News

Minister of the Economy Franz Fayot and Sasha Baillie, CEO of the national innovation agency Luxinnovation, announced on Thursday 15 October the names of the 20 start-ups that have been selected for participation in the 10th edition of the Fit 4 Start acceleration programme.

Luxembourg, October 14, 2020 – The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg became a founding member of the Artemis Accords when Minister of the Economy Franz Fayot signed the Accords on behalf of Luxembourg. The virtual signing took place yesterday at 12.30 h EDT in Washington DC at the 71st International Aeronautical Congress.

At the end of the half-yearly meeting of the Trade and Investment Board, the Minister of the Economy and the President of the Chamber of Commerce presented the recent initiatives that have been taken, particularly in the context of the pandemic, to support Luxembourg companies in their efforts to internationalise with the opening of a Luxembourg Trade & Investment Office (LTIO) in Casablanca.

On 1 October 2020, Franz Fayot, Minister of Economy, and Maggy Nagel, Commissioner General of the Luxembourg Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, presented an update on Luxembourg's participation in the World Expo 2020 in Dubai, the official start of which has been postponed by exactly one year.

The ESAIL microsatellite for tracking ships worldwide – developed under ESA's Partnership Projects programme – has been launched last night aboard an Arianespace Vega from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

On 4 August 2020, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Ministry of the Economy, as the supervisory body of the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA), and Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) in view of the creation by the end of 2020, in Luxembourg, of a "European Space Resources Innovation Centre”, called ESRIC in abbreviated form.

The Minister of the Economy Franz Fayot and the Minister for Higher Education and Research Claude Meisch visited Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) on Monday. Their motive was an inspection and demonstration of the “Cross-Functional Dashboard”, in relation to the country’s COVID-19 data.

On 22 July 2020, the Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved the bill implementing a new aid instrument aimed at companies that have suffered the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. ​

Following the "StartupsVsCovid19" call for projects launched in April, 15 innovative solutions proposed by startups to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis have been selected.

The Luxembourg government has decided to strengthen the support mechanism for the self-employed affected by the financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The call for research projects addressing current and future challenges of COVID-19 launched by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) is now open to public-private partnerships involving companies and research institutions.

On 22 April 2020, on the proposal of the Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Lex Delles, the Government Council approved two draft Grand Ducal Regulations aimed at putting in place new financial support measures for micro and small commercial and craft enterprises.

In order to connect the supply of and demand for personal protective equipment produced and supplied by Luxembourg companies, the national innovation agency, Luxinnovation, has launched the platform www.EPI-COVID19.lu. The website has been co-developed with the wedo.lu team of the Fédération des Artisans.

As from today, 14 April 2020, the persons concerned may apply for the aid of EUR 2,500 on the basis of the Grand Ducal Regulation of 8 April 2020 on the establishment of a certified emergency allowance for the self-employed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of the Economy, in collaboration with Luxinnovation, is launching a call for projects for young innovative companies under the name "StartupsVsCovid19".