Charles-Albert Florentin, what are the main 2019 achievements you can attribute toyour cluster?
“First of all, I would like to mention the major national consultation that we have undertaken with all the public players as part of the project to measure the match between supply and demand in public circular building projects.
The aim was to identify their needs in relation to “circular” tenders. A feedback workshop, bringing together all the public stakeholders, was organised at the end of November. There we identified the main criteria to be retained in future circular public tenders. We have a good roadmap ahead of us for 2020.
Two other projects which can be highlighted: the strategic analysis of the Fit4Circularity programme and its possible evolution during the course of this year, and the cross-sectoral actions carried out with other clusters.
I am thinking for example of the identification and monitoring of plastic recycling projects, in connection with the Materials & Manufacturing Cluster; the positioning of the DIH and the Cleantech and Wood Clusters in relation to Smart Cities or the networking of the Greater Region of Cleantech companies and technologies through the Greater Green project.
What does the year 2020 look like?
The big event will of course be the Cleantech Forum Europe (18-20 May) in Luxembourg, an international event that will put the country in the spotlight and showcase all the achievements in clean technologies.
The Luxembourg CleanTech Cluster will be present, alongside members of Greater Green. We will focus our presence around the aspects of circular buildings and deconstruction.
The cluster will also be present at the beginning of December on the Chamber of Commerce stand at the Pollutec exhibition in Lyon, which is one of the reference events for environmental professionals.
In the meantime, we will have made progress on the project to match supply and demand and we will organise a workshop to report on the consultations we will continue to carry out, this time with private players.
Luxinnovation has just celebrated its 35th anniversary. In your opinion, what are the strong pillars of innovation in general for the years to come?
I’m not necessarily going to be original by citing the circular economy and sustainable development, with continued efforts to implement the national waste and resource management plan approved in June 2018 by the Government Council.
However, I will also mention the bioeconomy’ pillar, which the European Union considers to be one of the priority sectors of its strategy for the circular economy, and which is in full development.
In Luxembourg, several initiatives are interesting to follow in this area. For example, a study commissioned by the Environment Administration has shown that, each year, 31,500 tonnes of biomass could be produced in the Grand Duchy, which corresponds to more than 3 million litres of fuel oil that could heat several thousand ‘low energy’ houses.
According to this study, the recovery of green waste would make it possible to produce fuels that could replace fossil heating sources such as fuel oil or natural gas.
Nevertheless, the bio-economy is about much more than just fuel, as it is also about the creation of sustainable materials or the extraction of useful molecules for industry and pharmaceuticals.