Automotive components made in Luxembourg

Transcription

focus
N° 1 / 2008
on Research & Innovation in Luxembourg
Automotive components
made in Luxembourg
A dynamic knowledge - based economy
Pages 4 - 7
www.innovation.public.lu
Towards public research excellence
Pages 27 - 33
Editorial
Table of Contents
So this is Luxembourg
An interview with Minister
Jeannot Krecké
04
Innovative spaces
08
News from innovative
Luxembourg
10
Automotive sector
At the heart of the car
components revolution
13
Goodyear
16
Delphi Powertrain
17
IEE
18
ELTH
19
EmTroniX and Raval Europe 20
Entrepreneurship and
innovation
News
21
AxoGlia Therapeutics
23
Photovoltaics Laboratory
24
Mangrove Capital Partners 26
Public research
An interview with Minister
François Biltgen
27
The University
of Luxembourg
28
Public research centres
and programmes
31
10 questions for …
Ceratizit
34
EMEA Husky Injection
Molding Systems
35
Did you know it’s from
36
Luxembourg ?
Useful contacts
38
Editorial
The globalisation of the world economy has turned research and innovation into key
factors for competitiveness and sustainable economic growth. The Grand Duchy of
Luxembourg, located in the heart of Europe, is seizing the opportunities and rising to the
challenge presented by this development by enhancing its already strong activities in the
areas of research, development and innovation.
With this first issue of FOCUS on Research and Innovation in Luxembourg, Luxinnovation,
the National Agency for Innovation and Research, is proud to present the activities of
the Grand Duchy in this field to a wide international audience. Renowned as a financial
centre and founding member of the European Union, Luxembourg is also an attractive
and dynamic location for research and business. Its involvement in international research
collaboration carried out, for example, in the context of the European Union’s framework programmes for research and technological development and on behalf of the
European Space Agency is steadily increasing. In addition, the European Innovation
Scoreboard 2007 confirms that Luxembourg is well on the way to claiming its place
among the European countries which can document a strong innovation performance in
both the service and the industrial sectors.
This favourable business climate has led entrepreneurs to set up their innovative
businesses in the Grand Duchy and is equally attractive to more established companies.
Did you know that one of Luxembourg’s strongest industrial sectors is that of automotive components? One of the main reasons for this is that international corporations such
as Goodyear, Delphi and IEE have all chosen to locate major research and development
centres in Luxembourg. The headquarters as well as several production and research
facilities of the world’s leading steel company, ArcelorMittal, are also located here.
The government’s determination to reinforce research and innovation in Luxembourg is
manifested by a considerable increase in public investment in this field, as well as by the
establishment of the University of Luxembourg in 2003. This young institution is already
active on the international research scene, showing a strong orientation towards applied
research and business collaboration similar to that of Luxembourg’s specialised Public
Research Centres.
Luxinnovation plays a crucial role as promoter of research and innovation in the Grand
Duchy. Its mission is to provide strategic information, advice and support to companies and research institutions, thereby facilitating their access to knowledge, financing,
technologies and business opportunities. This provides the agency with a privileged
insight into the country’s research and innovation capabilities, which it now wants to
share with the readers of FOCUS. We welcome you to this first edition of FOCUS and invite you to discover research and innovation “made in Luxembourg” !
Marco Walentiny
Chairman Luxinnovation
National Agency for Innovation and Research
Focus 2008
03
Luxembourg’s talent in exploring
lucrative niches has turned it into one of
the wealthiest countries in the world in
terms of GDP per capita. Although it is
the financial sector which has powered
the latest growth, the country also
has a proud tradition of excellence in
manufacturing and high-tech services.
The country has decided to strengthen
activity in this area and thus to promote
innovation through research and
development, a policy that is beginning
to bear fruit. We spoke to Jeannot
Krecké, Minister of the Economy and
Foreign Trade, about what makes the
Grand Duchy so attractive for high-end
innovation projects.
Jeannot Krecké, Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade
Ministry of the Economy
and Foreign Trade
Directorate of Research and
Innovation
+ 352 24 78 41 28
innovation@eco.public.lu
www.eco.public.lu
“Quality and highly innovative products are
the ones we are focusing on”, the Minister
explains. “We cannot compete with the new
EU member states and Asia in terms of cost,
but we excel in developing highly specialised knowledge and spotting development
niches. I always tell prospective investors
that they have to be among the best in their
field or they will not be successful here.”
Small but with excellent vision
“Luxembourg’s small
size is the key to its
success”
04 I
Focus 2008
“Luxembourg’s small size is the key to its
success,” Minister Krecké says. With only half
a million inhabitants living on 2,586 sqkm of
land where France, Germany and Belgium
meet, “the people have no choice but to look
outwards, as befits a founding member of
the European Union”. Until the 1970s, the
country thrived as its steel industry exploited
markets within easy reach in the neighbouring
countries. However, anticipating the arrival
of the steel crisis and eager to diversify away
from an economy dominated by this monolithic sector, the government instituted a
plan to attract foreign businesses.
By the 1980s, there was a push to promote
a private banking sector. Luxembourg now
accounts for around 15 % of market share. By
the early 1990s the Grand Duchy had become
a globally renowned hub for investment fund
administration, and it is currently ranked
second in the world. A skilled workforce
of people working in banks, funds and
insurance companies has created a particularly developed finance industry.
A highly varied economy
Although finance and the related business
services account for an important share of
wealth creation, there is substantial depth
and variety in the economy. The Grand
Duchy’s steel industry is now one of the
most sophisticated on the planet, and home
to the headquarters of the world’s leading
steel company, ArcelorMittal. Twenty-five
years ago, Luxembourg was quick to grasp
the potential of satellite communications,
spawning the company which was to
become SES, which has its global headquarters and its European satellite operations in
the Grand Duchy. More recently, Skype used
Luxembourg as its base for its revolutionary web telephony service which has taken
the world by storm. Then there is a varied
automotive sector, a business which will be
reviewed in this issue of FOCUS. All this has
made Luxembourg a very wealthy country.
Successful in any language
So what are the ingredients that have gone
into creating this diverse, knowledge-based,
competitive and dynamic economic base ?
“Two of Luxembourg’s big advantages are
linked,” Minister Krecké notes. A central
location at the heart of north-western Europe
encourages multilingualism, with English,
French and German being widely spoken.
Many other nationalities are also present
with the population expanding by nearly
1 % per annum, so that now over 42 % of the
population is non-Luxembourgish. This enables businesses to hire staff who can talk to
partners and clients in their mother tongues.
Immigrants tend to either have very high
or quite low levels of educational achievement, depending on the type of work they
are seeking. They are also attracted by the
high quality of life, as the country is easy to
get around in and largely rural whilst also
providing excellent cultural opportunities.
As well as the resident workforce, Luxembourg attracts commuters from neighbouring countries. Around 150,000 non-residents,
usually with an above-average educational
profile, come to the Grand Duchy to work
each day, representing 44 % of the total
workforce.
The steady heart of Europe
“The central location is important in terms
of market access too,” remarks the Minister,
“with about half of the old EU15’s GDP lying
in a ‘banana’ shape stretching from the
southern UK, through the Benelux, Germany
and France to Northern Italy and Spain.”
Also, Luxembourg has a thriving airport with
a brand new terminal. A high-speed train
takes just over two hours to reach Paris and
the country is at the intersection of major
motorway links.
The political climate is very stable, with all
main parties agreeing on the importance of
remaining economically competitive whilst
maintaining a well-funded welfare state
and peaceful industrial relations. Although
salaries are generous enough to attract talented people, low employer charges mean
that gross salary costs are generally below
those of most western European countries.
Business taxes are competitive and the government has pledged to cut them further
over the medium term. Infrastructure (e.g. for
education, transport, telecommunications
and industrial zones) is well funded.
High salaries and low unemployment help
grease the wheels of a mainly consensual
industrial relations environment known for
its low rate of strike action.
Focus 2008 I
05
© Nicolas Lopez
The “Luxembourg social model” effectively
dealt with the upheavals of the declining
steel industry through tripartite discussions and action by government, unions
and employers. This experience has been an
inspiration ever since.
“The government is
keen to diversify the
economy”
06 I
Focus 2008
An attentive, proactive
government …
Not the least of Luxembourg’s attractive
features is the willingness of the government
to listen to new and existing investors,
with assistance provided where practical.
“The government is keen to diversify the
economy,” Minister Krecké emphasises. “For
example, ICT companies had concerns that
the private sector may not be able to cope
with its medium-term needs for high-bandwidth connections to the European internet
backbone. So, in consultation with the industry, the state helped fund a cable project to
settle any fears.” Ministers frequently lead
economic promotion trips abroad, often visiting corporate headquarters to spread the
word.
… targeting niches …
Recent policy has seen a greater targeting
of specific areas of innovative activity. As
this publication will show, Luxembourg has
a long history of automotive components
manufacturing, which in recent decades
has seen the development of just the kind
of high value-adding, innovation-driven
industry that the country set out to foster.
ICT has also been targeted. Since the 1920s,
Luxembourg has been a major player in
European broadcasting, hosting the forerunner of the RTL Group and now SES which provides the world’s largest audiovisual media
distribution platform via satellite. Then, in
the 2000s, skills, infrastructure and the lowest VAT in Europe at 15% encouraged a host of
internet firms to base their European operations here, with Amazon, Apple, eBay and
Skype being just four examples. So-called
“third- and fourth-party logistics” are also
being explored, with a public-private partner-ship under way to build state-of-the-art
facilities to facilitate innovative, high-value
transportation services. Moreover, the government has just announced partnerships
with three top health science organisations,
with € 140 million of public money to be
spent to kick-start the process. Mr Krecké
adds that energy and environmental technology are also due to be promoted.
Information about the practicalities of
doing business in Luxembourg is supplied
by the Board of Economic Development
(BED), a “one-stop shop” for new investment projects. From its offices around the
world, the BED offers customised support
on issues such as costs (including wages and
taxes), government support programmes
and regulations, site selection and introductions to important contacts.
... and encouraging innovation
As well as being in the global market place
to attract innovative investors, there is also
a push to encourage innovation from existing firms of all sizes and sectors. “The packages of state aid for research and development in Luxembourg are in the process of
being updated and improved, whilst keeping
within EU laws on state aid,” says Minister
Krecké. This backing from the Ministry of
the Economy and Foreign Trade is open to
service and manufacturing businesses for
identifiable and defined projects, whether
they create new capacity or build on existing capabilities. The higher the potential
risk and return on investment, the higher
the subsidy and/or the low-interest loan
can be. Small businesses can receive extra
help if they fit certain EU regulation criteria.
Start-up and development loans are provided by the National Credit and Investment
Company (Société Nationale de Crédit et
d’Investissement, SNCI) which works in step
with the Ministry. Regional development
funds are also available.
“We need more companies involved,” he
emphasises. “There are many small companies which have huge potential but are
simply unable to identify it due to a lack of
expertise, time or money. We want to help
them be as good as they can be.”
Innovative start-ups can be incubated,
hosted and coached in publicly owned facilities to ease their early development and
their access to the different governmental services and support instruments and
institutions.
The new aid scheme under preparation takes
the idea of subsidising innovation to a new
level. “People can tend to think that innovation is just about technology and developing new products, but it is much wider than
this”, Minister Krecké insists. “It includes
managerial and production processes which
can boost the effectiveness of any type
of business. Most companies do not have
special departments to deal with R&D and
innovation, but we will offer financial support to hire a specialist or use a consultant
to give them new ideas about innovation.”
Providing insight
The aim is to broaden the scope of innovation
in the country. “At the moment private R&D
is comparatively high at about 1.3 % of GDP
compared to the public at just above 0.2 %,”
Minister Krecké notes. Whilst this is a commendable effort, he remains concerned that
the vast majority of this is performed by the
big economic actors such as ArcelorMittal,
Ceratizit, Delphi, Goodyear or Rotarex.
In this respect, he highlights the important
role played by Luxinnovation. “This body
takes a proactive stance in encouraging
innovation amongst businesses and helping
a new entrepreneurial spirit. In particular,
we want small to medium-sized businesses
to get involved.” Minister Krecké says
that administrative procedures have been
simplified for small businesses. Luxinnovation
assisted around 1,500 businesses over the
past few years, with numerous research
dossiers co-financed and innovative businesses supported.
As this issue of FOCUS will highlight, over the
past 10 years the government has decided
to provide a considerable boost to publicly
funded research, development and innovation. The landmark event was the founding
of a research-focused university in 2003,
which with the public research centres will
eventually constitute a City of Sciences. This
was made possible through a step change in
the government’s attitude to public research
funding, which is steadily increasing. In line
with other European countries, Luxembourg
has promised to bring total R&D spending up
to 3 % of GDP, but as Minister Krecké notes,
“this is not just some arbitrary figure ; we
want to achieve this because innovation is
key to the continued success of our economy
and our way of life.”
“ Innovation is key to
the continued success
of our economy and
our way of life”
Focus 2008 I
07
Innovative spaces
The new Chamber of
Commerce building,
which also houses
FEDIL – the Business
Federation Luxembourg,
Luxinnovation and
other organisations,
evokes confidence,
stability, transparency
and modernity. Made
with ArcelorMittal
steel and Guardian
glass, this structure by
French architect Claude
Vasconi in association
with the Luxembourgish
architect Jean Petit was
awarded the European
Steel Design Award
in September 2003
for its creative and
outstanding use of
steel in architecture and
construction.
08 I
Focus 2008
© Chamber of Commerce
blitz agency
Architecture
for an innovative environment
Like talented musicians
whose seemingly
effortless performances
derive from years of
intense daily practice, the
Philharmonie’s grace and
elegance owe everything
to careful forethought
and study. To create this
landmark inaugurated
in 2005, which is also
home to the Luxembourg
Philharmonic Orchestra,
architect Christian de
Portzamparc used a
huge choir of thin pillars
to support a glassfronted peristyle. To do
this required precisely
analysing the pressure
on the windows and the
roof and calculating the
aerodynamic stability
of the pillars, amongst
other feats.
blitz agency
What stronger foundation
for a country’s economy
than steel ? The discovery
of iron ore in Luxembourg
in 1850 was a turning
point in the Grand Duchy’s
history, bringing prosperity
to the whole country. And
of course, through the
founding of the European
Coal and Steel Community
in 1958, steel also helped
to build today’s European
Union. Luxembourg is
home to the world’s
leading steel company,
the ArcelorMittal group,
which is also the country’s
largest private employer.
A prominent position,
from which the company
looks resolutely to the
future – as evidenced
by its modern new
headquarters.
blitz agency
Innovative spaces
Like a Thermos, this
building keeps things
warm or cold, depending
on the need. This is one
of the reasons why the
European Investment
Bank’s (EIB) new building,
inaugurated in June
2008, is the first in
continental Europe to
be awarded the UK’s
BREEAM* Bespoke “high
environmental quality”
certification with a
“very good” rating.
Designed by architect
Christoph Ingenhoven,
it perfectly reflects
the EIB’s engagement
in supporting
environmental projects.
* Building Research
Establishment Environmental
Assessment Method.
Focus 2008 I 09
News from innovative Luxembourg
News
National committee to
advise on research and
innovation policy
Higher Committee for
Research and Innovation
www.eco.public.lu
www.mcesr.public.lu
Solar Sails Materials
www.luxspace.lu
“Research and innovation are the motors
that drive a country’s evolution, economy
and society in its entirety,” said Minister for
Research François Biltgen when announcing
the creation of the Luxembourgish Higher
Committee for Research and Innovation at the
end of July 2008. The committee was formed
to help develop a coherent and effective
national policy and to advise the government on the implementation of this policy.
In particular, committee members will be
aiming to define Luxembourg’s national
research priorities and identify the steps
and tools needed to achieve these goals.
Clear sailing ahead for
Luxembourg’s contribution
to space research
The idea of using sails to propel spacecraft was first put forth in the 17 th century,
and mankind has been fascinated with
the idea ever since. New breakthroughs
are expected in the Grand Duchy, where
a Luxembourg-led consortium recently
beat out stiff competition to win the
Solar Sails Materials (SSM) project from
the European Space Agency to study and
design solar sails and produce the required materials. “Very probably, the first
European solar sail will be assembled here
with ‘made in Luxembourg’ components,”
says LuxSpace Space Systems Engineer
Florio Dalla Vedova.
Solar sailing uses photonic radiation pressure from the sun in much the same way
as traditional sailing uses the wind ; it is
environmentally sound, and space agencies
around the world are keen to harness its
huge potential. Giant sails of tens of thousands of square metres are needed to propel
spacecraft, and the sail material itself is typically an ultrathin polymer foil coated with a
reflective layer on the front and an emissive
layer on the back. The SSM project brings
together LuxSpace as prime contractor, the
Public Research Centres Gabriel Lippmann
and Henri Tudor, Dupont de Nemours
and partners from Belgium, France and
Germany.
ENERCOM
www.lee.lu
www.soil-concept.lu
www.synerco.lu
10 I
Focus 2008
By setting up the committee, Luxembourg
is confirming its commitment to making
research and innovation a top priority of its
national policy agenda and to helping them
thrive in the Grand Duchy. The committee
is composed of individuals selected from
the scientific, business and civic communities. Part of the idea is also that outsiders
sometimes have insights that insiders miss ;
committee members, by taking a constructive look at research and innovation, might
see unexplored opportunities and point
R&D in Luxembourg in new directions.
“Luxembourg can only endure if it is quick,
flexible and innovative,” said Minister of the
Economy Jeannot Krecké, who presides over
the committee along with Mr Biltgen.
Waste not, want not :
ENERCOM produces
sustainable alternative fuel
The production of industrial and municipal
sewage sludge is continuously increasing,
raising the crucial question of its disposal.
While the existing ways of treating sewage
sludge tend to be greedy in energy consumption, the research project ENERCOM
explores a concept that achieves a very high
overall energy efficiency.
ENERCOM is funded by the European Union’s
Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development and
is run by the Luxembourgish companies
L.e.e. Sàrl and Soil-Concept S.A. in collaboration with partners from Belgium, Germany
and Lithuania.
Although at this stage, it is not possible to
heat all residential and industrial buildings
with this alternative form of energy, this
type of research paves the way for future
developments and helps reduce the dependency on fossil fuel. To bring this innovative know-how to the market, a spin-off
company by the name of Synerco Sàrl has
been established in Luxembourg.
Substantial cash injection
for health technologies
research
In June 2008, the government of Luxembourg
announced that it will be investing € 140
million in health technologies research,
specifically aiming to develop cutting-edge
skills and expertise in molecular medicine.
Molecular diagnosis is the cornerstone of
personalised medicine, a relatively new
approach that takes an individual’s genetic
and biological make-up into consideration
when providing health care. Ultimately, this
is expected to result in great improvements
in the ability to administer the right dosage
of drugs at the right time.
Three prestigious American research institutions will be working with the University of
Luxembourg and the three Public Research
Centres – Gabriel Lippmann, Henri Tudor
and Santé – to make strides in this area of
expertise. The centrepiece of the overall
project will be the creation of a Luxembourg
“biobank”, which will be open to international cooperations and will initially
© Sergey Galushko
First dried through composting, the sludge
is mixed with the biomass residues to constitute a blend that can then be used in
three different product lines : one for composting, one for producing energy through
gasification and another for manufacturing pellets. The project’s most impressive
achievement is that it simultaneously brings
down the disposal costs of sewage sludge
and greenery waste while offering a clean
and energy-positive technological way to
generate renewable fuels without producing CO2 emissions. This innovative concept
transforms the treatment of sewage sludge
from something that consumes energy into
something that produces it.
concentrate on collecting and analysing
biological samples in order to support lung
and colon cancer research. Funding will
also go towards establishing a centre of
excellence in systems biology, which will
conduct research into genome sequencing
and molecular fingerprinting of the body’s
main organs. A third area to benefit from
this investment is a pilot project aiming to
advance research in personalised medicine
by pursuing research projects focused on
developing molecular diagnostics for specific diseases. The Luxembourgish project
will focus on lung cancer, a disease where
the therapeutic possibilities are currently
limited, and where reliable early detection tools are needed urgently.
“ The government
of Luxembourg
will be investing
€ 140 million in
health technologies
research.”
Health technologies
research
www.eco.public.lu
www.mcesr.public.lu
www.ms.etat.lu
Novelis and the Public
Research Centre Gabriel
Lippmann in R&D
partnership
Novelis, the world leader in aluminium rolling, has its European Technology Centre
based in Luxembourg and has established a long-term partnership with the Public
Research Centre Gabriel Lippmann to cooperate on research and development for
aluminium foil products and manufacturing
processes. Set up in 2007, this collaboration
is an excellent example of a public-private
partnership that benefits all participants.
Novelis – Lippmann
www.lippmann.lu
www.novelisfoileurope.com
Focus 2008 I
11
Among its priorities, the Public Research
Centre aims to strengthen national industry through the creation of new technological competencies within the Centre itself
and through the transfer of know-how to
enterprises. To a core team of Novelis scientists and technologists fully dedicated to
research on foil, the Centre offers the opportunity to use state-of-the-art equipment
and techniques, notably for Secondary Ion
Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), a very sensitive
technique for surface and thin-film analysis
that characterises trace and major elements
on solid surfaces. Novelis has committed a
first capital investment of € 500,000 to advance its knowledge in surface treatment
of foil products for packaging and technical
applications.
Mitigating the effect of
natural disasters
IRMA
www.irma.lu
BioHealth Cluster
www.biohealth.lu
12
I Focus 2008
The University of Luxembourg is the coordinator of the European-African partnership
behind the project IRMA (Integrated Risk
Management for Africa), which is funded by
the European Union’s Seventh Framework
Programme for research and technological
development. The project brings together a
truly international group of researchers from
Belgium, Cameroon, France, Luxembourg,
Morocco, Mozambique, the Netherlands,
Senegal and South Africa. The goal of IRMA
is to develop a rapidly deployable ICT-based
solution for public disaster warnings and
emergency management. It will provide a
communications network that mitigates
the impact of natural disasters such as wildfires in Cameroon and Senegal, or floods in
Mozambique which in 2000 resulted in the
loss of 800 lives and caused $ 450 million in
damage.
Disaster risk reduction policies and institutional mechanisms already exist within
the African countries in the consortium.
However, their effectiveness is limited
when major disasters strike and complex
emergencies arise, since they rarely take
account of the vulnerability of the area
at risk or of the possible domino effects
between risks of different nature. IRMA
aims to show the effectiveness of ICT
applications in these types of extreme
situations by integrating the whole disaster management chain from assessment
to recovery. This will be achieved by merging existing tools adapted to specific
regional needs with new developments
addressing the issue of multiple combined
vulnerabilities.
Luxembourg launches
BioHealth cluster
Luxembourg’s Cluster of Health Sciences
and Technologies was launched at the end
of September 2008 with the aim to
stimulate cross-fertilisation and technological cooperation in the field of health
sciences and technologies. It is the latest
addition to the Grand Duchy’s “Clusters”
programme, which was initiated in 2002 by
the Ministry of the Economy and Foreign
Trade and animated by Luxinnovation with
the aim to support and reinforce synergies
and collaboration between the public and
private sectors.
The BioHealth Cluster will contribute to
improving scientific knowledge in the field
of health sciences and technologies, boosting R&D and innovation and developing
transnational and international collaboration, notably with other RDI centres of competence. The cluster encompasses national
expertise in health technologies in the
fields of biodevices, bioinformatics, biomaterials, imaging and platforms. Research
efforts in Luxembourg focus on fields such
as allergology and toxicology, cardiovascular diseases, microbiology, neurodegenerative diseases and oncology. Participation in
the BioHealth cluster allows companies and
public research centres to address scientific and technological problems with the
help of expert advice, identify potential
scientific or technological partners, and
generally remain informed of the scientific
and technological skills available in the
country.
Automotive sector
At the heart
of the car components
revolution
Luxembourg’s automotive sector is a prime
example of how innovative companies can use
the country as a base to explore a niche and
grow. With car makers increasingly dependent
on suppliers for technological improvements,
they have turned to the Grand Duchy to
serve both European and global clients.
Whether it is major global players like
Delphi or Goodyear, or local creations
such as ELTH or IEE, all have been able
to innovate and grow in Luxembourg’s
fertile environment. We spoke to
Paul Schockmel, the president of
the Association of Luxembourgish
Automotive Suppliers.
Paul Schockmel, President of the Association of Luxembourgish Automotive Suppliers
Estimates vary, but between a half and twothirds of the value of a car is now designed
and made by component suppliers, with constructors increasingly focusing on design and
marketing, as well as assembling the finished
article. Paul Schockmel, the president of the
Association of Luxembourgish Automotive
Suppliers (Industrie Luxembourgeoise des
Equipementiers de l’Automobile, or ILEA),
comments : “The constructor wants to design
and control everything which is related to
the car brand, but the hidden items, such
as electronics, are barely visible and so are
difficult to sell to the consumer. Increasingly
these elements are being outsourced.”
He elaborates further : “Today, profits on
car sales are generally low, with constructors making most of their money through
financial services and spare parts. So there
is an incentive to leave innovation of the
less noticeable components to suppliers.”
Thus the risk and investment is increasingly
being taken by the component makers, and
all have to follow this trend as competition
from low-cost production centres means
innovation is essential.
R&D activity significantly above
industry average
Association of
In this dynamic, knowledge-based environLuxembourgish Automotive
ment, Luxembourg has adapted and now
Suppliers (ILEA)
thrives. For example, when Goodyear
+ 352
43 53 66 1
opened its tyre plant here in the 1940s, it paul.schockmel@ilea.lu
simply executed its customers’ orders. Now,
www.ilea.lu
its Colmar-Berg facility hosts one of the multinational’s most respected research centres, developing new materials and features
for its clients. This is just one example of a
sector where numerous companies produce
a range of high-quality products, from glass
to electronic sensors and engine management systems. Currently 9,000 people are
employed in this sector, creating well over
€ 1.5 billion in turnover.
Focus 2008 I 13
Automotive sector
© IEE
Paul Schockmel estimates that research
and development accounts for more than
20 % of his members’ activities, a figure significantly higher than the global industry
average. “Most of our members carry out
customer programmes,” he notes, “adapting existing technology to precise specifications and then testing it rigorously.” So
while this represents most of the business
performed here, there is also a significant
amount of new product innovation. A shining example is Luxembourg born-and-bred
IEE, whose sensing products have almost
become standard features in most cars sold
around the world.
On top of this comes a multinational workforce, securing the ability to understand the
culture and languages of clients, for example,
in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy
or Spain. Of course English is spoken widely,
but to really gain a full understanding of
what individual clients are looking for, it is
best to use their mother tongue. However,
it is in the area of human resources that the
sector faces its stiffest challenge. In addition
to recruiting people with the required
skills in Luxembourg and its neighbouring
regions, the search for talent has now
become global. With the new University
of Luxembourg, increased public research
spending and recently relaxed immigration
rules, this particular concern should soon be
a thing of the past.
Tailor-made business support
in a central location
Multilingual, multicultural,
multinational
14
I Focus 2008
So how has Luxembourg been able to stake
a claim in this fiercely competitive high-tech
business ? Mr Schockmel highlights the multilingual, multicultural nature of the workforce and Luxembourg’s central location as
being of primary importance. “It is a huge
advantage that Luxembourg is within easy
reach of the main European car production
centres, enabling clients to keep a close eye
on developments.” Also, when it comes to
delivering the finished article, the country
is handily placed for businesses working to
tight “just-in-time” production schedules.
And, he adds, “for key customers, if you are
working on a new product or development
you have to be close to them; they need a
close relationship with suppliers so that they
can fully commit to these new products. You
cannot have this over long distances.”
Luxembourg’s small size also has other
benefits, such as its ability to offer personalised business support. The government has pledged to boost research and
development spending, and the Ministry
of Economy and Foreign Trade actively supports private companies with their efforts,
both in terms of financial assistance and
through a willingness to listen to requests
for other forms of help. “The more you are
taking technical risks, the greater is the
chance you will receive financial aid from
the government,” notes Mr Schockmel.
The country is also equipped with its own
development bank, the National Credit and
Investment Bank, which takes a pro-active
stance towards helping with start-up and
investment capital.
In general, production has tended to move
to low-cost centres where practical, with
Luxembourg maintaining control of the
high-knowledge functions. “Our customers
want price reductions, so they are pushing for us to use low-cost countries,” Mr
Schockmel concludes, “however, they would
be nervous if we were to transfer R&D or very
high-tech production to low-cost centres
as they want to be close to where these
sensitive, complex products are being developed and made.” The production of highvalue and complex items tends to remain in
Luxembourg. Goodyear, for example, hosts
its European truck tyre production site here.
For other items, such as the glass products
produced by Guardian Automotive, transport costs are a major issue and off-shoring
is simply not a viable option.
Automotive sector
Public research drives
development of innovative
car equipment
The increased commitment of the
Luxembourgish state to invest in public
research institutes also benefits the automotive components sector. A new department for Research in Equipment for the
Automobile industry (REA) has been established at the Public Research Centre Gabriel
Lippmann. Formed in 2007 in response to
Luxembourg’s growing presence in this sector, REA’s objectives are the development
of new products and production processes
as well as the improvement of the quality of products and production processes
for automobile equipment manufacturers.
REA’s partners include Accumalux, ELTH,
SNCH s.à r.l.
Approval of vehicles and their
components
Certification of products and
quality systems
Dometic s.à r.l.
Refrigeration systems
Thermoelectric and compressor
driven cooling devices
IEE and Luxbat as well as the University
Henri Poincaré in Nancy.
“We concluded a framework agreement
with the Public Research Centre Gabriel
Lippmann three years ago to establish a unit
to serve the automotive sector,” explains
Paul Schockmel. “The first projects have
been completed and they are expanding
their building to accommodate their work
with us. We welcome this because it will
bring know-how and specialised people to
Luxembourg. It is also important for potential investors to know there is this wider
research infrastructure in place.”
ELTH S.A.
Temperature sensors
Bimetallic switches
Diesel fuel heaters
Level sensors
Windscreen & headlamp washer
systems
TÜV Rheinland
Luxemburg GmbH
Certification approval tests
Fanuc Robotics Europe S.A.
Automation solutions
GoodYear S.A.
Production of steel cord
Production of molds
IEE S.A.
Occupant safety sensing
Pedestrian Protection
Traffic management
Interior input devices
Rotarex S.A.
Valves, Fittings, Regulators
(LPG & CNG & H2 applications)
Complete kits
Safety valves
Plastic Parts
Fire extinguisher systems
Luxinnovation GIE
R&D service agency
National Agency for Innovation
and Research
Luxcontrol S.A.
Certfication and witness testing
according to international
standards
HITEC Luxembourg S.A.
Measuring devices & control
system
Traffic management
infrastructures
C2C2E communication concepts
Accumalux S.A.
Boxes and lids for batteries
Comes & Cie S.A.
Transformation of trucks and trailers
Guardian Automotive Europe S.A.
Automotive glass
GoodYear Luxembourg Tires S.A.
Production of truck and
earthmover tires
Tarkett GDL S.A.
Sound insulation products
for automotive industry
Floor coverings production
Raval Europe S.A.
Fuel tank venting and control systems
Related accessories to safety
venting systems
DuPont de Nemours s.à r.l.
Production, conversion and sales of
synthetic materials
Faurecia AST Luxembourg S.A.
Supplier of automotive interiors
for carpets and insulations
CTI Systems S.A.
Planning and execution of turnkey
automated materials
Delphi Luxembourg S.A.
Technical Center for development
of automotive systems and
components
SaarGummi Technologies s.à r.l.
Production of elastomer products
such as seals for car bodies, doors
and trunks, folios for flat roofs,
window seals
Source : Ilea
Focus 2008 I
15
blitz agency
Automotive sector
Edouard Michel, Manager New Product Industrialisation
The wheel …
re-invented
The history of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company can be traced back to 1898 when the first rubber
tyres were developed for bicycles and carriages following a need for improved passenger comfort.
Subsequent R&D projects have concentrated upon improved handling for race tyres, improved durability
for long-distance trucks and improved material properties for aircraft tyres. In 1970, the first tyres on the
moon were from Goodyear.
Goodyear S.A. / Goodyear
Luxembourg Tires S.A.
blitz agency
+ 352 81 99 1
jean-paul.bruck@goodyear.
com
www.goodyear.com
16
I Focus 2008
In 1949, Goodyear opened a production facility at Colmar-Berg, north of Luxembourg
City, to be centrally located for a growing
European market. In 1957, the Technical Centre
(GTC*L) was opened on the same complex,
and at the start of the 1970s the tyre plant reinforced its local autonomy with the opening
of fabric, mould and wire plants at the same
time as the creation of a test circuit to support the continued expansion of R&D activities. At the turn of the century, shortly after
celebrating 50 years in Luxembourg, the
GTC*L completed another wave of significant
expansion to add several new testing facilities and laboratories.
continues to change throughout the life of
the product, maintaining high levels of wet
grip and aquaplaning resistance.
Of the 3,300 employees currently working
in Luxembourg, 900 are directly involved in
activities that, together with the Goodyear
Technical Centre in Akron, USA, spearhead
Goodyear’s R&D throughout the world. “Our
mission is to provide a continuous flow of innovative tire products that exceed customer
expectations and drive our success in the market place” explains Edouard Michel, Manager
New Product Industrialisation. “Besides this,
we provide technical support to manufacturing and marketing for all Goodyear products in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.”
Recent R&D projects include the development of such pioneering products as the
RunOnFlat tyre which allows a driver to safely
continue on a journey with a punctured tyre
and eliminates the need for a spare. Another,
developed with the latest SmartWear Technology, is the new OptiGrip tyre which incorporates a uniquely visible tread design that
Goodyear also benefits from collaboration
with local high-tech research companies
that contribute their specialist expertise to
the knowledge-driven processes. One such
example involved cooperation with the startup company eXstream Engineering, which
was keen to prove out an innovative micromechanic modelling technology based on its
DIGIMAT® software. The win-win opportunity
was that GTC*L would be an enthusiastic customer once the technology was validated for
application in the development of innovative
materials and tyres. The project, which was
launched in May 2004, required the design of
36 test formulations and the manufacture of
114 test tyres during the 18-month collaboration. Being members of the Luxinnovation
SurfMat technology cluster, GTC*L and eXstream benefited from important advice and
expertise as well as financial support through
the government R&D incentive scheme.
With worldwide sales now in excess of 200
million units per year and a turnover of almost
$20 billion, Goodyear also has environmental
obligations. In 2006 the European Commission awarded Goodyear a major R&D grant
to develop an ultra low-rolling resistance
BioTRED tyre. The project included research
into the development of a new “bio” filler
made from renewable resources such as corn
starch which will provide the added advantage of reducing CO2 emissions during the
production process.
Automotive sector
Delphi Powertrain’s wise move
to Luxembourg
Delphi Luxembourg employs around 750
employees with about two-thirds having
engineering skills used in the development
and application of new technologies and
products. Of these, about 60 are highly
skilled and qualified engineers who make up
their “innovation centre” and concentrate on
the development of advanced technologies.
Steven Kiefer is very satisfied with the setup : “The infrastructure and laboratories at
our disposal in Luxembourg are very special
and offer an ideal environment to support
and meet our customers’ expectations. The
turnover of the Bascharage facilities is around
€ 100 million per year.”
So why did Delphi decide to move its Global
Powertrain Headquarters here? “In terms of
powertrain, propulsion, and internal combustion engines, there is no doubt that much
of the technical innovation is being led from
Europe,” notes Mr Kiefer. “For Delphi it is crucial to have a ‘local’ presence where the technology is being developed and where the
customer base is located. Delphi demonstrated this strong commitment to our customers by moving the Powertrain Headquarters from the US to Europe. Additionally,
Delphi was attracted to Luxembourg by all
of the attributes that are well recognised
here – namely, cultural diversity, central location, commercial neutrality, high-level skilled
workforce, pro-business government policy,
economic and social stability, and a high
standard of living for our workforce.”
Steven Kiefer, Managing Director
On the downside, he notes that wage costs
tend to be higher than in other locations, but
overall, low employer charges mean LuxemDelphi Automotive Systems
Luxembourg S.A.
bourg is competitive compared to the rest
of western Europe. “After two years, we are + 352 50 18 47 51
convinced that Luxembourg was the right panagiotis.panotopoulos@
delphi.com
decision for our Headquarters’ move,” Steven
www.delphi.com
Kiefer comments.
“The responsiveness and pro-business attitude of the government ministries has been
a critical factor in our decision to grow our
presence in Luxembourg. The accessibility
and support of national organisations and of
the local decision makers is perhaps unique
in Europe, if not in the world. Additionally,
Luxembourg’s social model as well as its
social stability considerably help operating a
business such as ours.”
blitz agency
In addition to its Luxembourg Customer
Technology Centre, Delphi has its Global
Powertrain Headquarters and European
Thermal Division Headquarters here. Delphi
Thermal Systems is engaged in the development, engineering and validation of heating,
ventilation and air-conditioning systems and
engine thermal management systems. Delphi
Powertrain Systems has an engineering and
system testing and validation centre for automotive engine controls including fuel systems, valvetrain, combustion technologies
and related products.
blitz agency
In 2006, after 23 years in Luxembourg, leading car components manufacturer Delphi Automotive decided
to relocate the global Headquarters of its Powertrain Systems Division from the US to the Grand Duchy.
This move amounted to a huge vote of confidence in Luxembourg as a location for high-tech innovation.
We spoke to Steven Kiefer, the site’s Managing Director, about this choice.
So what advice would he offer to potential
investors in R&D ? “I would encourage other
companies to see first hand the benefits of
being here. The Ministry of the Economy,
the Chamber of Commerce as well as the
various public research centres have proven
to be very accommodating and can also provide additional information on the benefits
of performing R&D work in Luxembourg.”
Focus 2008 I
17
Automotive sector
World-class car safety sensors
blitz agency
IEE is one of the star performers of Luxembourg’s economic diversification strategy. It has achieved this
by targeting high value adding, knowledge-intensive production of sophisticated sensors for the car
industry, products which have become must-have safety features. All conceived, researched and designed
in the Grand Duchy. IEE has no intention of resting on its laurels, and is now working on revolutionary
sensing products.
IEE
+ 352 24 54 1
iee@iee.lu
www.iee.lu
18
Founded less than 20 years ago, IEE currently
employs around 900 people in the Grand
Duchy, with a further 500 worldwide,
producing turnover set to reach € 178 million
in 2008. The company’s principal business
to date has focused on automotive safety
sensing systems for occupant detection
and classification related to the smart deployment of passenger airbags. In the early
1990s, although airbags were seen as an
important step forward for car safety, there
were some problems. A minor prang could
see the airbag deploy – causing unnecessary cost and inconvenience at best, but at
worst these devices have been known to kill
infants riding in the front seat.
IEE was the first to find a convenient solution for passenger presence detection in
the early 1990s by inserting a sophisticated
sensor into the car seat. “Others looked at
traditional solutions such as optical or radar,”
notes Aloyse Schoos, IEE’s chief technology
officer, “but these proved to be too expensive
and difficult to deploy. Our innovation was
to use plastic film onto which we could print
I Focus 2008
electronic circuits to create sensing functions, an extremely efficient method. This
solution avoided big modifications to the
car and was easy to install.”
IEE is building on this success, with a new
generation of sensors coming on stream.
Mass production has begun of a sensor
which uses electrical fields to detect human
body presence. Then there is a system which
lifts the car bonnet a split second after a
frontal collision with a pedestrian, creating a
buffer between the engine and the person’s
head. However, potentially the biggest innovation of all are the sophisticated 3D optical
sensors that are currently being developed ;
these would see IEE move into a myriad of
new markets. For example, applications
such as driver assistance, people counting,
luggage classification or conveyor belt
monitoring could all be automatised with
these systems.
And the brain work for this operation is
based in Luxembourg. Manufacturing
and assembly is carried out in Echternach,
Luxembourg, and in the firm’s Chinese
factories, with some minor development
and marketing performed in the firm’s other
subsidiaries around the world. But the main
R&D and sensitive, critical and confidential production are centralised in the Grand
Duchy. Which does not imply that the firm
is closed to fresh ideas from abroad. With
its multilingual staff, it is able to cooperate
closely with research institutes around the
world.
“We have a well-defined innovation process,”
comments Mr Schoos. “Our research work
is guided by marketing : we look actively
for upcoming possibilities through market
research and then we define a business plan.
If the business case makes sense, our scientists and engineers start developing innovative products / solutions for that market.”
Automotive sector
Building on three decades of
automotive innovation
Based in Steinsel, just north of the city of Luxembourg, ELTH S.A. has been producing temperature
sensors for automotive systems and domestic appliances for more than 30 years. The company has long
been a champion of research, development and innovation in Luxembourg.
customer’s product requirements can be
ELTH
satisfied in terms of form and functionality + 352 33 20 71
while maintaining common core components. elthsa@elth.lu
This “platform” strategy has resulted in
www.elth.lu
important economies of scale in the production process. By supplying to a very large
customer base with high-volume production, ELTH has been able to justify important
investments in the latest manufacturing
technology that will enable it to minimise
costs and hence resist competition from new
entrants to the market.
ELTH S.A. has experienced steady growth,
particularly in automotive applications, and
now operates from a production site covering 27,000 sqm employing more than 600
people, 40 of whom specialise in R&D activities. The company has been collaborating
with Luxinnovation and the Grand Duchy’s
public research centres since their launch 20
years ago. “I’m proud to support their efforts
in my role as Vice President of the Public
Research Centre Gabriel Lippmann, which
hosts the National Research Department
that specialises in the development of automotive equipment” says Mr René Elvinger,
ELTH’s General Manager.
Concerning technical innovation, demand
for increasingly precise temperature control
has resulted in an extension of the product
range from fixed temperature bi-metallic
thermostats to NTC thermistors. Pressure on
automotive OEMs to address environmental
issues is leading to the requirement for much
closer control of fuel, engine and cooling systems, which in turn has generated growing
demand for ELTH products. Applications have
grown from basic water temperature sensors
to a range of more complex integrated units
such as oil level sensors, diesel fuel heaters
and windshield washing systems.
Innovation during the development of new
products has enabled the production facilities to benefit from “design for manufacture” and “mass customisation” whereby a
blitz agency
In the late 1980s, ELTH responded to the
globalisation of its customer base by collaborating with MES, a Swiss automotive
supplier, to create the CEBI group of companies. In time, other smaller companies
were brought into the CEBI Group which
provided an opportunity to market a more
coherent range of products to worldwide
customers. The Luxembourg site now manufactures more than 3,000 different parts
for most automotive Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEMs) as well as for tier one
suppliers and truck manufacturers.
Proximity to clients is of key importance to
the ELTH product and service offering, and
an important differentiator from low-end
competitors. Physical proximity to clients
is provided by the central location of
Luxembourg and its convenient transport
networks. ELTH also demonstrates a cultural proximity to clients with its multinational workforce and a commercial team
able to converse comfortably with clients in
English, French, German, Italian or Spanish.
Furthermore, 30 years of industry experience
working with the design offices of all of its
major customers have resulted in an intellectual proximity to clients that facilitates new
product collaborations early in the design
process to the benefit of both customer and
supplier and helps keep ELTH one step ahead
of the competition.
NTC thermistors
A single NTC (Negative
Temperature Coefficient)
thermistor provides a degree
of precision in temperature
control that would previously
have required several bimetallic thermostats. The
benefit to the end customer
is a solution that is more
precise, more compact, and
less costly.
Focus 2008 I
19
Automotive sector
New arrivals quickly moving
into the fast lane
Many of the companies that have shaped Luxembourg’s thriving automotive sector have been established
in the region for decades. But the Grand Duchy is proving just as attractive to new ventures. EmTroniX
and Raval Europe are two of these companies.
EmTroniX
+ 352 26 58 17 50
info@emtronix.lu
www.emtronix.lu
Raval Europe
+ 352 26 55 51 1
contact@ravaleurope.com
www.raval.co.il
20
EmTroniX is a small company of expert
engineers specialising in bespoke electronic
control systems. The company’s systems
are used by the R&D departments of large
companies in fields as varied as the automotive, aerospace, defence, medical and petrochemical industries.
The founders were, by their own admission,
not typical businessmen, but passionate
about their technical expertise, confident of
their capability to solve complex technical
problems and energised by the autonomy
and creativity offered by the opportunity
to set up their own enterprise. In 2001, that
passion, confidence and energy sufficiently
impressed the Institut Français du Pétrole
to commission test equipment for its R&D
laboratories in Paris, providing a sound business case for the launch of the company.
Subsequent projects with large organisations such as Delphi, Eurocopter, Honeywell
Garrett and Renault have helped establish
EmTroniX as a reliable “solution provider” to
R&D departments throughout Europe.
EmTroniX will continue to grow in
Luxembourg with plans to add “off-theshelf” rapid prototyping equipment to its
current offering of consultancy and specially designed equipment. Luxinnovation,
I Focus 2008
the National Agency for Innovation and
Research, is playing an important role in
supporting the company’s development of
a robust business strategy : “Luxinnovation
has been a constant support, providing
expert opinion concerning diversification of
our product range as well as important local
knowledge, ranging from giving us a ‘headsup’ on government initiatives to providing
important introductions to R&D networks
in the Greater Region,” said Henri Du Faux,
Software Manager.
Raval Europe, established in 2002, is a subsidiary of Raviv ACS Ltd, the Israeli specialist
in precision plastic parts for the automotive
industry. Raval operates in a competitive
marketplace that demands innovation both
in technical terms, concerning products and
processes, as well as with respect to how the
company’s product is supplied to end customers in a constantly changing and dynamic
marketplace. Raval has adapted its product
and service offering over time as its customers, the Original Equipment Manufacturers
(OEMs) in the automotive industry, have
transitioned from a model of vertical integration to one of tiered suppliers.
The tiered model in the automotive industry, which shifted the production of many
basic, low-technology commodities from
Europe to locations with lower labour costs,
had represented a threat to companies such
as Raval. Raval responded with a differentiated product/service offering, leveraging
its R&D capability to supply technologically
more complex integrated fuel systems and
providing the added value of optimising the
supply chain of its customers.
Raval Europe is steadily growing and has
moved from its initial base at the Ecostart
Centre for Enterprise and Innovation.
Resident engineers play a key R&D role in
both product and process improvements
for local manufacturing, which is strategically central to automotive customers who
require synchronised “just in time” supply.
Entrepreneurship and innovation
News
1,2,3, Go : The fast track
to a winning business plan
Since 2000, the Business Initiative asbl has
been promoting the Interregional Business
Plan Contest “1,2,3, Go”, with prizes totalling
€ 60,000, in collaboration with partners
from the Greater Region. Based on an idea
by the management consulting company
McKinsey, the programme is financed by an
interregional network of public and private
partners. It is supported by 300 coaches
who provide all contestants with guidance
related to the elaboration of a persuasive
business plan, for example with regard
to products and services, marketing and
finance. In 2007, an additional programme
called “Start bonus” was set up to give
innovative companies supported by 1,2,3, Go
the opportunity to receive some free
sponsorship.
Applications can be sent for review by a
reading committee at any time. To be eligible, candidates must put forward a feasible, innovative project that is not already
financed by venture capital. They should be
from, or be intending to implement their
projects in, the Greater Region of the Grand
Duchy of Luxembourg, Lorraine (France),
Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland (Germany)
or Wallonia (Belgium).
The in total 193 business plans developed in
Luxembourg through 1,2,3,Go have been the
starting point for 53 new, innovative companies, and the programme is now reaping the
benefits of past participants returning to
share their experiences with new generations of entrepreneurs and innovators.
I,2,3, Go
www.123go-networking.org
Inspired wastewater
treatment
Founded in 2005, Epuramat provides turn-key
wastewater treatment plants and systems,
at the heart of which is its ExSep solid/liquid
separator – a compact unit which makes the
pre-treatment of wastewater more efficient
and results in much smaller, less expensive
and easier-to-use treatment plants.
Epuramat received expert advice and mentoring to present its original business plan
via the 1,2,3,Go programme and was named
the best Luxembourgish entry in 2005. The
government-backed R&D incentive scheme
co-financed the adaptation of its technology to a variety of industrial requirements,
and Epuramat has also collaborated with
the Public Research Centre Gabriel Lippmann
and the Resource Centre for Environmental
Technologies on practical projects such as
the development of a local biogas plant.
Epuramat
www.epuramat.com
“Epuramat provides
turn-key wastewater
treatment plants
and systems.”
In 2007 Epuramat moved to larger premises
in Contern, Luxembourg. Reputation and
customer base continue to grow, and in
March 2008 the company presented itself
to the European investment community at
“Benelux Venture 50”, having been nominated as one of the 50 most promising startup businesses in the region.
In September 2008, the Luxembourg
Chamber of Commerce hosted the eighth
annual awards ceremony of the 1,2,3, Go
Business Plan competition. The initial 189
projects resulted in 45 completed business
plans submitted for evaluation, with nine
of them receiving special awards and sharing the total prize. The two Luxembourgbased companies among the winners were
IT security specialist Leakwall and small aircraft timeshare business Smartair.
Seeing is believing
As digital cameras become a popular means
of recording the progress of activities in businesses such as construction, transportation,
advertising and security, so technology has
also developed to edit photos, providing the
capability to falsify information.
CodaSystem has developed “Shoot & Proof”
as the first professional solution that instantly
captures undisputable pictures. Photos taken
with this innovative software are localised
CodaSystem
www.codasystem.com
Focus 2008 I
21
using GPS, time stamped, signed and coded,
conclusively establishing when, where and
by whom a picture was taken.
Artists can also access forums that discuss
industry topics and share technical tips such
as how to achieve best recording effects.
In 2007, Luxembourg-based Mangrove Capital
Partners provided venture capital to boost the
growth of the business and, in 2008, Jamendo
left the incubator having established a “critical mass” of artists and users.
Training tomorrow’s
masters of innovation
Master in Entrepreneurship
and Innovation
www.uni.lu
CodaSystem was initially launched at Paris
Cyber Village, the French business incubator of Paris Développement, and this is still
the base for its marketing and administrative staff. Since 2005, the company also
benefits from the logistical support of the
Technoport incubator in Luxembourg which
hosts a technical staff of eight people. This
team is responsible for R&D to extend the
universal applications of the company’s
product while also exploring new market
opportunities – such as using “Shoot &
Proof” as an industry standard when providing evidence for insurance claims.
CodaSystem is currently exploring opportunities with major blue chip manufacturers of digital media devices to potentially
ensure that the millions of digital images
captured daily on cameras, PDAs or telephones will carry assurance that viewers
can truly believe their eyes.
Jamendo
www.jamendo.com
“Creative
commons” licence
“Creative commons” licences
provide a legal framework
for artists who wish to
share their music with an
international audience. They
enable artists to publish
their music while preserving
their rights, including when
they allow the creation
of derivative works or the
commercial use of their
music.
22
I Focus 2008
A win-win approach
to file sharing
Jamendo entered the Luxembourgish business incubator Technoport in December 2004
with a revolutionary concept to permit legal
free sharing of music via the internet while
providing artists with the opportunity to publish, promote and receive payment for their
music. Jamendo’s “creative commons” licence
establishes a legal framework to distribute the
work of artists via their website using the latest peer-to-peer technology at near-zero cost.
Jamendo users are permitted to listen to,
download and share music and are encouraged to contribute to community forums,
while Jamendo artists can receive donations
from appreciative listeners ; the more popular they become, the greater their share of
the advertising revenues from the website.
The one-year Master’s degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation offered by the University
of Luxembourg in conjunction with the
Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce is in direct
response to the EU's Lisbon Strategy, which
called for “making knowledge and innovation
the real engines to drive lasting growth”.
Diversity is an important element in creativity and thus in innovation, and this is
reflected in the student population, which
hails from diverse business and cultural backgrounds. The programme, delivered in English,
is structured into six knowledge blocks. The
first covers an overview of entrepreneurship,
theories and skills. The next three modules
use the common theme of a business plan to
demonstrate the synergies in technical entrepreneurship of the start-up process as well as
marketing and finance. The fifth block offers a
toolbox for entrepreneurs, and the sixth block
consists of project work and a Master’s thesis.
The programme successfully links the academic and business worlds by incorporating
student internships at local mentoring companies. Students initially spend an average of
one day per week at their mentor companies
in the first months of the programme, and this
attendance increases to full-time by the end
of the programme. Matching students and
companies early in the process is key to the
fruitful relationship between faculty, student
and the mentor companies which, as a consequence of the experience, will improve their
readiness to transition their business towards
an efficient knowledge-driven economy.
A promising start for Luxembourg’s first
university spin-off
Millions of people around the world are
afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease or multiple sclerosis. Neither of these conditions can
currently be cured, and the drugs available
to patients can only treat the symptoms or,
at best, delay the progression of the illness.
AxoGlia’s ground-breaking research on a
molecule derived from vitamin E may turn
this situation around.
“We focus on the development of innovative drugs for use in the treatment of neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases,” explains Dr Djalil Coowar, AxoGlia’s
Chief Scientific Officer. “We are a pioneer
in the development of small chemical entities which have dual capacities – both antineurodegenerative and anti-inflammatory.
That is to say that the molecules act on two
levels: the regeneration of nervous cells by
influencing the cell fate of cellular precursors, and anti-inflammatory properties.” The
successful development of new drugs might
well allow patients suffering from these and
similar conditions to recover completely.
AxoGlia’s research is currently at the preclinical phase. If it proves successful, the
enterprise intends to transfer licences on
the developed molecules to mid-sized pharmaceutical laboratories or large pharmaceutical groups. Dr Coowar is confident about
the reception of the company’s research
results and emphasises the tremendous
support it has received from R&D actors in
Luxembourg.
A carefully chosen location
AxoGlia was set up in February 2006. Its
activities build on basic research conducted
by the University of Luxembourg in collaboration with two French institutes, the
Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg and
the National Centre for Scientific Research
in Paris. This cooperation was initiated by a
Luxembourgish student in Strasbourg, and
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The discovery of a molecule that may have the potential to treat diseases of the nervous system, such as
Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis, inspired the creation of the biotech company AxoGlia Therapeutics
S.A. and could bring hope to millions of patients. Building on the work of three research institutes in
two countries, AxoGlia carries out its pioneering activities in close collaboration with the University of
Luxembourg.
Djalil Coowar, Chief Scientific Officer
it has enabled AxoGlia to take advantage of
the complementary nature of these research
institutes.
When the company was established, the
AxoGlia Therapeutics S.A.
founders decided to take up residence in + 352 46 66 44 62 88
the Grand Duchy. Dr Coowar explains why. info@axoglia.com
“We moved to Luxembourg in order to take
www.axoglia.com
advantage of the numerous incentives that
are on offer to encourage and nurture R&D
and innovative activities. There is a strong
public and private will to develop this sector of the economy and show that, even if
Luxembourg is one of the smallest European
countries, it has much to offer, and is not all
about banking and investment funds.”
Enthusiastic public and private
support
So, AxoGlia met with the Luxembourgish
government, represented by the Minister of
the Economy, Mr Jeannot Krecké, who in July
2007 signed a convention to assist in the
financing of its R&D activities. The government put up the sum of € 545,000.
Focus 2008 I
23
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Private investors interested in the
dynamic health technologies market
contributed another € 300,000.
AxoGlia also received research cofinancing of € 250,000 from the
National Society for Credit and
Investment (Société Nationale de
Crédit et Investissement, or SNCI).
This is a bank specialised in the
medium- and long-term financing of
investments made by Luxembourgbased companies. The SNCI has
recently launched a new initiative aiming to
support spin-offs from the Grand Duchy’s
research centres and the university which
are engaged in R&D or innovative activities.
24
I Focus 2008
Susanne Siebentritt, TDK Europe Professor
AxoGlia has also benefited from the assistance obtained through the transnational
business plan competition 1,2,3, Go, which
covers Luxembourg and its neighbouring
regions in Belgium, France and Germany.
The competition’s support network helped
the company develop a sound business plan
and evaluate whether its business model
was viable, and provided it with an experienced business coach.
To put it simply, photovoltaics explores the
conversion of sunlight into electricity using
solar cells. At a time of global concern about
climate change and the world’s reliance on
fossil fuels, research in this field is obviously
critical as it will help to fine-tune the technologies exploiting a promising alternative
source of energy. TDK’s generous funding
provides an amount of € 3.5 million for a
five-year period of research into solar cells.
Dr Coowar is extremely grateful for the
confidence that has been shown in his
project in Luxembourg and hopes that
AxoGlia’s activities will encourage other R&D
players to choose this country as their base.
“It is still very much a developing sector in
Luxembourg and the university itself is very
young. However, the more companies come
to the Grand Duchy, the more the sector,
and the facilities made available to it, will
mature and expand.” Dr Coowar would, in
particular, like to see more premises dedicated to R&D activities. AxoGlia is currently
using the laboratories of the University of
Luxembourg, but is hoping to move into its
own premises shortly. Dr Coowar welcomes
the City of Sciences under construction in
the south of Luxembourg, which shows a lot
of promise for further research-based activities in the Grand Duchy.
The beneficiary of the TDK professorship
is Dr Susanne Siebentritt. The widely published native of Nürnberg in Germany studied physics at the Universities of Erlangen
and Hannover, where she received her doctorate in 1992. After post-doctorate work
at the University of California Los Angeles
(UCLA) and the Free University of Berlin,
she took on new responsibilities as a project
director at Berlin’s Hahn - Meitner Institute.
Dr Siebentritt explains that the Photovoltaics
Laboratory, which was set up in April 2007 as
part of the university’s Physics and Materials
Research Unit, concentrates on two main
issues. These are “the development of the
technology for thin film solar cells and the
fundamental materials physics of the novel
semiconductors used as absorbers in these
devices”.
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Capturing the sun in Luxembourg :
The Photovoltaics Laboratory
It might seem surprising to launch such an initiative in a country where the average
monthly rainfall exceeds 60 mm, but TDK, the leading Japanese materials technology
company, chose the University of Luxembourg to establish a photovoltaics laboratory
and fund the “TDK Europe Professorship”.
Next-generation photovoltaics
Dr Siebentritt’s work at this point in time
focuses on chalcopyrite. This crystal is made
of the elements copper, indium, gallium and
selenium. Its black colour makes it suitable
for solar cells. It is of particular interest as
an alternative to the silicon commonly used
to produce semiconductors for modern consumer electronics such as mobile phones and
iPods.
Dr Siebentritt explains : “Thin-film solar
cells using chalcopyrite are considered the
next generation of photovoltaics because
of their enormous potential for production
cost reductions. These come from significant decreases in the amount of material
and energy used to make them as well as less
labour effort. In Luxembourg, we work on
processes and materials for this technology.”
Professor notes that she and her team are
open to a range of potential public-private
partnerships.
Building the future
Photovoltaics Laboratory
Dr Siebentritt looks forward to her department’s being able to offer a Master’s pro- + 352 46 66 44 63 04
gramme in materials physics and being able susanne.siebentritt@uni.lu
http://physics.uni.lu/
to attract students “from all over the world”
photovoltaics_lpv
with whom she can “work and discuss”. In
the meantime, she is “delighted to be part
of a new university and help to build it up”.
This, however, does not appear to be the
appointment’s sole attraction, as she adds :
“I simply like living in Luxembourg. It is a
great place.”
Benefits beyond pure research
The research capability of the laboratory,
which Dr Siebentritt attests “has excellent
equipment” thanks to TDK and the University
of Luxembourg, would be of interest to
any company in the semiconductor and
sensor industries, and not just to those
active in the area of photovoltaics. The
Focus 2008 I
25
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Gerard Lopez, Managing Partner
Venture capital
with a punch
Innovation turns great ideas into great products, but it requires both entrepreneurship and capital to turn
great products into great business success. Luxembourg - based Mangrove Capital Partners invests in early
stage internet and software businesses. Its investment portfolio includes an internet start-up company which
has helped shape the modern telecommunications landscape – Skype.
Mangrove Capital Partners
+ 352 26 25 34 1
secretariat@mangrove-vc.com
www.mangrove-vc.com
Mangrove Capital Partners set up in the
Grand Duchy in 2000 to provide “capital
with a punch to entrepreneurs looking to
build world-class companies”, placing equal
importance on providing its portfolio companies with sound advice based upon relevant experience supported by deep industry
relationships.
Gerard Lopez, co-founder and managing partner of Mangrove, explains that Mangrove’s
goal is to “invest in companies operating
internet or software businesses as early as
possible in their development and even stand
ready to invest prior to product launch. We
see our role as an accelerator of growth and
a partner for the journey to success.” A “serial
entrepreneur” himself, Mr Lopez uses his own
extensive experience when collaborating
with investees.
“ We see our role
as an accelerator
of growth and a
partner for the
journey to success.”
26
Mangrove invested € 20 million to create
Skype in 2003. Eight months after it had set
up its online platform, internet telephony
network Skype counted 7 million users and
that figure had grown to 117 million users by
April 2006 when Skype was sold to eBay for
$4.1 billion. The exponential growth had permitted Skype to gain an important foothold
in a market that soon saw other entrants
using VOIP (voice-over-internet protocol)
technology.
Skype’s headquarters, located in Luxembourg
City close to Mangrove, are also close to the
European Investment Fund (EIF), which similarly counts Skype as one of its success stories.
The EIF, in which the European Investment
Bank is lead shareholder alongside the
I Focus 2008
European Commission and a cluster of banks
and financial institutions, does not lend
money to SMEs directly, but specialises in
venture capital financing and in guarantees
for banks’ SME activity and collaborates with
Mangrove through its European Technology
Start-up Facility.
Mangrove continues to invest funds, time
and expertise in high-tech companies. “We
are always on the lookout for companies
looking to break the mould,” says Mr Lopez.
Another Luxembourg-based company in
which Mangrove has invested is SecureWave,
a specialist in prevention of the loss or theft of
data started at the Technoport business incubator in Luxembourg. After attracting investment from Mangrove, SecureWave embarked
on the same exponential growth as Skype.
Four years later the company celebrated the
sale of its one millionth licence and then took
only six months to sell its next half million. In
September 2007 it merged with PatchLink to
become Lumension Security, which is now the
world’s leading provider of proactive security
solutions.
So why did Mangrove choose the Grand Duchy
as its base of operations ? “Luxembourg’s size
brings the advantage that we can maintain a
close relationship with government decision
makers”, explains Mr Lopez. The country is not
yet a focal point for venture capital which, Mr
Lopez continues, “makes Mangrove the key
player and allows us to be counted among the
pan-European venture capitalists. While we
expect to make a majority of our investments
in greater Europe, the right entrepreneur and
a bold vision can entice us beyond.”
Public Research
The strategic importance
of public research
Although Luxembourg’s public research effort is a
relatively new venture, it has allowed the government
to take a fresh approach to attracting new people with
original ideas. The country is determinedly building a
research base – to help energise existing businesses,
but also to create possibilities in new areas. The
government is fully committed to this strategy.
We spoke to François Biltgen, the Minister for
Culture, Higher Education and Research, about
these plans.
François Biltgen, Minister for Culture, Higher Education and Research
“One hundred years ago, Luxembourg lived
from the wealth of its soil, with steel and
agriculture dominant. For the last 50 years we
have depended on ‘sovereignty niches’, but
now we can only thrive using the knowledge
of our people.” This is how François Biltgen
explains the turnaround in attitudes to public
sector research in the Grand Duchy over
recent years. “We can only remain a country
with a high standard of living if we invest in
research, innovation and training,” he adds.
Although the public research effort began
around 20 years ago, it was the decision in
2001 to found a research university which
really changed the game, with the government now targeting public research spending of 1 % of GDP for the next decade. In
2008, € 175 million is being spent, representing 0.48 % of national income, with
0.53 % planned for 2009. There are currently
around 2,500 researchers working in the
country, about 550 more than five years ago,
with a further 500 set to arrive by 2013.
In fact, the main concern appears to be
identifying ways of investing in a constructive fashion. Quantitative targets are being
set for the university and the public research
centres (in terms of number of doctorates,
patents, publications etc.), but it is the
long - term, less tangible benefits that the
government is looking for. And it appears
to be in for the long haul. “The discovery
Ministry of Culture, Higher
Education and Research
of inventions is certainly one of the most
Department of Research
important results of research,” notes Mr
and Innovation
Biltgen, adding that “a vibrant research community and an overall innovation-friendly + 352 24 78 52 19
environment are considerable assets for recherche@mcesr.public.lu
www.mcesr.public.lu
attracting new economic activities.” There www.recherche.lu
will be an emphasis on a limited number of
priority research areas in order to develop
centres of excellence.
Creating top-notch conditions for
world-class R&D
With the public research centres being
founded at the end of the 1980s and the
university in only 2003, there is clearly a
lot of work to do to reach these goals. Yet,
by being a “new kid on the block”, it is possible to learn from international best practice
without entrenched agendas from existing
institutes. For example, Mr Biltgen is enthusiastic about the “knowledge triangle” which
will be formed by a new City of Sciences at
the Esch-Belval brownfield site. Planned for
the 2012/13 academic year, it will bring the
university and the public research centres
together onto one site, with the buildings
arranged by area of research : ICT and mathematics ; materials and engineering ; human
and social sciences ; life and environmental
sciences ; innovation.
“A vibrant research
community
and an overall
innovation-friendly
environment are
considerable assets
for attracting new
economic activities”.
Focus 2008 I
27
Public Research
There is also a state - of - the - art research
governance system (based on specific OECD
recommendations), and the Bologna principles, which are designed to facilitate student
mobility in Europe, have been adopted. This
effort is also backed by favourable legal and
regulatory frameworks. The private sector
has a central role in the research effort, being
represented on the governing boards of all
public research institutions and agencies.
Investing in new thoughts and
discoveries
Mr Biltgen stresses that “the aim of research is
to think new thoughts and make discoveries.
Research is a risky business. But only through
such research can you find things which will
bring economic benefits in the future.” As an
example of its commitment, the state is due
to invest € 140 million over the next five years
in an ambitious biotechnology programme in
conjunction with three respected institutes
from the US. The effort will centre around
the creation of a biobank, with two specific
projects using this facility’s services.
Although many countries have tried to kickstart biotech activity in a similar fashion,
Luxembourg is approaching this challenge
with an open mind, looking to use knowledge
where it can and to be as open as possible
to new ideas, without institutional or nationalistic bias. Although Mr Biltgen admits
freely that this effort is “very risky” and “going
beyond what we already have”, he points out
that it is part of a plan to concentrate on
developing specific centres of excellence.
“ Research is a
risky business. But
only through such
research can you
find things which
will bring economic
benefits in the
future.”
28
The state also supports two research-related
agencies. One of these, the National Research
Fund, helps the Ministry of Research set
priorities, create and implement its programme and evaluate results. Then there
is Luxinnovation, the National Agency for
Innovation and Research. It offers tailormade services to businesses of all sizes as
well as private and public research centres
and laboratories.
In recent years, Luxembourg has joined the
European Molecular Biology Laboratory,
the European Science Foundation and the
European Space Agency, a decision that ties
in with the strategy to strengthen the country’s research credentials. The focus now is
on making the current initiatives work, but
Mr Biltgen insists that the government will
keep its “eyes and ears wide open for opportunities”.
I Focus 2008
This was the opportunity – and challenge –
Luxembourg embraced when in 2003 a law
was enacted to establish a university that
would focus on teaching, research and the
commercial exploitation of research results.
Today, the University of Luxembourg is
made up of three divisions : the Faculty of
Science, Technology and Communication,
the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance,
and the Faculty of Language and Literature,
Humanities, Art and Education. It offers 11
Bachelor’s degree courses and 20 Master’s
degree courses. Currently 220 researchers are working towards PhDs in 18 areas
that range from biology and engineering
to finance and political science. Reflecting
Luxembourg’s multicultural nature, the university works in three languages – English,
French and German.
The university is headed by Rector Rolf
Tarrach. A native of Spain, Dr Tarrach was
previously Professor of Theoretical Physics
at the University of Barcelona, where
he also served as Dean of the School of
Physics. He then spent some time in Madrid
as President of the Spanish Council for
Scientific Research. He was also a member
of the European Union Research Advisory
Board and President of the European Heads
of Research Councils.
A university “led by research”
“The University of Luxembourg would quite
likely not have been created without having research in mind”, explains Dr Tarrach.
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Public Research
The University of Luxembourg :
Born to research
Imagine that, in the first decade of the twenty- first century, you could create a
new university. What would it be like ? In which fields would you seek to achieve
excellence ? What types of students and faculty would you want to attract ?
Security and reliability of information
technology
Materials science
Life sciences
European and business law
International finance
Educational science
Luxembourg studies
Finance, of course, reflects Luxembourg’s
position as an international financial centre, while European law takes advantage of
the Luxembourg location of the European
Court of Justice. Materials science is an
area of interest to local companies such as
ArcelorMittal and Goodyear. Educational science falls under the university’s mandate to
train teachers for the Grand Duchy’s schools,
while the security and reliability of information technology are of major interest for the
government as well as the private sector.
Four other areas that have been identified as
“medium priority” are geodynamics and seismology, environmental resources and technologies, social sciences, and the economy
and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is
the focus of a new Master’s programme in
Entrepreneurship and Innovation, offered
jointly by the university and the Chamber of
Commerce.
As multinational
as Luxembourg itself
University of Luxembourg
By 2007, the university had already attracted
more than 4,100 students, of whom 47 % + 352 46 66 44 1
came from 89 countries outside of the seve.infos@uni.lu
Grand Duchy. Nearly 60 % of these “foreign” communication@uni.lu
www.uni.lu
students were from neighbouring Belgium,
France and Germany, and a substantial contingent from Portugal reflected the strong
local presence of Luxembourg’s largest
immigrant group. Eastern Europe and Africa
also provided numerous students. Teaching
these young scholars were 61 professors
and 74 assistant professors from 12 different
countries.
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“This is fortunate, since pushing forward our
frontiers of knowledge is the activity which
is most passionately pursued by academics.
Whether research is centred in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences or technologies, it will be the lifeblood of the university.” Seven areas of research have been
designated as high priority :
Rolf Tarrach, Rector
Focus 2008 I
29
Public Research
The TDK Europe Professorship for semi-conductor research established in 2007 by the
Japanese company TDK exemplifies this ambition. The focus of the Chair was to be research
in photovoltaic, or solar, batteries that do
not use silicon or indium. The work centres
around the development of a low-cost process for the preparation of thin-film solar cells
which are “next generation” because of their
potential for production cost reductions.
Digital integrity
The Computer Science and Computer Research Unit contains the Laboratory
of Algorithmics, Cryptology and Security (LACS). Headed by Dr Alex Biryukov,
an internationally recognised expert in the field, the laboratory boasts five
professors and assistant professors and 11 research assistants and post-docs.
LACS’ importance reflects the ubiquity of digital communications in contemporary society and accompanying concerns like privacy and anonymity, protection of intellectual property and digital rights, data integrity and threats
from surveillance systems such as Echelon. To address such issues, an interdisciplinary approach is needed that draws researchers from engineering and
law as well as computer sciences.
Teams, not silos
Another development at the university Dr
Blessing feels is of particular interest is the
construction of multidisciplinary teams that
cut across traditional departmental silos.
Examples are the Behavioural Finance unit
that is part of the Luxembourg School of
Finance, which itself is part of the Faculty of
Law, Economics and Finance. The Behavioural
Finance unit combines finance with mathematics and psychology to study people’s
investment behaviour. Another team is
INSIDE, the Integrative Research Unit on Social
and Individual Development. INSIDE’s academic disciplines include psychology, sociology, educational sciences, social pedagogy
and social work. The group focuses on issues
relating to population ageing, aggression in
institutional and social contexts, and psychosocial stress and health-related problems.
In addition to cryptography, the research issues on which LACS focuses are
computational number theory, needed in public key cryptosystems, network
security, including intruder detection systems, and information security
management, including the prevention of identity theft.
Besides having academic partners from Belgium, Germany, France, Israel
and Switzerland, LACS is part of ECRYPT, the EU’s Network of Excellence in
cryptography. Mindful of the commercial applications for its work, LACS
has also established corporate and institutional partnerships that include
the Centre for Information Security Technologies (Korea), the Federal Office
for Information Security (Germany), Gemalto (France), Hitachi (Japan), the
Ministry of Defence’s Centre of Electronic Weaponry (France) and Telindus
(Luxembourg).
To focus research efforts and gain administrative and fiscal efficiencies, the university’s three faculties have organised specific
research units. Doctoral students’ research
projects are supervised by the academic
staff of these research units.
Mindful of the need for the commercial
exploitation of research, the university is
working on raising awareness of intellectual
property among faculty and student researchers. It is also exploring ways to involve greater
numbers of SMEs as research partners.
The university’s mission is to increase the
number of research faculty at the university
by 40 - 50 % by 2013.
Public-private partnerships
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Research collaboration with the private sector is considered a priority by the university’s Vice Rector for Research, Dr Luciënne
Blessing. A native of the Netherlands, Dr
Blessing was appointed Vice Rector in 2007
and is also a professor in the Engineering
Research Unit. She was previously Professor
in Engineering Design and Methodology
at the University of Technology Berlin and
a Senior Research Associate at Cambridge
University.
30
I Focus 2008
Luciënne Blessing, Vice Rector for Research
Although the university is too young to have
had many spin-offs, one success story is
AxoGlia Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical
company that is described on pages 23 - 24.
Rector Tarrach is proud of the company
as he believes, “People who had the ideas
should benefit.”
A healthy balance
Believing that there needs to be a healthy balance in research between the theoretical and
the applied, Dr Tarrach is pleased that many
of the university’s PhD students are undertaking research proposed by companies that
are also co-financing the students’ work. He
feels the endowment of chairs is an excellent
way to assure the relevance of the university’s
research and that this can apply beyond the
private sector. The City of Luxembourg, for
example, is financing a chair in urban planning.
Public Research
The innovation matrix :
public research centres and programmes
Stimulating research activities, attracting
researchers and enabling the country’s researchers to participate in projects abroad
are core activities of Luxembourg’s national research fund, the Fonds National de la
Recherche (FNR). The FNR is also in charge
of selecting and funding public research
projects undertaken under its thematic programmes and accompanying measures.
Mr Raymond Bausch, a mathematician
by training and Secretary General of the
FNR, is deeply committed to developing
Luxembourg’s research capabilities and
“ensuring their excellence”. He sees the
Fund’s strategic objectives as “supporting
researchers by contributing to a favourable
research environment and actively promoting a scientific culture nationally.”
In 2006 - 2007, the FNR undertook a foresight
study to pinpoint the research themes that
would determine national research priorities
for the coming years. It enlisted stakeholders that included business, government and
the citizenry as well as representatives of
the national research system and international experts in the exercise. The results are
the domains which make up the new CORE
programme :
Innovation in services
Sustainable resource management in
Luxembourg
Identities, diversity and integration
Labour market, educational requirements
and social protection
New functional and intelligent materials
and surfaces / new sensing applications
Biomedical sciences in age-related diseases
While some of the domains, like intelligent
materials and surfaces, build on previous
programmes, other areas, like innovation in
services, are new. The services domain is a
response to the substantial contribution of
the service sector to Luxembourg’s GDP. Its
sub-domains are business service design, the
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Luxembourg’s three public research centres, along with the University of Luxembourg, the research
centre CEPS/INSTEAD and the National Research Fund, comprise the public portion of the Grand Duchy’s
national research system. Working within this system are approximately 650 public sector researchers, a
number which the government hopes will grow considerably in the coming years.
Raymond Bausch, Secretary General
development and performance of financial
systems, information security and trust
management, and high-performance telecommunication networks.
www.fnr.lu
While FNR funding is reserved for recipients
within the University of Luxembourg, the
public research centres and a few other
public institutions that undertake research,
private sector participation in projects is encouraged. The CORE programme has a total
budget of € 81 million for six years.
“ The ATTRACT
programme
provides grants to
outstanding young
researchers to come
to Luxembourg.”
National Research Fund
Roaming researchers
To promote researcher mobility, the FNR supports two programmes. With a total budget
of € 6 million, the aptly named ATTRACT
programme provides grants to outstanding
young researchers to come to Luxembourg,
establish a team at a Luxembourgish research institution and undertake research
in their subject area. Six ATTRACT grants are
foreseen up to the end of 2012.
The need for international cooperation
is widely recognised among researchers,
particularly in order to raise the profile of
Focus 2008 I
31
Public Research
He is explaining the principles of traditional
Chinese medicine and how its practitioners
determine which of the 11,500 herbs and medicinal plants in the Chinese pharmacopoeia
should be prescribed. His presence is part of a
project under development with CRP Santé to
identify the active agents in these plants to
facilitate their acceptance and use in the West.
It reflects CRP Santé’s focus on fundamental,
applied, clinical and industrial research in
health care, public health and biotechnology.
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Luxembourgish research abroad and to
achieve a critical mass of research which can
be difficult to attain within the Grand Duchy’s
borders. The INTER programme provides funding for participation in international research
programmes run in partnership with, for instance, the European Science Foundation or
the US National Science Foundation, or in
ERA-NET, the cooperation instrument of
the European Research Area. INTER-funded
projects have, for example, brought together
researchers at the University of Luxembourg
with peers in Poland and Finland under the
ERA-NET MATERA programme and enabled
researchers in the Public Research Centre
Gabriel Lippmann’s Science and Analysis of
Materials department to join forces with
researchers from the University of Texas.
Preparing the next generation
CRP Gabriel Lippmann
www.lippmann.lu
Aid for Training and Research (Aides à la
Formation-Recherche, or AFR) is a research
grant programme for PhD candidates and
post-docs. The objective of the programme
is to help increase the number of researchers
in Luxembourg from 6 per 1,000 persons employed in 2005 to 10 per 1,000 persons employed by 2010. It also serves to promote the
mobility of researchers – recipients do not
have to be Luxembourgish or even undertake their research in Luxembourg – as well
as improve working conditions by offering
work contracts. In 2007, under the previous
grant programme hosted by the Ministry of
Research, 129 awards and € 6.3 million in fellowships were dispensed.
From Bergen to Beijing and
beyond : CRP Santé
CRP Santé
www.crp-sante.lu
32
I Focus 2008
Dr Liu Xinmin, MD and PhD, from the
Institute of Medicinal Plant Development
in Beijing, is addressing a crowded amphitheatre at Luxembourg’s Hospital Centre.
CRP Santé is one of Luxembourg’s three public research centres (centres de recherche
publics, or CRPs, in French) established with
the mission to enhance R&D activities in the
Grand Duchy and encourage research collaboration and technology transfer between the
public and private sectors. Its Laboratory of
Plant Molecular Biology, which organised the
conference on Chinese medicine, investigates
plant allergens and food tracing, and undertakes functional studies on plant actin-binding proteins. It is also in charge of the CRP’s
microscopy imaging facility, which is used for
cell biology research and can be accessed by
both researchers and industrial users from
Luxembourg and the surrounding region.
It is a long way from China to Norway, where
CRP Santé is a partner in NorLux with the
University of Bergen. NorLux is a state-of-theart neuro-oncology research centre which
studies the development of malignant
brain tumours and strives to identify novel
therapeutic proteins that can be used for
cell-based therapies. CRP Santé also works
in public health with organisations including the European Agency for the Evaluation
of Medicinal Products (EMEA) in London,
the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs
and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in Lisbon,
Luxembourg’s National Laboratory and the
World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva.
Nanotechnology and cellular
biology : CRP Gabriel Lippmann
“If you ever wanted to see stardust up close,
here’s your chance,” says researcher Susan
McGinn about the capabilities of the ion microprobe NanoSIMS, short for Secondary Ion
Mass Spectrometer. This scarce and costly instrument analyses the isotopic and elemental composition of extremely small samples
– such as interplanetary dust particles – at a
sub-micrometre, or nano, scale.
At CRP Gabriel Lippmann, the NanoSIMS is also
put to more earth-bound uses. Lippmann’s
Science and Analysis of Materials department
works on innovative surface treatments. It
is a reference laboratory for the characterisation of materials, surfaces and interfaces
down to a nanometric scale. Lippmann makes
its researchers and equipment available
to academic institutions and industrial
partners (e.g. ArcelorMittal and Goodyear),
both national and from other countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, the
UK and the US. It is also a leading partner in
the EU’s NanoBEAMS Network of Excellence
which develops the analytical techniques
and instruments required to work with nanomaterials. With the University of Luxembourg,
Lippmann organises a European PhD School
to train scientists in nano-analysis.
Lippmann’s Environment and Agro-Biotechnologies department studies the complex
mechanisms of natural and man-made ecosystems, in order to conserve, maintain and,
if necessary, restore these resources. Its work
encompasses both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and both forestry and agricultural
sectors.
Applied research for innovation:
CRP Henri Tudor
CRP Henri Tudor is the largest Luxembourg
public research centre with a staff of 345. Its
activities cover five scientific and technological fields : ICT ; materials ; environmental and
healthcare technologies ; business organisation and management. It offers various
activities and services such as applied and
experimental research, doctoral research,
development of tools, methods, labels, certifications and standards, technological assistance, consulting and watch services, knowledge and competence transfer as well as
incubation of high-tech companies. Its training arm organises training and conferences
(4,600 participants in 2007).
CRP Henri Tudor has set up sustainable collaboration with the services, finance, production, construction, healthcare and social security sectors, as well as with the public sector,
and particular attention is given to SMEs. To
reinforce this collaboration, new business
models such as the Multi-annual Partnership
Programmes (MPP) for research and innovation (for example InnoFinance within the
financial sector) and collaboration research
projects where partners can share risks, results
and Intellectual Property (IP) have been developed. Besides these new models, CRP Henri
Tudor continues to offer a wide range of
contract research services and projects with
blitz agency
Public Research
IP in these cases belonging up to 100 % to
the client. Consequently, partnership is very
important for CRP Henri Tudor’s activities,
as 54 % of its partners are companies and
federations and it is always looking for new
partners.
CRP Henri Tudor
www.tudor.lu
Seas of people, oceans of data :
CEPS / INSTEAD
Luxembourg is also home to the internationally renowned research centre Centre d’Etudes
de Populations, de Pauvreté et de Politiques
Socio-Economiques / International Network
for Studies in Technology, Environment,
Alternatives, Development (CEPS / INSTEAD),
which provides detailed social science and
economics data for researchers worldwide.
It undertakes short- and long-term studies
of populations, with a particular focus on
poverty. Its databases allow work on both
national and comparative bases.
Two of its programmes are of particular interest for researchers. The first organises visits
of two to 12 weeks for scholars doing research
using the centre’s archives of micro-data.
Visits from EU researchers are even funded
under the EU’s Framework Programmes for
research and development. The second programme offers an advanced Master’s degree
awarded by the Belgian university K.U.Leuven.
The programme’s goals are to provide a solid
theoretical foundation in comparative socioeconomic policies, a thorough training in both
quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and expertise in policy evaluation.
CEPS / INSTEAD
www.ceps.lu
“CEPS / INSTEAD
provides detailed
social science and
economics data
for researchers
worldwide.”
Focus 2008 I
33
10 questions
10 questions for Mr Jacques Lanners
Chairman of the Executive Board of Ceratizit
end is very hard while the other end is softer
to allow it to be welded onto a steel shaft.
This innovation received an award from the
European Metal Powder Association (EMPA).
blitz agency
5. How do you see the future of your
company in Luxembourg over the next,
say, 10 years ?
We plan to continue the growth that we have
experienced since our foundation in 1931 and
we aim to remain a major actor in the tungsten carbide world of the future.
Ceratizit
+ 352 31 20 85 1
info@ceratizit.com
www.ceratizit.com
1. What types of activity does your
company currently have located in
Luxembourg ?
We are a tungsten carbide manufacturing
company with our worldwide headquarters
based in Mamer, to the west of Luxembourg
City. We also have manufacturing facilities
that produce some of our raw materials in
Differdange, our compacting tools in Livange
and our tungsten products in Mamer. Luxembourg is also the home of our research department.
2. What are the advantages to your company of being located in Luxembourg ?
Mainly the internationality and the skills of
our staff, and the possibility to recruit further
highly educated people from Luxembourg,
Belgium, France and Germany.
3. What type of research, development
and innovation (RDI) activities does
your company currently carry out in
Luxembourg ?
Our business is split up into five business units.
Four of these units have their own R&D department, three of which are in Luxembourg.
They are responsible for the development of
the products as well as for some fundamental research on material and processes.
34
4. Could you please outline an RDIrelated project that your company has
successfully developed in Luxembourg ?
We have developed a new composite drill bit
for one of our customers (Hilti). The particularity of this drill bit is that the machining
I Focus 2008
6. What is your opinion of the present RDI
capabilities in Luxembourg ?
Some promising activities have been
launched here, and I believe that the structure of the research centres and the University of Luxembourg will provide powerful platforms for the future of R&D in Luxembourg.
There is a clear recognition of the need for
the Grand Duchy to become leaders in innovation. Innovation is going to be one of the
key factors of success in developed countries
as they compete with the lower-cost emerging economies.
7. What, in your opinion, is currently
lacking in Luxembourg’s RDI system ?
I believe that the Luxembourgish government
has now realised that the promotion of R&D
is necessary to keep our local wealth growing
and to remain an important economic actor
in Europe and the rest of the world. Of course
there is still a long way to go.
8. What is your vision of Luxembourg in 2015 ?
My vision is quite optimistic, provided we can
avoid the trap of becoming too bureaucratic
and slow. After all, in the fast-changing world
in which we live, it is no longer “the big ones
that eat the small ones”, but “the fast ones
that eat the slow ones”. Luxembourg can be
small and fast.
9. What is the most exciting experience of
your career so far ?
It was our merger in 2002. Our company
Céramétal merged that year with the Austrian company Plansee Tizit. Today our group
is managed from Luxembourg with 13 production units around the world and with
more than 4,500 employees. We are number
5 in our business and we hope to continue
growing in the future.
10.W hat is your personal motto?
“Just do it.”
10 questions
10 questions for Mr Volker Neuber
Vice President EMEA Husky Injection Molding Systems S.A.
2. What are the advantages to your company of being located in Luxembourg ?
Luxembourg is an attractive location for access to employees who combine language
skills with a broad technical experience. Our
workforce of more than 20 nationalities
comes from all over the Greater Region.
3. What type of research, development
and innovation (RDI) activities does
your company currently carry out in
Luxembourg ?
Local R&D is part of a global R&D team. In the
past 12 months, we have been centralising our
R&D activities here where we focus on trends
demanded by the European customer base.
4. Could you please outline an RDIrelated project that your company has
successfully developed in Luxembourg ?
In Europe we are particularly concentrating
on such subjects as energy efficiency, and
this also drives us to investigate developing
machines to make lighter weight products.
5. How do you see the future of your
company in Luxembourg over the next,
say, 10 years ?
There is enormous growth in the emerging
markets where sales of “safe packaged food”
are a key indicator of the initial stages of economic development. We are expanding our
operations to meet those growing needs, but
this will not result in delocalisation of our European business. We still have an enormous
demand to support European packaging companies that need to be located close to their
customers due to the prohibitive cost of transporting empty packaging over long distances.
Last year, Robert Schad, who founded Husky
in 1953, sold his majority shareholding to
the private equity company Onex. Onex will
maintain the core values of Husky, but it is
EMEA Husky Injection
also very open to growth through mergers
Molding Systems S.A.
and acquisitions and I would expect this to
require increased technical support from the + 352 52 11 51
Luxembourg site over the next 10 years.
info@husky.ca
6. What is your opinion of the present RDI
capabilities in Luxembourg ?
The country of Luxembourg is an attractive
magnet to bring experts here, and the highly
educated human resources that come from
the Greater Region of the surrounding countries are of particular importance.
www.husky.ca
blitz agency
1. What types of activity does your
company currently have located in
Luxembourg ?
Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. is the
world’s largest brand name supplier of injection molding equipment. Worldwide HQ is in
Toronto, Canada, and we have 850 employees
working in Dudelange, south of the city of Luxembourg. The campus houses the HQ of Sales and
Service for the region of Europe, Middle East
and Africa (EMEA), as well as our European
manufacturing facilities. The Technical Centre
provides training and technical support and
includes a growing R&D department.
7. What, in your opinion, is currently lacking in Luxembourg’s RDI system ?
To address past skills gaps we have created
our own apprentice scheme, but I am now
pleased to see that Luxembourg is investing
more in technical education and I would look
forward to seeing more employees coming
to us from the University of Luxembourg.
8. What is your vision of Luxembourg in 2015 ?
I believe that the financial sector will be
even stronger, with manufacturing staying
at same levels or decreasing. The growth of
activity in services and R&D is likely, but dependent upon the attractiveness of Luxembourg as a place to live, and the government
is working on that …
9. What is the most exciting experience of
your career so far ?
In 1999, when working at GE, I drove in a convoy with a group of managers to bring aid to
schools and local relief organisations in Albania – a moving experience.
10.W hat is your personal motto ?
“The impossible exists only when we don’t
try to make it possible.”
Focus 2008 I
35
Did you know it’s from Luxembourg ?
First zero - emission polar station
stands on Luxembourgish foundation
Prefalux S.A.
+ 352 78 95 11 1
info@prefalux.lu
www.prefalux.lu
36
I Focus 2008
If you can build a zero-emission structure to survive weather conditions described by
explorer Ernest Shackleton as “a blinding, shrieking blizzard all day, with the temperature
ranging from - 51 to - 56 °C”, you can prove to the world that with the right research and
technology, you can build environmentally sound structures anywhere. The Princess
Elisabeth Antarctica station is a technical showcase and a major achievement : it is the only
polar base operating entirely on renewable energies. The Luxembourgish company Prefalux
S.A. played an important part in making this polar research station so eco-friendly : the
company was responsible for studying, designing, producing and mounting the structure’s
wooden frame as well as for the coverings for the façade and roof.
© Prefalux
© Prefalux
Did you know it’s from Luxembourg ?
Focus 2008 I
37
Index
FOCUS on Research and
Innovation in Luxembourg is
published by :
Luxinnovation GIE
National Agency for Innovation
and Research
Director of publication :
Gilles Schlesser
Editor-in-chief :
Lena Mårtensson
lena.martensson@luxinnovation.lu
Journalists :
Susan Alexander, Ros Browne,
Stephen Evans, Wendy Winn
Copy-editing :
Louise Ferguson,
Frauke Hertel
Graphic design and layout :
Alternatives Communication
Cover :
© Delphi Luxembourg
Printed in :
20,000 copies
Sponsored by :
Luxembourg Board of Economic
Development,
National Research Fund
For a free subscription, please contact :
info@luxinnovation.lu
The publisher has tried to
ensure that all information
is accurate but cannot be
held responsible for the use
which might be made of
the information, nor for any
mistakes or omissions which
may appear.
Reproduction is authorised,
provided the source and
copyright are acknowledged.
© 2008 Luxinnovation GIE
Useful contacts in Luxembourg
Governmental portal for innovation and research
www.innovation.public.lu
Ministries
Ministry of the Economy and Foreign Trade
Directorate of Research and Innovation
19-21, boulevard Royal
L-2914 Luxembourg
Phone :+ 352 24 78 41 28 I Fax : + 352 26 20 27 68
innovation@eco.public.lu
www.eco.public.lu
Ministry of Culture, Higher Education and Research
Department of Research and Innovation
20, montée de la Pétrusse
L-2273 Luxembourg
Phone :+ 352 24 78 52 19 I Fax : + 352 46 09 27
recherche@mcesr.public.lu
www.mcesr.public.lu
www.recherche.lu
Research and innovation agencies
Luxinnovation GIE
National Agency for Innovation and Research
7, rue Alcide de Gasperi
L-1615 Luxembourg
Phone : +352 43 62 63 1 I Fax: +352 43 81 20
info@luxinnovation.lu
www.luxinnovation.lu
National Research Fund Luxembourg
6, rue Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
P.O. Box 1777
L-1017 Luxembourg
Phone : +352 26 19 25 1 I Fax: +352 26 19 25 35
info@fnr.lu
www.fnr.lu
Invest in Luxembourg
Board of Economic Development
Ministry of the Economy and Foreign Trade
L-2914 Luxembourg
Phone : +352 24 78 43 45 I Fax: +352 26 20 27 68
info@bed.public.lu
www.bed.public.lu
Société Nationale de Crédit et d’Investissement
P.O. Box 1207
L-1012 Luxembourg
Phone : + 352 46 19 71 1 I Fax : + 352 46 19 79
snci@snci.lu
www.snci.lu
Luxembourg business promotion
Chamber of Commerce
7, rue Alcide de Gasperi
L-2981 Luxembourg
Phone : + 352 42 39 39 1 I Fax : + 352 43 83 26
chamcom@cc.lu
www.cc.lu
Public research organisations
Luxembourg for Business GIE
L- 2449 Luxembourg
Phone : + 352 24 78 84 31 I Fax : + 352 22 34 85
info@luxembourgforbusiness.lu
University of Luxembourg
162a, avenue de la Faïencerie
L-1511 Luxembourg
Phone : + 352 46 66 44 1
seve.infos@uni.lu I communication@uni.lu
www.uni.lu
University of Luxembourg researcher mobility centre
EURAXESS Service Centre Luxembourg
162a, avenue de la Faïencerie
L-1511 Luxembourg
Phone : + 352 46 66 44 66 81 I Fax : + 352 46 66 44 6760
barbara.daniel@uni.lu www.uni.lu
Public Research Centre Gabriel Lippmann
41, rue du Brill
L-4422 Belvaux
Phone : + 352 47 02 61 1 I Fax : + 352 47 02 64
contact@lippmann.lu
www.lippmann.lu
Public Research Centre Henri Tudor
29, avenue John F. Kennedy
L-1855 Luxembourg
Phone : + 352 42 59 91 1 I Fax : + 352 42 59 91 77 7
info@tudor.lu
www.tudor.lu
Public Research Centre Santé
Bâtiment Thomas Edison
1A-B rue Thomas Edison
L-1445 Strassen
Phone : +352 26 97 01 I Fax : + 352 26 97 07 19
secretariat@crp-sante.lu
www.crp-sante.lu
CEPS/INSTEAD
44 rue Emile Mark
L-4620 Differdange
Phone : + 352 58 58 55 1 I Fax : + 352 58 55 60
communication@ceps.lu
www.ceps.lu
Incubators
38
Ecostart Enterprise and Innovation Centre
c/o Ministry of the Economy and Foreign Trade
L-2449 Luxembourg
Phone : + 352 24 78 41 85 I Fax : + 352 26 20 27 68
mario.grotz@eco.etat.lu
www.ecostart.lu
I Focus 2008
Technoport
Centre de Recherche Public Henri Tudor
BP 144
L-4002 Esch-sur-Alzette
Phone : + 352 54 55 80 1 I Fax : + 352 54 55 80 40 1
info@technoport.lu
www.technoport.lu
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Automotive components made in Luxembourg

Transcription

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