Based in Nivelles, EHP offers thermal control systems for the space industry. Founded in 2001 as a spin-off from Sabca, EHP has gone from strength to strength. Today, the Walloon company is a world leader in its sector and continues to develop new projects. Portrait of EHP.

Did you know? A Walloon company, EHP, is a world leader in heat pipes and thermal control systems for the space industry. Based in Nivelles, EHP began life in 2001 as a spin-off from Sabca and ULB. Over the past two decades, the company has gone from strength to strength. Since 2017, the French giant Airbus Defense & Space has acquired 51% of EHP, but this has not prevented the company from retaining its autonomy.  Of the thousands of EHP products flying in space, these have passed more than 150 million cumulative flight hours without a single quality defect. A testament to the quality of the Walloon company's expertise.

“We're active in the space sector, so all the products we manufacture are designed to go into space on satellites. There are two types of application. On the one hand, we produce heat management solutions. In space, it's very cold, but when you're exposed to the sun, it's very hot. What's more, the electronic components heat up, but there's no air to cool them down. At EHP, we produce a series of components and sub-systems that harmonize temperature and transport heat from one place to another. We call these Heat Pipes. Historically, this was the first product we developed. We also have Loop Heat Pipes, which are like radiators that transport heat using fluids,” explains Mathieu Lecleir, Programs and Business Development Director at EHP.

“We're also working on everything to do with propulsion. Satellites need to move through space to reach their orbit, since once the rocket has released the satellite, it still has thousands of kilometers to cover to reach its orbit.  To do this, there has to be a means of propulsion. We are developing propulsion systems which are like articulated arms with a motor at the end. At launch, the arms are folded onto the satellite, and once in space, they deploy. To give you an idea, the arms are several meters long”, continues our contact.

In addition to Airbus, EHP works with major names in the space industry and space agencies such as: Thales Alenia Space, OHB, OneWeb, the European Space Agency, CNES (Centre national d'études spatiales “ in France, Beyond gravity, Euro Composite, Northrop Grumman,...

“Today, 25% of our sales are in North America (USA and Canada). The rest is mainly in Europe. We have a few contacts and contracts in Asia, more specifically in South Korea and Japan”, adds Mathieu Lecleir. EHP has very few competitors in its sector. “We have one competitor in Europe, from Spain, and two in the United States,” he adds.  

EHP is a member of the Skywin cluster

EHP is a member of the Skywin competitiveness cluster: “Part of our business is research and development. Today, there are two main types of R&D projects: either projects linked to the European Space Agency, or projects linked to competitiveness clusters at Walloon level. So today, we have two projects underway with Skywin,” explains Mathieu Lecleir. He adds that being a member of Skywin enables us to benefit from contacts with the entire Walloon ecosystem.

With Skywin, EHP is making progress on a project to use 3D printing to cool electronic enclosures using a two-phase loop. The aim of the project is to develop a new thermal management technology for electronic enclosures, integrating a passive two-phase heat transport technology at its heart. The growing need for this technology is linked to the ever-increasing density and power of electronic components, as well as to the transition towards electrification.

In turn, EHP has developed its own spin-off called Calyos, based in Jumet and associated with the two R&D projects with Skywin: “At EHP, we develop products for the space sector. Calyos offers 'terrestrial' solutions for trains, cars, data centers and so on. It's also about thermal management, but the businesses are different in terms of volume and quality requirements”, concludes Mathieu Lecleir.

Isabelle Anneet (AWEX)