Luxembourg Launches €5m Smart City Project Call for Municipalities

On Tuesday 24 June 2025, Luxembourg's Ministry of the Economy and the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity launched a call for projects to promote "Smart City" solutions in municipalities or municipal associations.

To promote the deployment of "Smart City" solutions, Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles, and the Minister of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity, Serge Wilmes, are launching a call for projects aimed at municipalities and municipal associations interested in submitting a project meeting at least one of the following objectives: Smart Mobility, Smart Energy or Smart Resources. The overall budget of the call for projects is capped at €5 million in total, with the amount set to be spread over two years.

According to the two ministries, the Luxembourg government aims to accelerate the dual green and sustainable transition through the concept of "Smart City". The "Smart City" is therefore considered an integral part of the measures to be implemented as part of society's ecological transition, promoting a more rational use of resources and energy through digital solutions.

Projects will be evaluated based on several criteria: the quality of the application; relevance, innovation or novelty within the municipality; social and environmental impact; the quality and ambition of the key performance indicators to be monitored over time; the "data" component, including data generation, management, open data, sharing, cybersecurity and interoperability; replicability potential; project sustainability, implementation and monitoring. The pre-selection process is carried out by a jury composed of at least two members from the Ministry of the Economy, the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity and Klima-Agence. The jury's deliberations will be documented and their opinions will be shared with the project leaders.

The submitted innovative projects will benefit from support from the Ministry of the Economy and Klima-Agence to refine their content. Eligible projects of sufficient quality will be submitted to the Climate and Energy Fund for co-financing up to the budget cap, through an agreement, with a maximum amount of €500,000 per municipality or municipal association. According to the respective ministries, this grant helps address a lack of economic profitability during the launch phase of such projects. Higher co-financing rates are provided when several municipalities join forces or in the case of a municipality with fewer than 3,000 inhabitants.

Minister Delles emphasised: "The transition to smarter cities and towns is essential for meeting the challenges of tomorrow. With this call for projects, we aim to provide concrete support to municipalities in developing digital and sustainable solutions that serve citizens. Our ambition is clear: to make Luxembourg a true living laboratory for Smart City initiatives, where public and private innovation come together to create value, strengthen the attractiveness of our regions and improve the quality of life for all."

"Through the development and adoption of digital technologies, municipalities can become circular, reduce their ecological footprint and improve the quality of life of their citizens. This call for projects encourages municipalities in their efforts to achieve climate neutrality and be more resilient, in line with the ambitions of the Climate Pact for Municipalities," stated Minister Wilmes.

To enable the rapid launch of pioneering projects ("first movers") while giving other municipalities time to develop more complex projects, two waves are being organised for the submission of project proposals: before 16 November 2025 for the first wave and before 15 March 2026 for the second wave.