltd, Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd, ZTT, KEI Industries Limited, TFKABLE, Taihan Cable & Solution Co., Ltd, Hengtong Group Co., Ltd, Tratos, Hydro Group, The Okonite Company, and Hellenic Cables.

The submarine power cables market is partially consolidated, due to the small number of companies operating in the industry. The key players in this market include Prysmian Group, NKT A/S, Nexans SA, Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited.

Hellenic Cables has carved out a strong position in the inter-array cable segment while selectively competing in export cables. This focused positioning—rather than attempting to compete head-to-head across all product categories with the largest global players—represents a sustainable strategic choice.

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XIII. Key Metrics to Monitor

For long-term fundamental investors tracking Cenergy Holdings' ongoing performance, three metrics matter most:

1. Order Backlog (EUR billions): The order backlog provides the clearest leading indicator of future revenue and earnings. For a project-based business with 2-3 year execution cycles, the backlog offers visibility into capacity utilization and revenue for the coming years. A stable or growing backlog indicates continued market demand and successful competitive positioning. A declining backlog would signal potential future revenue pressure.

2. Adjusted EBITDA Margin (% of revenue): The progression of margins reflects execution quality, project mix, and competitive intensity. Strong margins indicate successful delivery on existing contracts and favorable pricing on new awards. Margin compression could signal competitive pressure, execution challenges, or unfavorable contract terms accepted to maintain volume.

3. Net Debt / Adjusted EBITDA (leverage ratio): Given the capital-intensive nature of the business and ongoing investment requirements, balance sheet discipline is essential. The sub-1x leverage achieved in 2024 provides substantial financial flexibility for continued investment, acquisition opportunities, or resilience through any cyclical downturn.

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XIV. Risks and Considerations

Project Execution Risk: The multi-hundred-million-euro contracts that drive Cenergy's financial performance also represent concentration risk. Cost overruns, delays, or quality issues on major projects could materially impact financial results and reputation.

Customer Concentration: A significant portion of revenue comes from a relatively small number of large customers. The financial health and capital allocation priorities of major offshore wind developers like Ørsted, as well as TSOs and oil majors, directly impact Cenergy's order intake.

Commodity Price Volatility: Steel, copper, and aluminum prices can fluctuate significantly. While contracts typically include price escalation or pass-through mechanisms, timing mismatches and hedging imperfections create margin risk.

Energy Transition Timing: While the long-term trajectory toward renewable energy and clean infrastructure appears robust, the pace of transition depends on policy support, permitting processes, and technology development. Delays in offshore wind project approvals or hydrogen infrastructure investment could slow order intake.

Related-Party Considerations: Cenergy operates within the broader Viohalco group structure. Investors should monitor related-party transactions and ensure arm's-length pricing and terms.

US Expansion Execution: The Baltimore manufacturing facility represents a significant capital commitment in a new geography. Construction, permitting, workforce development, and customer acquisition in the US market introduce execution risk.

Competitive Dynamics: The submarine cable market has attracted substantial capacity investment from established players and new entrants. Manufacturers are feeling the pressure and taking the opportunity to build new cable plants in the USA (Nexans, Rise Light & Power, Prysmian), Europe (JDR, TKF, XLCC) and Taiwan (NKT). Capacity additions could create pricing pressure once current supply tightness eases.

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XV. Conclusion

Cenergy Holdings represents an unusual combination: Greek industrial heritage, Belgian corporate structure, and positioning at the heart of global energy transition infrastructure. The story is one of strategic patience—investments made during crisis years that required a decade to fully reward shareholders, but which created competitive advantages that cannot be quickly replicated.

The company operates in markets where execution capability and certification credentials matter more than price, where customer relationships are measured in decades rather than quarters, and where the technical barriers to entry protect incumbents from well-funded new competitors.

The secular tailwinds are compelling. Offshore wind capacity is expanding exponentially. Grid infrastructure requires massive upgrade investment. Hydrogen and carbon capture projects are moving from pilot scale to commercial deployment. Cenergy supplies the cables and pipes that make all of this possible.

The business model has proven its resilience through the Greek debt crisis, COVID-19 disruption, and the energy price volatility of 2022-2023. The balance sheet provides flexibility for continued investment. The order backlog provides visibility. The management team has demonstrated both strategic vision and execution capability.

For investors seeking exposure to energy transition infrastructure through a company with deep technical moats, long-term customer relationships, and management aligned through a family holding structure, Cenergy Holdings merits serious consideration. The "picks and shovels" positioning offers participation in energy transition growth without development risk, across multiple end markets and geographies.

The central question posed at the outset—how a Greek industrial spin-off became critical to European energy infrastructure—has a straightforward answer: decades of capability building, counter-cyclical investment during the crisis years, and strategic positioning at the intersection of multiple megatrends. The next chapter, with expansion into the US market and continued positioning for hydrogen and CCS, promises to test whether the management team can extend that track record.