The competitiveness clusters Materalia (FR), MecaTech (BE), Skywin (BE) and the Luxembourg Materials & Manufacturing Cluster managed by Luxinnovation (LU) joined forces in order to promote technological collaborations between their members.
A series of webinars covering topics of mutual interest was organised over the past months. The objective was to boost the setting-up of R&D projects involving larges companies, SMEs and RTOs from our respective ecosystems in the Greater Region.
Links were established with relevant European and interregional funding opportunities (Era-Net, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, etc.).
“This initiative, which was launched in 2020 together with our partners in the Greater Region, is a first link in the web we are weaving to improve the competitiveness of local companies,” explains Caroline Muller, manager of the Materials & Manufacturing Cluster at Luxinnovation. “To do this, we rely on local skills that are easily accessible. Innovation is the driving force.”
Focus on the Horizon Europe programme
On 17 June, the final workshop concluded the series of 4 thematic events bringing the Greater Region players up to speed with the development of the Horizon Europe programme. The topics covered included materials, the digitalisation of manufacturing, the circular economy and bottom-up funding schemes.
This last event included a pitching session with 15 companies (including 7 from Luxembourg) presenting their interest in EU funding, as well as 3 interactive workshops on preidentified calls.
“This event was a good occasion for promoting collaborations under some specific calls for proposals of Cluster 4 of Horizon Europe that focuses on digital, industry and space,” comments Stefano Pozzi Mucelli, PhD, Senior Advisor – European R&D and Innovation Support at Luxinnovation. “We focused on digitally enabled manufacturing, the circular economy, energy transition, and materials that are safe and sustainable by design. It is essential to identify areas of synergies, and key networks to take into consideration when preparing proposals.”
Deadline on 23 September
The current call for proposals of Horizon Europe Cluster 4 will end soon, since the deadline has been set for 23 September.
“So it is important to mobilise potential interested players,” underlines Mr Pozzi Mucelli. “We have to identify existing consortia being formed, formulate the value proposition of local players (who can take advantage of a detailed guidance), get in touch with other national contact points to validate project ideas and navigate the work programmes.”
Webinars – Replays
Innovate together – Advanced and sustainable by design-materials
Innovate together – Digitalisation and human-robot collaboration
Innovate Together: Circular economy & Energy transition in Industry