On Saturday, June 30, 2018 was officially inaugurated in the presence of Francine Closener, Secretary of State for the Economy, the incubator for start-ups of the City of Dudelange, the INNOVATION HUB DUDELANGE as well as the 7 start-ups that already occupy it.
The official inauguration was followed by an “Open House” during which visitors had the opportunity to discover the incubator and the activities of the different start-ups that are installed there.
Birth of an ambitious eco-technological project
In July 2017, the communal council of the City of Dudelange had unanimously approved the agreement signed with the Ministry of Economy, Technoport S.A. and GIE Luxinnovation regarding the launch of the “Innovation Hub Dudelange” project, a reception and innovation center for companies, under the leadership of the City of Dudelange. This is a pilot project that signals the common will of these actors to contribute to local, regional and national development through the support of the development of technological and innovative companies. The field of predilection of these start-ups is clearly eco-technology, to get closer to the identity of the future eco-district Neischmelz with neutral energy in CO2.
The Innovation Hub Dudelange is located at 100, route de Volmerange, the last administrative headquarters of Arcelor-Mittal. The premises, which cover more than 500m², have been entirely renovated and installed for the benefit of 12 young start-ups.
A pilot project and start-ups already in operation
The Innovation Hub serves as a real precursor to the future concept of the Neischmelz site. For the City of Dudelange, this pilot project is a first concrete step towards the construction of the Neischmelz site and its eco-technological identity. The transitional stage of pre-construction of the buildings is thus used for short-term economic purposes, with the creation of jobs, and for longer-term visionary purposes with its adhesion to the future identity of the site. In the urban planning concept of the future NeiSchmelz district, the mill building will be the home of the start-ups.
At the Innovation Hub, young companies will be able to keep their headquarters for a maximum of 5 years. We distinguish between 2 types of companies according to their age:
– very young companies less than 2 years old that can access the premises for a maximum of 5 years. The Innovation Hub will serve as a base camp and a springboard before launching.
– young companies over 2 years old for which the Innovation Hub will serve as a “base camp” before they are completely autonomous.
7 start-ups have already taken possession of the premises and are carrying out their activities there. They all occupy as planned activities in the ecological or ecotechnological sector: recycling, ecological cleaning, accompaniment in the steps for an ecological habitat, eco-consulting, etc.
A defined role for each of the actors
Luxinnovation and Technoport are in charge of prospecting and detecting start-ups ready to settle in the Innovation Hub and have been asked by the City of Dudelange to participate in the design of the future Neischmelz economic center, in order to optimize the transition between the two sites.
The City of Dudelange is committed to organizing events on the Innovation Hub Dudelange site that will make the activities of the companies located there visible to the population and local businesses (open house for the general public, school visits, etc). And this stage started on Saturday 30th June with an open house for the general public which took place after the official inauguration.
Contact information for interested companies:
innovationhub@dudelange.lu
Tél. 516121 -908 / 516121 -961
