Qlayers Reports a Year of Global Growth, Innovation, and Strategic Progress
Qlayers Reports a Year of Global Growth, Innovation, and Strategic Progress
5 min
About Qlayers
29 December 2025
Delft, Netherlands — Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) has named Josefien Groot, co-founder and Chair of the Board at Qlayers, as its Alumnus of the Year 2025. The annual award recognizes alumni who have made an exceptional societal impact through innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
Groot is being honored for her role in co-founding Qlayers, a Delft-based deep-tech company that develops robotic coating technologies for large industrial surfaces such as storage tanks, ship hulls, and wind turbines. Qlayers’ automated solutions enable more environmentally friendly coating processes by reducing material waste, improving efficiency, and enhancing worker safety in hazardous environments.
A graduate of TU Delft’s Complex Systems Engineering & Management program at the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Groot demonstrated an entrepreneurial mindset early in her academic career, launching her first business at 19. During her master’s studies, she met technical co-founder Ruben Geutjens, whose research formed the foundation of Qlayers’ core technology.
Supported by TU Delft’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, including the YES!Delft incubator, Qlayers evolved rapidly from a student-driven initiative into a fast-growing international company. In 2022, the company moved into its headquarters on Ampèreweg in Delft, marking a new phase of growth and global expansion.
Today, Qlayers’ robotic coating technology is widely recognized and adopted worldwide across multiple industrial sectors. Its solutions are now able to deliver measurable environmental and safety benefits, including up to a 35% reduction in volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, 5-30% lower greenhouse gas emissions, and 80% reduction in exposure of operators to hazardous working heights compared to conventional coating methods.
According to TU Delft, Groot exemplifies the university’s mission to create positive societal impact through engineering and innovation. Her work continues to inspire the next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs to translate technological advances into practical, sustainable solutions. Read more.
The recognition marks a significant milestone for both Josefien Groot and Qlayers in addressing global industrial and environmental challenges.
“As co-founder and driving force, Josefien Groot has built the start-up Qlayers into a successful company that is making the world a better place. In doing so, she has fulfilled our mission of creating an impact for a sustainable society. She achieved this at a young age in just a few years. Her approach to technology and entrepreneurship is an inspiration to us all, especially the next generation of engineers.”- Jasper Peterich, director of Alumni Relations and University Fund Delft.
Qlayers is a technology company specializing in robotic coating solutions for large-scale industrial surfaces. By developing automated, eco-friendly systems, Qlayers helps industries reduce waste, improve efficiency, and enhance safety and quality in coating application processes.
For questions regarding this press release, please contact:
Thi Nguyen
thi@qlayers.com