from left to right: Robert de Groot, Vice President of European Investment Bank; Paul Heiden, CEO of Optics11; Freek Janmaat, Economics Counsellor, Representative in the Hague, of European Commission
- EIB provides €25 million venture debt financing to Dutch fiber-optic sensor innovator Optics11 for R&D on their technologies for civilian and defense applications.
- The EIB loan, supported under the European Commission’s InvestEU program, supports advanced fiber-optic sensing technology for energy and underwater security.
- Optics11’s technology set to revolutionize undersea monitoring capacity and resilience of high voltage grids, strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy and defense capabilities.
The EIB’s €25 million venture debt facility is more than financing, it’s a vote of confidence in Europe’s strategic autonomy and in protecting the infrastructure we all depend on. Optics11 exists to safeguard critical assets, and recent incidents across Europe have made clear how vulnerable our energy and subsea networks can be.
At our core, we’re exceptionally good at listening and, uniquely, we listen with light. Our fiber-optic sensing detects subtle signatures long before failures become outages, from high-voltage grid assets to subsea infrastructure. That early warning creates something rare and valuable: time. Time to assess, coordinate, and respond proportionally, a critical advantage in today’s world where threats are often ambiguous and decisions must be both fast and considered.
PRESS RELEASE
LUXEMBOURG, AMSTERDAM, January 15, 2026 | The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €25 million venture debt financing agreement with Dutch fiber-optic sensor innovator Optics11. The company uses advanced fibre-optic sensing technology with applications in two core critical sectors for European strategic autonomy: Energy and Underwater Security.
Optics11’s technology enables ultra-sensitive vibration and acoustic monitoring in harsh environments, supporting missions such as submarine monitoring, border surveillance, and structural health monitoring of naval assets and electricity networks.
The EIB backing for Optics11 is supported under the European Commission’s InvestEU program.
“Our continent is working hard to make sure it can hold its own in many different fields, but we need to support the companies that can make that happen.” said EIB Vice-President Robert de Groot. “From the energy sector to security and defense capabilities, we need to be able to have the best technology for known and unknown threats. In short, the solutions developed by Optics11 are providing Europe with critical solutions and competitive advantages for the world that is coming.”
“Disruptions to subsea infrastructure, maritime trade or failures in high-voltage grids have immediate and far-reaching consequences on our society,” said Optics11 CEO Paul Heiden. “With this EIB financing, Optics11 accelerates the deployment of unique fiber-optic sensing technologies that protect the infrastructure so essential to Europe’s security and energy resilience.”
Optics11 will use the EIB venture debt financing to accelerate the productization and Europe-wide adoption of its unique monitoring technology to protect critical infrastructure where it is at its most vulnerable: underwater and within high-voltage grids. The uninterrupted supply of power, oil, gas and data on land and subsea, as well as uninterrupted maritime trade – 70% of Europe’s trade volume – are cornerstones of our prosperity and our ability to protect ourselves.
END OF RELEASE
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This agreement helps accelerate the adoption of breakthrough technology in sectors where reliability is non-negotiable and decision cycles are complex. In energy and underwater security, customers don’t buy components in isolation; they buy capabilities as part of larger systems, and suppliers must earn trust across demanding supply chains. We’re grateful to the end customers who helped incubate Optics11’s technology in real conditions, and to the partners who strengthen our position in complex ecosystems.
Background Information:
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. The Netherlands owns a 5,2% share of the EIB. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals and national priorities. More than 90% of its activity is in Europe. Over the years, the EIB has made available more than €36 billion in financing for Dutch projects in various sectors including social infrastructure, research & development, sustainable mobility, drinking water, healthcare and SMEs.
The InvestEU program provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilize private investment for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments previously available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The program consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is deployed through implementing partners who will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilize at least €372 billion in additional investment.
About Optics11
Optics11 is the world leader in fiber-optic sensing technology for ultra-sensitive early warning systems. Operating from the Netherlands, a country renowned for high-tech industry and maritime innovation, Optics11 works passionately to help protect our sea-lanes, critical offshore infrastructure, and energy supply against disruption.
Download the press kit here. Photos & official Press release in English and Dutch available. All images are owned by Optics11; editorial use with credit permitted.
For further information, please contact:
Media and Investor Contacts:
EIB: Tim Smit | +352 691 286423 | t.smit@eib.org
Optics11: Jasper van Laanen | +31 (0)6 26 46 77 94 | jasper.vanlaanen@optics11.com
European Commission: Koen Blankenstijn | +31 (0)6 82 62 41 51 | koen.blankenstijn@ec.europa.eu
