OPTIMUM CPV

Their core work

Optimum CPV (operating under the Plastic Omnium New Energies brand) is a Belgian SME specializing in high-pressure composite vessel design and manufacturing for hydrogen and compressed gas storage in automotive applications. Their core work centers on developing lightweight, high-performance tanks — including 70 MPa hydrogen storage systems for fuel cell vehicles and thermoplastic CNG tanks for commercial vehicles. They bring deep expertise in mechanical robustness, fire resistance, and safety validation of pressure vessels, positioning them as a specialist supplier in the hydrogen mobility value chain.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Optimum CPV's early H2020 activity (2018) focused squarely on physical product development — designing hydrogen and CNG tanks for vehicles through TAHYA and Polaris. By 2020-2021, their involvement expanded into digital reliability methods (iRel40's Quality 4.0, predictive failure analysis) and advanced hydrogen safety engineering (SH2APED's fire resistance, optical fibre monitoring). This suggests a maturing company moving from pure manufacturing toward smarter, data-driven product validation and tighter integration with hydrogen system-level safety requirements.

Optimum CPV is evolving from a tank manufacturer into a hydrogen storage systems integrator with growing capabilities in digital quality assurance and safety certification.

How they like to work

Optimum CPV operates primarily as a specialist contributor rather than a consortium leader — they coordinated one project (TAHYA) but more often join as a participant or third party bringing niche pressure vessel expertise to larger consortia. With 95 unique partners across 14 countries from just 4 projects, their network is remarkably broad, driven by participation in large-scale initiatives like iRel40 and SH2APED. This pattern suggests they are a sought-after specialist that larger projects pull in for specific tank and storage expertise.

Despite only 4 projects, Optimum CPV has built a network of 95 partners across 14 countries — largely through large consortium projects in the hydrogen and electronics reliability domains. Their reach spans Western and Central Europe with no single dominant partner geography.

What sets them apart

Optimum CPV sits at a rare intersection: they are an SME with hands-on manufacturing capability for high-pressure composite vessels AND growing digital reliability expertise. Most hydrogen tank companies are either large Tier-1 suppliers or pure R&D labs — Optimum CPV offers the agility of a small company with demonstrated ability to coordinate EU projects and deliver hardware. Their connection to the Plastic Omnium group (a global automotive supplier) gives them industrial credibility and potential scale-up pathways that few SMEs can match.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TAHYA
  Their only coordinator role with EUR 721K funding — a dedicated hydrogen automotive tank project that defines their core identity.
• SH2APED
  Targets next-generation 70 MPa hydrogen storage with advanced safety features (fire resistance, optical fibre monitoring), signaling their forward-looking R&D direction.
• iRel40
  A large cross-sector reliability project where their pressure vessel expertise meets digital Quality 4.0 methods — an unusual and valuable combination.