“Pushing the frontiers in research for high-impact innovation”

A good innovation strategy goes hand in hand with pushing the frontiers in research. As a Research and Technology Organisation, List can be the daring partner businesses need, willing to take the risks that they cannot afford.

Source : paperjam.lu
Date de publication : 27/11/2020

If you want high-impact innovation, you need to go beyond the cutting edge of significant scientific and technological subjects of our time; you need to go further, set up ambitious projects, explore complex and high-risk fields, and meet global challenges. In a nutshell, you need the combination of incredibly talented people, world-class infrastructure and a partnership ecosystem. At List we bring together brilliant minds from all over the world in a creative and stimulating environment. The unique grouping of diverse and complementary skills in the fields of information and communication technologies, environmental technologies and advanced materials makes it possible to create synergies that are essential for building a reinvented economy and society.

Innovation is not only about excellence; it’s about daring and taking risks

List is a bold partner, ready to take the risks that our industrial partners cannot handle alone in their innovation processes. In this sense, we are partners in the innovation risk management. Businesses have a lot to gain from working with a Research and Technology Organisation since we are fully market-oriented and committed to our stakeholders.

Indeed, it’s essential for us to understand the needs of our partners and to offer them the flexibility and agility they need to optimise their time to market. We believe that strategic research and applied research are mutually reinforcing. Therefore, we work with our partners in a “push and pull” dynamic: either we propose an innovation that will modify our industrial partner’s roadmap, or we adapt to their innovation needs. If I had to summarise what we do, I would sum it up like this: we translate research outcomes into marketable innovations with impact. And we do it by working across the entire innovation chain: fundamental and applied research, incubation, and transfer of technologies.

The future is happening now: a digital twin of Luxembourg

It’s been almost two years now that I’ve been appointed CEO of List, and I believe we are going in the right direction to create a more digitalised, resilient and sustainable society. One of the most striking examples of an innovation which would have a high impact on all of us is undoubtedly the digital twin of our country, Luxembourg. This digital replica would be a virtual representation of physical systems (traffic, water, air etc.) and physical assets (buildings, resources etc.) that can make simulations, tests and predictions of planned actions almost in real time.

A twin is essentially used to get information on an action in a simulated world, before the action is carried out in the real world, opening enormous opportunities for citizens, companies and authorities alike. Luxembourg’s twin would be the world’s first-ever nationwide platform. Such a twin would catapult Luxembourg into a hub of excellence in terms of digital development, gaining attractiveness for both international industrials that would like to introduce their products and services onto the European market and academic players that seek a digital-friendly environment to develop their research and innovations.

Sky is no longer the limit: let’s conquer space

Another example of high-impact innovation sector we’re involved in is the space resources sector. The historic agreement signed on 4 August between List and the Ministry of Economy, to create the European Space Resources Innovation Centre, will strengthen Luxembourg’s international positioning in this area. This partnership is both natural and strategic for us as we are already conducting several high-level research projects in the space sector. The creation of ESRIC will offer great opportunities for synergies and will position Luxembourg as a European reference in the space resources sector.

Think globally, act locally

The digital twin of Luxembourg and the creation of ESRIC are only two examples of how List intends to position itself in the innovation field: we aim to become an accelerator of global change. This starts with projects that are carried out locally, but which could potentially have a European-wide or even global impact. Think globally, act locally, in other words, and we want to position Luxembourg as a model for Europe and the world. The size of the country enables us to make quick progress and generate high-impact innovations in good time for our partners and our country. This is the future, and this is happening now, in Luxembourg, at List.

Thomas Kallstenius - CEO LIST

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