DEME Group: The Belgian Dredging Dynasty Powering the Energy Transition

I. Introduction: Steel in the Water

On a crisp June morning in 2023, off the windswept coast of Martha's Vineyard, something extraordinary happened. DEME's flagship vessel Orion—a 216-meter floating giant equipped with a 5,000-tonne crane—drove the first steel monopile into the Atlantic seabed. "We can finally say it—as of today, there is 'steel in the water,'" declared Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Moeller. This first installed foundation marked a major step for the US as it advanced towards locally produced clean electricity and job creation for generations to come.

The moment represented far more than a construction milestone. Located 15 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Vineyard Wind 1 was slated to become the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States, with a generating capacity of 800 megawatts, providing clean electricity to power more than 400,000 homes. The project was expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.68 million metric tons annually, the equivalent of taking 325,000 cars off the road each year.

And at the center of this transformation stood a company that most Americans had never heard of: a 150-year-old Belgian dredging contractor named DEME.

DEME (Euronext Brussels: DEME) is a leading contractor in the fields of offshore energy, environmental remediation, dredging and marine infrastructure. DEME also engages in concessions activities in offshore wind, marine infrastructure, green hydrogen, and deep-sea mineral harvesting. As of September 2025, DEME Group's stock price stood at $152.20, with a market cap of $3.84B and trailing 12-month revenue of $4.67B.

The central question of this deep dive is deceptively simple: How did a company that started by dredging Belgian coastal waterways in 1875 become the world's leading offshore wind farm installer and a central player in the energy transition? The answer involves patient capital, strategic pivots executed with remarkable timing, technological supremacy in specialized marine engineering, and an ownership structure that prizes long-term value creation over quarterly earnings.

The company can build on nearly 150 years of experience and is a front runner in innovation and new technologies. While DEME's roots are in Belgium, the company has established a strong presence across all the seas and continents worldwide.

What emerges is a story of how geographic destiny, engineering excellence, and strategic foresight can transform a regional infrastructure contractor into a global powerhouse riding one of the most important secular tailwinds of our time. DEME's vision is to contribute to a sustainable future by providing solutions to global challenges: climate change, a growing population and urbanization, increasing maritime trade and environmental challenges. With a team of more than 5,800 skilled professionals and a fleet of over 100 specialized vessels, DEME is equipped to deliver innovative solutions.

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II. The Origins: Low Countries, High Stakes (1875-1974)

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Geographic Destiny

To understand DEME, one must first understand Flanders.

DEME is firmly rooted in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium. The region's unique location at the crossroads of Europe has led to great prosperity over the centuries. To facilitate economic growth in this low-lying land, a thorough understanding of hydraulic engineering and water management was crucial and this is still the case today.

This is not simply colorful history—it is the foundation of a competitive moat that has proven durable for over a century. The Low Countries—Belgium and the Netherlands—sit largely at or below sea level, existing only because generations of engineers figured out how to hold back the North Sea while simultaneously keeping ports accessible to international commerce. The Dutch have a saying: "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands." The same could be said of the Belgians and their relationship with the Scheldt River estuary.

The capital of Europe, Brussels, is also the capital of Flanders. Its unique location at the crossroads of Europe historically created great prosperity. But the prerequisite for that prosperity has been hydraulic engineering competence in dike construction, the fight against flooding, deepening maritime access, and port construction.

This geographic imperative created something remarkable: a concentration of engineering talent, specialized equipment, and institutional knowledge around marine works that has no equivalent anywhere else in the world. Four companies stand at the forefront: Boskalis, DEME, Jan De Nul and Van Oord. These dredging players and polder-builders made good have invested to provide the full range of offshore services required to build, install, and maintain offshore wind farms. They are the "Big Four" of wind.

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The Founding Companies

The story begins in 1875, when a Flemish civil contractor named Johannes De Cloedt made a pivotal decision.

Baggerwerken Decloedt en Zoon was established in 1875 by Johannes De Cloedt, a Flemish civil contractor who specialized in hydraulic works, beginning with maintenance dredging operations in the port of Oostende. The business was straightforward but essential: keeping the harbor navigable so that fishing boats and cargo vessels could come and go with the tides.

Around the same time, another enterprise was taking shape in Antwerp. Dredging International is a merger of two dredging companies in September 1974: Ackermans & van Haaren, and Société Générale de Dragage (SGD). Ackermans & van Haaren was established in 1852, Société Générale de Dragage was incorporated in 1930.

The group originated around 1850 from a Dutch company that evolved from land-based contracting to marine contracting and went on to specialize in marine engineering. At the beginning of the 20th century, the group extended its geographical scope from Europe to Latin America, Africa and Asia.

What distinguished these early Belgian dredging companies was their ambition. While many dredging operators remained focused on local maintenance work, since their early beginnings they have operated on a worldwide basis, on all continents simultaneously.

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Building Belgium's Maritime Infrastructure

The Scheldt River—the vital artery connecting the Port of Antwerp to the North Sea—became both proving ground and calling card for these emerging companies.

For more than a century, DEME companies have been involved in capital and maintenance dredging in the maritime approaches to the Belgian coastal ports as well as the fairway between Vlissingen and Antwerp. Between 1894 and 1911, Ackermans & van Haaren dredged some 25 million m³ when deepening the Belgian and Dutch stretches of the Western Scheldt, a high volume given the technology available at the time.

To put this in perspective: 25 million cubic meters is roughly equivalent to excavating the volume of eight Great Pyramids of Giza. And this was accomplished over a century ago, with steam-powered equipment and no computerized navigation or GPS positioning.

After the Second World War, DEME companies extended the port of Antwerp, both on the right bank of the Schelde during the major ten-year infrastructure programme (1956–1967) and on the left bank, for an entirely new port. In the Port of Antwerp DEME built the 500 × 68 m Berendrecht Lock, the largest lock in the world at the time, which was completed in 1989.

The international footprint developed early and impressively. Starting in 1903, Ackermans & van Haaren almost continuously executed infrastructure projects in Latin America. For ten years, the company worked on the port of Rosario (Santa Fe) in Argentina. In 1912, total volume handled at Rosario was estimated at 9.5 million m³ of dredging and 5.7 million m³ of reclamation. Other dredging works in Argentina in those years were executed at La Plata, Bahía Blanca, Puerto Belgrano, San Nicolas, Ensenada, Sorento, Quequén, the Paraná Delta, and the Matschwitz canal.

In the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, Ackermans & van Haaren built the military harbour, known as Emperor Peter the Great, between 1913 and 1917. In 1916, the company started construction of docks for the Russian navy at Sveaborg near Helsingfors (Helsinki), the capital of Finland.

For investors, the early history establishes a crucial pattern: DEME's predecessor companies were never content with local operations. The DNA of global project execution—managing complex logistics across cultures, currencies, and climates—was present from the beginning.

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III. Formation of DEME & The Ackermans & van Haaren Connection (1974-2000)

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The Consolidation Era

The 1970s brought consolidation that would shape the modern industry. A century later, in September 1974, the well-known Dredging International was created following a merger between two dredging companies: Ackermans & van Haaren and Société Générale de Dragage (SGD). Ackermans & van Haaren was established in 1852; Société Générale de Dragage had been incorporated in 1930.

The logic of consolidation was compelling. The dredging industry is extraordinarily capital-intensive—a single trailing suction hopper dredger can cost €100-200 million, and a cutting-edge cutter suction dredger even more. Fleet utilization is everything. By combining forces, the merged entities could optimize vessel deployment across a broader project portfolio, smooth out the inherent lumpiness of large infrastructure contracts, and invest in next-generation equipment.

Although DEME was officially established in April 1991, its roots date back well into the 19th century. DEME was established as a holding company of two Belgian dredging contractors: Dredging International and Baggerwerken Decloedt.

The choice of the name "DEME"—Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering—was itself revealing. By 1991, management already recognized that the company's future lay not just in moving sediment, but in a broader conception of marine engineering and environmental services. DEME's tagline is "Creating Land for the Future."

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The Shareholder Structure: Patient Capital at Work

The ownership structure of DEME warrants careful attention because it explains much about the company's long-term strategic orientation.

Ackermans & van Haaren acquired control over DEME and CFE at the end of 2013. This next step became possible thanks to the major progress made over the past few years in streamlining CFE's activities, with the civil marine engineering activities being transferred to DEME and the non-marine operations being discontinued.

Ackermans & van Haaren is a diversified group operating in 4 core sectors: Marine Engineering & Contracting (DEME, one of the largest dredging companies in the world - CFE, a construction group with headquarters in Belgium), Private Banking (Delen Private Bank, one of the largest independent private asset managers in Belgium, and asset manager JM Finn in the UK - Bank Van Breda, niche bank for entrepreneurs and the liberal professions in Belgium), Real Estate & Senior Care (Nextensa, a listed integrated real estate group) and Energy & Resources (SIPEF, an agroindustrial group in tropical agriculture). At an economic level, the AvH group represented in 2020 a turnover of 5.0 billion euros and employed 22,331 people through its share in the participations. AvH is listed on Euronext Brussels and is included in the BEL20 index and the European DJ Stoxx 600 index.

The Bertrand family's involvement through Ackermans & van Haaren is significant. Luc Bertrand is a non-executive Director of the Board of Directors of DEME Group NV since 29 June 2022. Luc Bertrand graduated in 1974 as a commercial engineer. He began his career at Bankers Trust, as Vice-President and Regional Sales Manager, Northern Europe. He has been with Ackermans & van Haaren as a director since 1985, where he joined as financial director in 1986 and was chairman of the Executive Committee from 1990 to 2016.

This ownership model—a long-established industrial holding company with diversified interests and no pressure to exit—creates conditions fundamentally different from private equity or short-term focused public market ownership. It allows for multi-decade investment horizons, patient capital deployment in emerging technologies (like offshore wind in the early 2000s), and resistance to the quarterly earnings treadmill.

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Environmental Expansion: The First Diversification

In 1999, DEME made a move that would prove prescient: consolidating its environmental activities.

DEME Environmental Contractors (DEC) was incorporated in 1999 as a merger of various DEME companies that were established in the 1980s: NV Soils was a specialised company for soil washing and in-situ soil remediation techniques; NV Silt had expertise in silt recycling and sludge treatment; and NV Bitumar focused on bituminous materials for hydraulic engineering and fibrous stone asphalt for coastal engineering. DEC is specialised in groundwater and soil remediation; sediment treatment; recycling and landfill techniques; environmental dredging; and the redevelopment of brownfields. DEC owns and operates seven permitted soil and sediment recycling centres in Belgium, including in the ports of Antwerp, Zeebrugge, and Ghent.

The environmental segment would prove valuable in multiple ways: it provided steady, recurring revenue from remediation projects; it positioned DEME favorably as environmental regulations tightened; and—perhaps most importantly—it signaled that management viewed sustainability as a business opportunity rather than merely a compliance burden.

In the field of environmental remediation, DEC (in its home country Belgium) executed the remediation of acid tar basins for Total in Ertvelde; the remediation of the former Carcoke Coking Works site in Zeebrugge; and the remediation and redevelopment of the 42ha brownfield 't Eilandje in Zwijnaarde. Abroad, DEC was involved in remediation works at the cyanide-contaminated former Gas Works site in Dublin Dockland, Ireland; at the Avenue Coking Works site near Chesterfield, UK; and the decontamination of the London Olympics 2012 site in Stratford.

The London Olympics 2012 remediation contract—cleaning up what was once one of the most polluted industrial sites in Europe and transforming it into the Olympic Park—showcased DEME's capabilities on an international stage. This wasn't just dredging; it was complex environmental engineering requiring chemical treatment, soil washing, and careful handling of legacy contaminants.

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IV. The Offshore Wind Pivot: A Strategic Masterstroke (2000-2019)

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The First Inflection Point: Entry into Offshore Wind (2000)

The year 2000 marked a turning point that would ultimately reshape the entire company. DEME started in offshore wind in 2000 and says it has completed over 350 projects including for foundations, cables, turbine installation, and rock placement.

At the time, offshore wind was barely an industry—more a collection of demonstration projects scattered across northern European waters. Turbines were rated at 1-2 MW (compared to 15+ MW today), foundations were experimental, and the economics remained challenging without substantial subsidies. Most major contractors viewed it as a niche curiosity.

DEME Offshore's activities started with landfall construction and rock placement. They took their first steps into the renewables sector more than 20 years ago, when 1.5 MW turbines were considered impressive.

What made a dredging company uniquely positioned for this emerging market? The answer lies in the convergence of multiple capabilities:

Existing Fleet of Specialized Marine Vessels: Dredging operations require sophisticated vessels capable of precise positioning in challenging marine environments. These same capabilities—heavy lift, dynamic positioning, working in open ocean conditions—translated directly to offshore wind installation.

Deep Expertise in Working at Sea: Decades of executing complex projects in difficult marine conditions had developed institutional knowledge about weather windows, marine logistics, and offshore construction management that pure-play newcomers lacked.

Understanding of Seabed Preparation and Foundations: Dredging is fundamentally about understanding and modifying seabeds. Installing monopile foundations for wind turbines requires similar expertise—assessing soil conditions, preparing sites, and managing the interaction between heavy structures and marine sediments.

Engineering Culture and Project Management Capabilities: Major dredging projects like port developments involve coordinating multiple vessels, managing complex supply chains, and executing against tight schedules—exactly what offshore wind farm construction demands.

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Building the Offshore Capability

The man who would become the architect of DEME's offshore wind dominance was Luc Vandenbulcke.

Luc Vandenbulcke graduated as a Civil Engineer in 1994 at the Catholic University of Leuven. In 1996, he obtained a Master after Master as a Maritime Engineer at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. He started his career in 1998 as a Project Engineer for Hydro Soil Services, part of DEME.

He is the founder and CEO of GeoSea which, since its foundation in 2005, is one of the fastest growing and most successful activities of the DEME Group. As a contractor of complex marine engineering projects, including offshore wind farms, GeoSea realised a turnover of €1.01 billion in 2017.

Vandenbulcke's trajectory is instructive. He didn't arrive from outside with a mandate to build an offshore wind business—he grew up within DEME, understood its capabilities intimately, and recognized how those capabilities could be applied to an emerging market. GeoSea became the vehicle for this expansion.

DEME companies worked on construction of the first phase of C-Power's Thorntonbank Wind Farm, including offshore soil investigation, transport and placement of the gravity-based structures, erosion protection, cable-laying, and directional drilling. The Thorntonbank project, off the Belgian coast, was one of Europe's pioneering offshore wind farms and served as a proving ground for DEME's expanding capabilities.

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The Second Inflection Point: DEME Offshore Formation (2019)

By 2019, DEME's various offshore entities had grown so substantially that consolidation became strategically necessary.

DEME Offshore was founded in 2019 with the merging of the three former offshore companies of DEME: GeoSea, Tideway, and A2Sea. The company focuses on the renewables and oil and gas sectors. The portfolio of services for the renewables sector includes foundation, turbine and substation transport and installation, cable laying, operations and maintenance activities, engineering, procurement, construction and installation, and Balance of Plant contracts.

The merger brought together three distinct capabilities: - GeoSea: Foundation installation and heavy lift operations - Tideway: Cable laying and protection - A2Sea: Turbine installation and offshore logistics

DEME's Board of Directors announced that on 1 January 2019, Luc Vandenbulcke would succeed Alain Bernard as the company's CEO. Alain Bernard (aged 63) started working for the group in 1980 and had been CEO of DEME since 2006. Over the past 12 years he transformed the group from a purely dredging organisation into a diversified marine engineering group with operations worldwide. Under his leadership sales figures increased from €1.1 billion to €2.4 billion (2017), while DEME's fleet became one of the most innovative and diverse in the industry.

The transition from Bernard to Vandenbulcke represented more than a generational handoff—it was a strategic signal. The architect of the offshore wind business was now leading the entire group, ensuring that the growth engine would remain central to corporate strategy.

DEME Offshore is the leading global solutions provider in the offshore energy industry with a successful track record spanning more than three decades. Today, they are the number one offshore wind solutions provider in the world, capable of installing the latest generation XL foundations and 15 MW+ wind turbines, as well as offshore substations, inter-array and HVDC export cables.

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V. The Global Dredging Empire: Mega-Projects Worldwide

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Fleet Development: The Spartacus and Beyond

While offshore wind captured strategic attention, DEME continued investing heavily in its core dredging capabilities. The most dramatic example: the Spartacus.

DEME took delivery of its giant new cutter suction dredger 'Spartacus' from Dutch shipyard Royal IHC. With the signing of the handover, taking place on August 3, 2021, the construction process officially came to an end and the vessel headed to its first project in Egypt. 'Spartacus' sets a new benchmark in the global dredging market.

Spartacus measures 164 metres (538 ft) long and has a total power output of 44,180 kilowatts (59,250 hp), making her the world's largest and most powerful CSD. She is powered by four Wärtsilä 46DF and two Wärtsilä 20DF engines, which can operate on liquefied natural gas, diesel fuel, or heavy fuel oil.

The numbers warrant context: 44,180 kW of installed power is roughly 50% more than the previous record holder, competitor Jan De Nul's J.F.J. De Nul. Spartacus is a cutter suction dredger (CSD) that entered service in August 2021 for DEME. She is the largest and most powerful ship of her type in the world. DEME ordered Spartacus in March 2017 from Dutch shipbuilder Royal IHC to a design jointly developed by DEME, Royal IHC, and Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam.

Noting DEME's aim to make its fleet more sustainable, the company opted for LNG. The SPARTACUS is therefore the very first cutter suction dredger that can sail and operate on less polluting liquid gas. Royal IHC previously built the first hopper dredger on LNG: the Minerva, also on behalf of DEME. The use of LNG, together with all kinds of smart techniques for recovering energy, results in a CO2 saving of approximately 30 percent.

First project 'Spartacus' immediately set sail for its first assignment in Abu Qir, Egypt, where it participated, alongside many of DEME's trailing suction hopper dredgers, in the largest dredging and land reclamation project ever in DEME's history. This vast greenfield project includes the reclamation of 1,000 hectares of new land, the deepening of the port's approach channel to 23 m and the dredging of a turning basin to 22 m.

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The Orion: A Game-Changer for Offshore Wind

If Spartacus represented the pinnacle of dredging technology, the Orion embodied DEME's offshore wind ambitions.

DEME is very proud to announce that the revolutionary offshore installation vessel 'Orion' officially joined its fleet. This next-generation vessel brings a game-changing installation concept to the offshore energy market. DEME is honoured that Mrs Amélie Michel, spouse of Mr Charles Michel, President of the European Council, has agreed to be the godmother of this unique new vessel. In a traditional DEME naming ceremony, Mrs Michel wished 'Orion' and the crew a safe journey.

'Orion' is equipped with a powerful, 5,000-tonne crane and is designed to handle the enormous turbines and foundations of the future. With a total installed power of 44,180 kW and at 216.5 m long, the vessel has a large unobstructed deck and a deadweight that has been maximised so it can handle the heaviest components. A vessel like 'Orion' has never been seen before.

The Orion's capabilities proved transformative for offshore wind installation. DEME's flagship 'Orion' completed monopile installation works on Ocean Winds' Moray West offshore wind farm project in Scotland. Despite harsh winter conditions, DEME swiftly installed 29 monopiles in approximately two months. Meanwhile, DEME's DP2 jack-up vessel 'Apollo' is installing the transition pieces. The Moray West offshore wind farm, developed by Ocean Winds in Scotland's Moray Firth, will generate 882 MW, powering over 1.3 million homes.

Orion transported the 29 monopiles, which weigh up to 2,000 tonnes each, from the port of Invergordon and installed them in full DP mode, without the use of anchors. This is remarkable: installing structures weighing more than a fully loaded Boeing 747, in open ocean conditions, without anchoring—a testament to the vessel's dynamic positioning capabilities.

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The Competitive Landscape: "The Big Four"

Understanding DEME requires understanding its competitive context. The global dredging industry is dominated by what industry observers call "The Big Four"—all headquartered within a few hundred kilometers of each other in the Low Countries.

The Big Four share many similarities – these are all well-established companies with deep roots in the low countries. Van Oord is the oldest of the four, founded by Govert van Oord in 1868. DEME emerged from the consolidation of various Belgian marine and coastal works businesses, starting in 1880 when the contractors Nicolaas van Haaren and Hendrik-Willem Ackermans established a gravel and dredging business in Antwerp. It was incorporated in 1924 and became the core asset of what is nowadays the Belgian investment company Ackermans and van Haaren, which remains one of the two shareholders in DEME.

Jan De Nul Group is a family-owned company, originally from Belgium, with a financial headquarters in Luxembourg. Its four main activities are Offshore Energy, Dredging Solutions, Construction Projects and Planet Redevelopment. Founded in 1938 in Hofstade, near Aalst, Belgium, Jan De Nul started as a construction company specialised in civil works and maritime construction. It was only in 1951 that the company entered into the dredging business. Recently, it has forayed into offshore wind business. At the end of 2023, Jan De Nul had 7,491 employees and a yearly turnover of 2.9 billion euro.

European dredging companies are more concerned than ever about Chinese competition in the global market and in particular in the European home market of the four largest European dredging contractors, Boskalis, Van Oord, Jan De Nul and DEME. In public tenders for large dredging projects, CCCC-CHC-CDC, a Chinese state-owned company, bids at prices that are sometimes 31.8 per cent lower than those of European competitors.

An example of how the Chinese operate is the tender for dredging work to deepen the Elbe River. In May 2021, European contractors were surprised by the Chinese dredging combination of CCCC-CHEC-CDC with a bid (€31.93 million) that was 31.88 per cent lower than the number two, the combination of Belgian DEME (€46.87 million). Jan De Nul and Boskalis were slightly above with bids of €50 million and €50.4 million respectively. In the end, DEME got the project, partly because of the deployment of modern, more sustainable vessels.

The Chinese threat is real but nuanced. State-backed competitors can underprice European firms, but European dredgers maintain advantages in technology, environmental compliance, and—increasingly—in sectors like offshore wind where execution capability and track record matter enormously.

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VI. The IPO and Spin-Off: Unlocking Value (2022)

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The Strategic Rationale

On December 2, 2021, CFE's board dropped a bombshell that had been brewing for years.

Belgium-based marine contractor DEME is to separate from its industrial parent group CFE and go public on the Brussels stock exchange by summer 2022. The planned transaction involves the partial demerger of CFE by transferring its 100% stake in DEME to a 'Newco'. At the time of the partial demerger, all the shareholders of CFE would receive one Newco share for each CFE share in their possession. CFE said that a demerger should allow the marine engineering as well as the contracting and real estate activities to develop as two solid and separately listed companies, each with their own governance.

The logic was compelling on multiple levels:

Strategic Focus: DEME's global marine solutions business had little operational synergy with CFE's construction and real estate development activities in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Poland. Separate governance would allow each entity to pursue its distinctive strategy without distraction.

Capital Allocation Clarity: As a standalone public company, DEME could more directly access capital markets to fund its ambitious fleet expansion and growth initiatives. Investors wanting pure-play exposure to offshore wind and marine engineering wouldn't have to accept a bundle including Belgian construction.

Valuation Transparency: DEME's order book was at a record level of more than 6 billion euros at the time of the announcement—yet this wasn't fully reflected in the conglomerate structure.

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Execution and Market Reception

DEME Group started trading its shares on Euronext Brussels on 30 June 2022, following a partial demerger of Compagnie d'Entreprises CFE SA (CFE).

DEME Group was admitted on Euronext Brussels (Compartment A) through the admission to trading of the 25,314,482 ordinary shares making up its equity, following the partial demerger of CFE. On December 2, 2021, CFE announced its intention to split into two separate listed entities: DEME Group (global marine solutions) and CFE (construction, multitechnics and real estate development activities). The admission and issue price of DEME shares was set at €96 per share. Market capitalisation was €2.43 billion on the day of admission.

Luc Vandenbulcke, CEO of DEME Group, said: "The listing on Euronext Brussels will give the DEME Group the necessary and direct visibility to drive its strategy and ambitions forward. It will also unlock the full potential of the Group, and realise its true value. We are convinced the listing is a great opportunity for our company, our clients, investors, shareholders, and our entire team of employees."

Ackermans & van Haaren will remain the majority shareholder of the two listed companies with a shareholding percentage of 62%, which will not change as a result of this intended demerger.

In 2021 DEME realised a turnover of €2.51 billion and an EBITDA of €469 million.

For investors, the IPO structure was unusual—this wasn't a traditional IPO with capital raising, but rather a spin-off giving existing CFE shareholders direct ownership in the newly independent DEME. The approach minimized dilution while achieving the strategic separation.

The timing proved fortuitous. Just as DEME gained its independent public market status, the offshore wind industry was entering an acceleration phase, and the company's order book continued to build.

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VII. The Future Bets: Concessions, Green Hydrogen & Deep Sea Mining

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The Concessions Business Model

DEME's Concessions segment represents something more sophisticated than simply pursuing contracting work—it's about capturing value across the entire project lifecycle.

DEME Concessions is the investment and development arm of the Group. It invests in, develops, builds and operates greenfield and brownfield projects in three sectors: offshore wind, dredging and marine infrastructure, and green hydrogen. Besides creating economic value on its projects and generating equity returns on its investments, it also aims to secure regular activities for the Group contracting activities in the EPC phases of its projects.

This integrated model creates a flywheel effect: equity positions in projects secure contracting work, contracting experience improves project development capabilities, and operational track records support subsequent investment opportunities. It's vertical integration applied to infrastructure development.

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Green Hydrogen: HYPORT Duqm

DEME's most ambitious expansion into new territory is green hydrogen—specifically, its flagship HYPORT Duqm project in Oman.

Muscat, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. DEME, a leading international contractor and developer, and OQ, a global integrated energy group, signed a Project Development Agreement with Hydrom for the pioneering HYPORT Duqm project, which will produce green hydrogen and green ammonia. Hydrom is orchestrating Oman's national interest in green hydrogen, is fully owned by Energy Development OMAN and regulated by the Ministry of Energy and Minerals. HYPORT Duqm is being developed by DEME Concessions and OQ on an area of 150 square km. The area, which is part of the Special Economic Zone at Duqm, is designed to produce wind power and solar energy with a combined renewable power capacity of around 1.3 GW in Phase 1 and potentially over 2.7 GW when Phase 2 is realised. The first phase of the project is set to produce approximately 330,000 tonnes of green ammonia and more than 650,000 tonnes during the second phase.

The project attracted a major oil company partner. DEME and OQ recently reached an agreement to have bp as an equity partner and operator in the HYPORT Duqm project. bp will acquire a 49% stake, while OQ and DEME will each maintain a 25.5% stake in the project company.

The project is currently in its pre-front-end engineering design phase. Commercial operations are slated to begin in 2030 or 2031.

DEME HYPORT Energy, which brings together all of DEME's green hydrogen initiatives, is a key element of the company's sustainability strategy. As a proactive developer of renewable hydrogen projects, DEME HYPORT Energy aims to lead through early involvement, strategic partnerships, and comprehensive control across the entire value chain. The goal is to ensure that each project produces and supplies all necessary electricity and water, resulting in 100% green hydrogen molecules.

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Deep Sea Mining: GSR's High-Risk, High-Reward Bet

Perhaps DEME's most controversial strategic initiative is its deep-sea mining subsidiary, Global Sea Mineral Resources (GSR).

Global Sea Mineral Resources (GSR) is a subsidiary of the Belgian dredging group DEME. GSR holds licenses in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone for mining polymetallic nodules. GSR is working on a proprietary subsea collector vehicle, and has a joint-venture with Transocean to convert their "Olympia" deepwater drillship into a production support vessel.

Following the successful trial of GSR's pre-prototype seafloor nodule collector in 2021 at 4500m water depth, a key task ahead for GSR is a system integration test ("SIT"), scheduled for 2025. The SIT – for which the converted ultra-deepwater vessel shall be instrumental – will entail a trial of a full-scale seafloor nodule collector and riser to lift the nodules to the surface vessel.

Deep-seabed mining certainly won't replace land-based mining entirely, however, according to peer-reviewed scientific literature, these metals could be delivered with a 40% reduction of the carbon footprint, which is essential when combating climate change.

The partnership with Transocean is significant. Transocean said that it has agreed to contribute the stacked Ocean Rig Olympia for GSR's ongoing deepwater mineral exploration work, as well as make a small cash investment and to contribute engineering services on an in-kind basis. GSR intends to convert Olympia for a system integration test scheduled for 2025 to validate the technical and environmental feasibility of recovering polymetallic nodules in ultra-deepwater on a commercial scale.

GSR is a leading developer of nodule collection technology and in 2023 received an investment from Transocean, a global leader in the offshore drilling industry and well known for its ultra-deepwater expertise.

Deep-sea mining remains highly speculative and controversial. Environmental groups have raised serious concerns about ecosystem impacts, and the regulatory framework from the International Seabed Authority remains incomplete. For DEME, GSR represents a genuine option on the future—potentially valuable if regulations clarify favorably and technology proves viable, but carrying meaningful execution and regulatory risks.

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VIII. Recent Developments: Offshore Wind Dominance (2023-Present)

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Record Financial Performance

DEME's financial transformation since the IPO has been remarkable.

Outstanding 2024 results with strong increases in turnover and profit, positive net cash, unmatched orderbook. Over the past two years, the DEME team has transformed this company, growing from 2.7 billion euro turnover and 474 million euro EBITDA in 2022 to 4.1 billion euro turnover and 764 million euro EBITDA.

Financial key figures for 2024: Orderbook reached 8,200.1 million euro, up from 7,581.8 in 2023 and 6,190.0 in 2022. Turnover was 4,101.2 million euro versus 3,285.4 in 2023 and 2,654.7 in 2022. EBITDA reached 764.2 million euro compared to 596.5 in 2023 and 473.9 in 2022. Orderbook stands at 8.2 billion euro at the end of the year, up from 7.6 billion euro a year ago. Group turnover grew 25% year-over-year to 4.1 billion euro, with solid growth in all contracting segments. EBITDA rose 28% reaching 764 million euro, or 18.6% of turnover, up from 596 million euro, or 18.2% of turnover for 2023.

Net profit increased by 77%, reaching 288 million euro, compared to 163 million euro a year ago. Unprecedented free cash flow generation in 2024, amounting to 729 million euro; resulting in a net cash position of 91 million euro at year-end from a net financial debt of 512 million euro at the end of 2023.

This swing from €512 million net debt to €91 million net cash in a single year is exceptional. It reflects both strong operational execution and the capital-light nature of DEME's business model once vessels are in the water—high utilization generates substantial cash flow.

Offshore Energy delivered an exceptional performance in 2024, with turnover and EBITDA growing two-fold since 2022. Turnover exceeded 2 billion euro, reflecting a 37% growth for the year, following a remarkable 57% growth in 2023. Driven by disciplined and effective project execution the EBITDA margin grew to 21.0%, fueling an 87% increase in nominal EBITDA.

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The Havfram Acquisition: Doubling Down on Offshore Wind

In April 2025, DEME announced its most significant acquisition in years.

Following the announcement on April 9, 2025, of its agreement to acquire Havfram, an international offshore wind contractor based in Norway, DEME (Euronext: DEME) successfully completed the acquisition. The transaction, valued at approximately 900 million euros, passed all customary closing conditions.

The agreement to acquire the company was announced in April with DEME highlighting that it would expand its footprint in the offshore wind energy market and enhance its positioning in turbine and foundation installations. Offshore wind energy is a fast-growing portion of DEME's business with the company highlighting to investors in the first quarter that offshore wind and offshore energy accounted for approximately €2 billion of its revenues in 2024 or nearly half the group's total revenues of €4.1 billion.

Detailing the designs, Havfram had said the vessels would have the capability of installing offshore wind turbines with a rotor diameter of more than 300 meters, as well as XXL monopiles weighing up to 3,000 tons at water depths of up to 70 meters. Capacities were optimized for high variable deck load and the extreme lift heights expected over the next decade. The crane would have a lifting capacity of 3,250 tons.

Havfram is currently building two WTIVs at CIMC Raffles in China. The first ship is expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2025, while the second WTIV is planned to be delivered in early 2026. Havfram already has an order book of approximately EUR 600 million, and this includes support for the construction of some of the world's largest offshore wind farms from 2026 to 2030.

DEME called the acquisition of Havfram strategic citing 90 percent utilization of its assets for offshore wind energy in 2024. The 90% utilization rate is the key context—DEME's existing fleet was essentially fully deployed, limiting growth opportunities without additional installation capacity.

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The US Market: Breaking Ground

DEME's US market entry represents a significant expansion beyond its traditional European base.

The Virginia project will follow DEME's installation of 62 turbines at the ongoing Vineyard Wind project off southern New England. Foss Maritime's U.S. flag fleet is slated to carry turbine components to that installation site. In all, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, in a consortium with underwater energy cable supplier Prysmian, represents a total contract value of $1.9 billion, the biggest thus far in U.S. offshore wind. It includes the transport and installation of 176 monopile transition piece foundations, three offshore substations, scour protection and the supply and installation of export and inter-array submarine cable systems.

DEME's DP3 offshore installation vessel Orion has departed for the United States to prepare for the installation of 176 foundations on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, following the wrap up of works at the 882 MW Moray West offshore wind farm in Scotland. DEME's flagship Orion vessel has completed monopile installation works on Ocean Winds' Moray West offshore wind farm project in Scotland.

The roughly 2.6 GW CVOW project will consist of 176 turbines, each designed to generate 14.7 MW. It is located about 27 miles (43.5 kilometers) off the coast of Virginia Beach and is expected to be the largest offshore wind farm in the U.S.

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IX. Investment Analysis: Bull Case, Bear Case, and Key Metrics

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Understanding the Business Model

DEME operates across four segments with distinct characteristics:

Segment	2024 Turnover	Key Driver	Risk Profile
Offshore Energy	€2.0B+	Offshore wind farm installation	High growth, project-dependent
Dredging & Infra	~€2.0B	Port development, land reclamation	Stable, cyclical
Environmental	~€340M	Soil remediation, brownfield redevelopment	Steady, regulatory-driven
Concessions	Equity returns	Offshore wind equity, green hydrogen	Long-duration, development risk

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Bull Case

1. Secular Tailwind in Offshore Wind: The Offshore Wind Construction Vessel Market was valued at USD 9.31 Billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 16.91 Billion by 2030, rising at a CAGR of 10.29%. DEME has positioned itself as the leading installer in a market that is structurally growing as governments pursue net-zero commitments.

2. Competitive Moats: The combination of specialized fleet (Orion, Spartacus, Yellowstone), 150 years of institutional knowledge, and established customer relationships creates barriers that pure-play newcomers cannot easily replicate. The Havfram acquisition further strengthens this positioning.

3. Balance Sheet Strength: The swing to net cash provides optionality for further acquisitions, fleet expansion, or weathering market downturns without distress.

4. Patient Ownership: Ackermans & van Haaren's 62% stake ensures strategic continuity without pressure for short-term earnings optimization.

5. Optionality from Future Bets: Green hydrogen (HYPORT) and deep-sea mining (GSR) represent meaningful options on emerging markets with substantial potential upside.

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Bear Case

1. Project Execution Risk: DEME's business involves complex, large-scale projects where cost overruns and delays can materially impact profitability. For a large offshore marine infrastructure project in Belgium, a loss to completion has been accounted for in 2024.

2. Offshore Wind Industry Challenges: Recent project cancellations and renegotiations by major developers (Ørsted, BP) reflect challenges in the offshore wind economics, including cost inflation and supply chain constraints.

3. Chinese Competition: In dredging, state-backed Chinese competitors can bid at prices 30%+ below European firms, threatening market share particularly in price-sensitive tenders.

4. Regulatory Uncertainty: GSR's deep-sea mining prospects depend on the International Seabed Authority finalizing regulations—a process that remains contentious and delayed.

5. Concentration Risk: Roughly half of revenues now come from offshore wind, creating dependence on a single end-market.

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Porter's Five Forces Analysis

Force	Assessment
Threat of New Entrants	LOW - Extremely high capital requirements (€100M+ per vessel), 150+ years to build institutional knowledge, established relationships
Supplier Power	MODERATE - Key suppliers include shipyards (Royal IHC) and equipment manufacturers; long-term relationships but limited substitutes for specialized equipment
Buyer Power	MODERATE - Major customers are utilities and governments with significant bargaining power, but limited alternatives for specialized services
Threat of Substitutes	LOW - No substitute for physical marine infrastructure installation
Industry Rivalry	MODERATE - "Big Four" oligopoly structure enables rational competition; Chinese state-backed entrants intensifying rivalry

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Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers Analysis

Power	Present?	Assessment
Scale Economies	✓	Fleet utilization improves with project volume; R&D costs spread across larger revenue base
Network Economies	✗	Not applicable
Counter-Positioning	✓	Traditional construction firms cannot easily enter without massive fleet investment
Switching Costs	Partial	Project track record and relationships create some stickiness
Branding	Partial	Reputation matters for safety-critical installations
Cornered Resource	✓	Specialized vessels (Orion, Spartacus) cannot be replicated quickly
Process Power	✓	150 years of accumulated operational knowledge

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Key Performance Indicators to Watch

For investors tracking DEME's ongoing performance, three KPIs are most critical:

1. Orderbook/Trailing Revenues Ratio: Currently ~2.0x (€8.2B orderbook vs €4.1B revenues), indicating visibility into roughly 2 years of work. Watch for trends in this ratio as an early indicator of demand shifts.

2. Offshore Energy EBITDA Margin: At 21% in 2024, this segment's margin reflects vessel utilization and project execution quality. Margin compression would signal either competitive pressure or execution issues.

3. Fleet Utilization: The Havfram acquisition was explicitly justified by 90% utilization. High utilization signals pricing power and demand strength; declining utilization would indicate overcapacity risk.

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Myth vs. Reality

Consensus View	Reality Check
"DEME is a dredging company"	Offshore wind now represents nearly half of revenues; dredging is important but no longer dominant
"Offshore wind is in trouble"	Project cancellations reflect developer economics, not installer demand; DEME's backlog continues growing
"Deep-sea mining is the future"	GSR remains speculative with substantial regulatory and environmental risks; option value, not core business
"Chinese competition will crush margins"	European dredgers maintain technology and sustainability advantages; DEME won Elbe project despite 30%+ higher bid

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X. Conclusion: Creating Land for the Future

Standing on the bridge of the Orion as it positions for another monopile installation, one can trace a direct line back to Johannes De Cloedt's first dredging operations in the Port of Oostende in 1875. The technology has evolved dramatically—from steam-powered bucket dredgers to LNG-fueled mega-vessels with dynamic positioning and 5,000-tonne cranes—but the underlying mission remains unchanged: reshaping the interface between land and sea to enable human prosperity.

DEME's 150-year journey offers several lessons relevant beyond the specifics of marine engineering:

First, geographic advantages compound over time. The Low Countries' existential need for hydraulic engineering created a cluster of expertise that became self-reinforcing. Companies that emerged from this environment didn't just inherit knowledge—they inherited an entire ecosystem of suppliers, educational institutions, and talent pipelines.

Second, patient capital enables strategic patience. The Ackermans & van Haaren ownership structure allowed DEME to invest in offshore wind from 2000 onward, before the economics were proven, and to build fleet capacity ahead of demand. Public companies facing quarterly earnings pressure rarely have this luxury.

Third, adjacent expansion beats unrelated diversification. DEME's moves into offshore wind, environmental remediation, and even deep-sea mining all leverage core competencies in marine operations. The company resisted the temptation to diversify into unrelated businesses where its expertise would have been worthless.

Fourth, sustainability can be competitive advantage. DEME's investments in LNG-powered vessels and environmental technologies aren't just ESG window dressing—they've helped win contracts (like the Elbe River project) where sustainability criteria matter.

Looking ahead, DEME faces genuine uncertainties. Can offshore wind's growth trajectory overcome current industry headwinds? Will Chinese competition eventually erode European dredgers' market positions? Can green hydrogen projects like HYPORT Duqm achieve commercial viability? Will deep-sea mining ever receive regulatory approval?

Given this terrific set of results, DEME is well able to navigate the future and continue to deliver on our strategic plans for a sustainable business. This level of performance is only made possible due to our exceptional employees and their determination, ingenuity and efforts to go above and beyond. Supported by nearly 150 years of marine engineering expertise, DEME is indeed in top form, and we are gearing up to celebrating this special anniversary in a year from now.

What's certain is that DEME enters its 150th anniversary year from a position of remarkable strength: an €8.2 billion orderbook, a net cash balance sheet, market-leading positions in both traditional dredging and offshore wind, and a fleet of specialized vessels that competitors cannot quickly replicate. Whether the next 150 years prove as successful as the first will depend on how well this Belgian dredging dynasty adapts to challenges that Johannes De Cloedt could never have imagined—from deep ocean mining to green hydrogen to the accelerating transformation of global energy systems.

The company's tagline—"Creating Land for the Future"—has taken on new meaning. Today, DEME isn't just creating land; it's creating the infrastructure for an entirely new energy paradigm. For long-term investors seeking exposure to the energy transition through a proven operator with a 150-year track record, DEME offers a compelling combination of current profitability and future optionality.

As one industry observer noted about the Big Four dredgers' pivot to offshore wind: they went from moving sand to moving mountains—of steel, concrete, and copper—to power the world's renewable future.