Koen Vanthournout

Koen Vanthournout is co-founder and CEO of Orion Grid Technologies, a 2025 spin-off of VITO, KU Leuven and EnergyVille that develops data-driven decision tools for distribution system operators. Orion's tools use smart meter measurements to correct low-voltage grid records, detect problems like phase unbalance before customers complain, and specify the fix. They support planners with connection studies and investment scenarios, and operators with day-ahead congestion forecasts and dynamic operating envelopes. Before founding Orion, Koen led the research team at VITO and EnergyVille that developed this technology together with DSOs in Belgium and Germany. He is a second-time founder, having co-founded ENION, a provider of custom battery systems for SMEs, in 2017. Koen holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering and a Master's in Artificial Intelligence from KU Leuven, the two disciplines Orion's technology is built on.