The seven projects selected under the joint call for projects for "5G Communication Technologies", launched at the end of 2023, were unveiled on Monday 4 November 2024.

The theme of this joint call for projects is the use of 5G communications technologies in the fields of smart environment, smart cities, and industry 4.0 & technologies. It aims to stimulate collaborative R&D projects, conducted in the form of public-private partnerships (PPPs), and to provide financial support to companies and research organisations assessing the relevance, technological advantages and benefits of technologies/products/solutions for different sectors of the Luxembourg economy.

Initially, 18 expressions of interest were received. Following the analysis of these applications by a panel of experts from the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), in the presence of representatives of the Department of Media, Connectivity and Digital Policy and the Ministry of the Economy, seven projects were finally selected for funding: 

• 5G-AGROBOT

The 5G-AGROBOT project initiated by two companies, Fësch Haff and Frontier Connect, in partnership with the Luxembourg Institute of Science & Technology (LIST) aims to design and develop an intelligent monitoring and harvesting system for smallholder indoor farms. 

Total budget: €1.444 million

• 5G-CriCo

The 5G-CriCo project proposed by POST Luxembourg and LIST aims to develop innovative mechanisms and algorithms to improve the reliability and resilience of essential communication services (MCx) on 5G standalone networks.

Total budget: €1.279 million 

• 5G-ARTEMIS

The 5G-ARTEMIS project, developed by Dropslab Technologies, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT)of the University of Luxembourg and other industry leaders, proposes a real-time control system for additive manufacturing processes by combining sensors, augmented reality, 5G connectivity and artificial intelligence.

Total budget: €1.848 million

• COSMIC

The COSMIC project is a new joint research initiative of the SnT and SES, which focuses on improving satellite communications and aims to explore the feasibility, implementation and demonstration of direct C-band device-to-device communications using non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) for connected cars and handheld terminals.

Total budget: € 1.470 million 

• PASTA-5G-V2X

The PASTA-5G-V2X consortium, composed of IEE and LIST, is focusing on the development of transparent antennas for vehicle-to-any object (V2X) communications using 5G technologies.

Total budget: €1.285 million

• 5GDrive

The 5GDrive project, led by the SnT with collaborators from POST Luxembourg and Ohmio, aims to develop and validate a driving system for autonomous vehicles using state-of-the-art 5G technology. 

Total budget: €1.957 million 

• 5G-META

The 5G-META project, proposed by PROXIMUS and LIST, aims to create solutions that automate, test and optimise the exposure capabilities of the 5G network in real-world scenarios in Luxembourg, making these advanced functionalities more accessible and easier to manage.

Total budget: €1,256 million 

Budget

The total budget for these projects is estimated at €10.541 million. The Ministry of State's Media, Connectivity and Digital Policy Department provides €7.637 million:

1. a total co-financing of some €3.495 million is transferred to the Ministry of the Economy, which finances the private players involved,
2. an amount of €4.142 million is transferred, via the FNR, to finance research organisations.

"Collaboration between researchers and companies is essential to deploy innovations and fully exploit the potential of 5G technology in various strategic sectors for the Luxembourg economy," says Sasha Baillie, CEO of Luxinnovation. "As an innovation agency, we play a key role in facilitating collaborations, connecting key players and supporting the implementation of joint projects under this call for projects."

Other similar calls for joint projects, particularly in the fields of defence, high-performance computing and digital health technologies, have also been launched in the past. 

Detailed information is available on https://research-industry-collaboration.lu/.