LIST, Goodyear Renew Partnership at LIST Tech Day

The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) held the fifth edition of its Tech Day, with a focus on the interactions between humans and technology, on Thursday 15 June 2023 in Esch-Belval.

Over 350 participants, including 160 companies and institutions, had the opportunity to test out seven flagship technologies and attend the signing of a new partnership agreement with Goodyear.

In his opening speech, Claude Meisch, Luxembourg’s Minister for Higher Education and Research, reportedly emphasised that LIST is a prime example of the impact that a research and technology organisation can have, through its cutting-edge research activities, on innovative developments in business and on sustainability in society. “LIST is undoubtedly a major player in Luxembourg in promoting diversity through research on versatile and technology-oriented programmes, and Tech Day exemplifies this commitment,” he stated.

This 2023 edition reportedly seven flagship technologies in the Tech Village, all exploring the interactions between humans and machines in various ways. These demonstrations in the field of environment, digital, materials and space included:

• the Climobil app, providing users with details of when, why and how electric vehicles can be considered environmentally friendly;

• a satellite and IoT technology in the service of smart agriculture, aiming to ensure reliable data transmission between IoT long-range devices and satellite gateways;

• SmartSense, a solution for environmental monitoring;

• two complementary approaches on how to control a remotely located shuttle, or a robot, using low-latency connectivity; and how to anticipate the usage of these new connected and automated vehicles through a combination of physical and digital assets;

• healthtech AR/VR glasses with multiple connected sensors, designed to give carers an interactive platform where they can monitor their patients' progress in 3D;

• a TouchLess project, aiming to design and develop new materials and technological demonstrators for human-to-machine interaction based on gesture recognition by edge machine learning;

• a knowledge platform on space resources providing users a unique access point to up-to-date information and knowledge, coverage of scientific, technology and market information.

Over the last seven years, LIST and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company have collaborated to achieve results in the areas of material research, understanding of structure-property relationships and data science. According to LIST, the results of the two companies’ collaborative work have the potential to make Luxembourg a centre for innovation for mobility with a focus on tires and tire-related technology.

On the 2023 edition of Tech Day, LIST and Goodyear signed the second phase of their partnership, building on the outcomes of their previous collaborations and entering new technological areas as well. The agreement includes six strategic research programmes covering the 2024-2029 period:

• Data Science for Tire Applications;

• Tire as a Sensor;

• End-of-Life Tire Recycling;

• Sustainable Materials for Non-Pneumatic Tires;

• Sustainable Materials for Next Generation of Pneumatic Tires;

• Structure-Process-Property Relationships.

Moreover, LIST and Goodyear have identified several topics as potential fields of interest that may be added at a later stage of the collaboration.

“This second phase of strategic partnership is meant to broaden the scope of our successful collaboration with Goodyear,” Dirk Fransaer, CEO ad interim of LIST stated. “It embraces Luxembourg's national priorities, such as sustainability, digital transformation and circular economy. Two pillars, i.e. digitalisation and materials sustainability, will support this vision for a duration of six years.”

“Goodyear is focused on advancing mobility and sustainability efforts on a global scale,” said Chris Helsel, Senior Vice President Global Operations and Chief Technology Officer at Goodyear. “We have set several ambitions to address future mobility needs, but we know we can’t do this alone. Key partnerships, like that with the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, are vital to making significant progress towards these bold ambitions.”

Tech Day was also an opportunity for LIST present a number of current partnerships such as those with the startups Four Point and WIDE (Women in Digital Empowerment), or upcoming partnerships with Green Power Storage Solutions and Webasto.

Eva Kremer, Chairwoman of LIST Board, ended her closing remarks by celebrating the fifth edition of the Tech Day. Since 2018, LIST has presented more than 40 demonstrators, have welcomed 99 speakers - keynotes and partners - and has welcomed more than 1,500 participants.