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On Tuesday 5 November 2024, the Department of Media, Connectivity and Digital Policy (SMC) of Luxembourg's Ministry of State, together with the Ministry of the Economy, Luxinnovation and the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), announced the selection of seven 5G communication technologies projects following a joint call for projects last year.
Following the selection process, the seven projects chosen under the joint call for projects for 5G communication technologies have been officially announced.
This call for projects was launched in 2023 by the SMC, the Ministry of the Economy, the FNR and Luxinnovation, via a digital platform.
As the authorities explained, the joint call for projects focuses on the use of 5G communications technologies in the fields of Smart Environment, Smart Cities, Industry 4.0 and Technologies. It aims to stimulate collaborative research and development (R&D) projects, in the form of public-private partnerships (PPP) and to provide financial support to companies and research organisations to assess the relevance of a technology, product or solution, their technological advantages as well as the benefits for the different sectors of the Luxembourg economy.
The selection process took place in several phases. In a first phase, the consortia were invited to submit an initial version of their project expressing their interest. Eighteen expressions of interest were registered, following which a pre-selection was made. The consortia were then invited to submit full project proposals. The projects were subsequently submitted for opinion to a panel of experts from the FNR, in the presence of representatives from the SMC and the Ministry of Economy. In a final step, the projects were presented to the state aid advisory committee for the final decision.
Selected projects
5G-AGROBOT, in partnership with the Luxembourg Institute of Science & Technology (LIST)
The 5G-AGROBOT project, initiated by two companies Fësch Haff and Frontier Connect, aims to design and develop an intelligent monitoring and harvesting system for small indoor farms, taking advantage of 5G communications. 5G will enable low-latency communication between all Internet of Things (IoT) devices installed in the greenhouses (sensors, cameras) and the robot to operate harvesting activities quickly and accurately. In addition, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms trained using the data and/or images collected will be used to drive the robot's automated operations.
Total allocated budget: €1.444 million.
5G-CriCo, in partnership with LIST
The 5G-CriCo project proposed by POST Luxembourg and LIST aims to develop innovative mechanisms and algorithms to improve the reliability and resilience of mission critical (MCx) communication services on 5G Standalone networks. The proposal includes a demonstration involving critical infrastructure providers such as the CFL, aiming to significantly change the performance of 5G Standalone systems in critical conditions in Luxembourg.
Total allocated budget: €1.279 million.
5G-ARTEMIS, in partnership with the SnT of the University of Luxembourg
The 5G-ARTEMIS project develops a real-time control system for additive manufacturing processes by combining sensors, augmented reality, 5G connectivity and AI. The consortium, comprising Dropslab Technologies, the University of Luxembourg and other industry leaders, focuses on using 5G communication technologies to improve the management of manufacturing processes. This integration aims to better understand process inefficiencies and defects with a focus on rapid problem identification and treatment in real time.
Total allocated budget: €1.848 million.
COSMIC, in partnership with SnT of the University of Luxembourg
The COSMIC project is a new joint research initiative of SnT and SES that focuses on improving satellite communications and aims to explore the feasibility, implementation and demonstration of direct device-to-device communications in the C-band using non-terrestrial networks (NTN) for connected cars and portable terminals. This project is part of the development of the next generation of mobile networks, including 5G and beyond, which aim to provide faster and more reliable wireless connections.
Total budget allocated: €1.470 million.
PASTA-5G-V2X, in partnership with LIST
With the aim of 5G coverage of all inhabited areas, technological advances make it possible to address the issue of dead zones in 5G networks. At the same time, technical progress in 5G for vehicle-to-vehicle communications (V2V) should bring benefits for road safety and traffic management. In this context, the consortium composed of IEE SA and LIST is focusing in this project on the development of transparent antennas for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications using 5G technologies.
Total budget allocated: €1.278 million.
5GDrive, in partnership with SnT of the University of Luxembourg
The 5GDrive project, led by the SnT with collaborators POST Luxembourg and Ohmio, aims to develop and validate a driving system for autonomous vehicles using cutting-edge 5G technology. This project combines industrial and experimental research to exploit the potential of 5G for high-definition real-time transmission of video and sensor data, as well as remote control of the vehicle, ensuring low latency and throughput that are essential for the operational success of autonomous vehicles.
Total allocated budget: €1.957 million.
5G-META, in partnership with LIST
Network exposure allows mobile networks to make their functionalities accessible to external applications via application programming interfaces (APIs), as well as more flexible connectivity services and on-demand services. However, implementation requires significant investments and complex technical expertise from mobile network operators and application developers. As such, the 5G-META project, proposed by PROXIMUS SA and LIST, aims to create solutions that automate, test and optimise the 5G network exposure capabilities in real-world scenarios in Luxembourg, making these advanced functionalities more accessible and easier to manage.
Total budget allocated: €1.256 million.
Budget
The total budget for these projects is estimated at €10.541 million.
As part of the 5G strategy launched by the SMC in 2018, the department is providing €7.637 million for the selected projects. €3.495 million will be transferred via the Ministry of the Economy to the private stakeholders involved, while €4.142 million will be transferred via the FNR to research organisations.
In order to be eligible, the consortia that presented their projects had to include at least one company eligible for funding from the Ministry of the Economy and one organisation eligible for funding from the FNR.
According to the Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister for Media and Connectivity, Elisabeth Margue, "the joint call for projects encourages initiatives using existing 5G infrastructures and goes well beyond 5G technology itself. It highlights the scale of the opportunities offered by this technology and takes into account the range of sectors that can benefit from the potential of 5G networks". She continued: "These synergies encourage innovation and reflect the government's commitment to positioning Luxembourg as a leader in the technology sector. Thanks to the solid and constructive collaboration between our partners, as well as the shared desire to combine our expertise to meet the challenges of tomorrow, we are able to develop innovative solutions today to serve society."
Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles, added: "This call for projects demonstrates once again our desire to position Luxembourg at the forefront of technological innovation. 5G is not only a driver of connectivity, but also an essential lever to accelerate the digital transformation of our economy and strengthen our competitiveness". He welcomed the "close collaboration" between Luxembourg's companies, research centres and public institutions that "allows us to develop concrete solutions to meet the challenges of tomorrow".
Dr Andreea Monnat, Acting Secretary General of the FNR, highlighted the commitment of the FNR "to bringing together research and industry by promoting innovative collaborations that stimulate the growth and resilience of our economy". She said the selected projects "perfectly illustrate our commitment to bringing together the best talents and fostering strategic synergies".
Luxinnovation CEO Sasha Baillie added: "Collaboration between researchers and businesses is essential to deploy innovations and fully exploit the potential of 5G technology in various strategic sectors for the Luxembourg economy". She also highlighted the "key role" played by the innovation agency in this call for projects.
Similar calls for joint projects, notably in the field of defence, high-performance computing (HPC) and digital health technologies, have been launched in the past.
