Inaugurated in June 2018, the Innovation Hub continues its path and houses 7 startups active in the field of ecotechnology. While all are teeming with projects, some have approached the City of Dudelange for close collaboration.
During a press conference held at the incubator on Wednesday, July 11, 2019, Dan Biancalana, mayor of the city, returned to the story behind the Innovation Hub. Its beginnings date back to July 2017, when the local council of Delange unanimously approved the agreement signed with the Ministry of Economy, Technoport S.A. and GIE Luxinnovation.
Installed in the building that housed the last administrative headquarters of ArcelorMittal, at number 100 of the route de Volmerange, this incubator is a sign of the common will of the actors involved to contribute to the local, regional and national development, by supporting startups whose preferred field will therefore be ecotechnology.
This field is far from having been chosen at random since the Innovation Hub represents, for Dudelange, a first concrete step towards the construction of the CO2-neutral Neischmelz eco-neighborhood, which will be established a few meters away.
Many innovative projects led by the startups present here
At the moment, 7 startups have taken possession of the entirely renovated premises of the building. Among them, some have started a collaboration with the City of Dudelange, as explained by two of the startups present, Luc Schmit (WeThink) and Guy Schumann (RSS-Hydro):
Rss-Hydro – Active in the mapping of flood zones, the startup offers its consultancy services all over the world, and is also working on a project concerning Dudelange. In collaboration with the University of Luxembourg, Guy Schumann made a very high resolution topographic map of the Diddelenger Baach stream, in view of a sanitation project.
WeThink – Luc Schmit and his associates are currently working on a project of circular LED streetlights. The first ones will be installed soon in Dudelange, along the road to Burange and the street Reiteschkopp. They will be equipped with sensors and will light up according to the natural light when pedestrians and motorists pass by. The startup is also developing an application that allows large stores to reduce their plastic and paper waste.
Frontier Connect – The startup managed by Mircea Oaida develops applications related to connected objects in the fields of agriculture and gardens. Among the solutions it offers, one is currently being tested in the Emile Mayrisch park. It is an intelligent irrigation system. Thanks to the data collected (soil moisture, temperatures, etc.) and sent by sensors, irrigation management and water consumption can be controlled and optimized.
The 4 other startups in the Innovation Hub are :
GreenBeehave – Casius Morea wants, through the development of dedicated platforms, to enable everyone to reduce their ecological impact. It has designed a website dedicated to downloading software – so as to avoid buying them in stores, which are packaged in plastic – as well as another one allowing people to organize their trip abroad while minimizing their carbon footprint.
LuxEm – Latifa El Quabra markets 100% ecological cleaning products to communities and companies.
SpinPhield – Jonas Trifot intends to use a device that is still in the prototype stage to treat wastewater in an environmentally friendly way and restore its natural properties.
Technogreen – Edmond Jreige’s mission is to develop and implement eco-innovative solutions in the Grand Duchy. Among the licenses he has acquired, that of waterless urinals, as well as that of a sustainable and 100% “cradle to cradle” toilet paper.
As defined when the agreement was signed, Luxinnovation and Technoport are in charge of prospecting and detecting young companies ready to settle in the Innovation Hub. Interested companies can also contact us at innovationhub@dudelange.lu.
