Environment

The mission of the Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN) department is to carry out responsible impact-driven research and technological innovation & policy support for a sustainable resources management and the reduction of environmental impact of human activities, in order to enable and accelerate the transition towards a sustainable, resilient and digital economy and society in Luxembourg and abroad. The department comprises more than 200 life, environmental and IT scientists and engineers across four research units which bring together the necessary interdisciplinary knowledge and skills to tackle the major environmental challenges our society is facing today, including climate change mitigation, ecosystem resilience, sustainable energy systems, efficient use of renewable resources, and environmental pollution prevention and control.

research units

• Environmental sensing and modelling
• Environmental and industrial biotechnologies
• Environmental sustainability assessment and circularity
• Intelligent Clean Energy Systems

Priority areas

• Natural resources and agrosystems under change
• Circular bioeconomy
• Environment and health
• Renewable energy systems
• Sustainable cities and territories
• Safe and sustainable by design production and consumption

Equipment and facilities

Across its laboratory and field infrastructure, the department offers a wide range of standardised and made-to-measure services in the fields of testing, measurement, analysis, innovation management and methods. Its Biotechnologies and Environmental Analytics platform hosts laboratory facilities for chemical, biological analyses, as well as bioprocessing, whereas the Observatory for Climate, Environment and Biodiversity manages cutting-edge technological infrastructures and monitoring networks to produce science-based evidence for supporting policy-making processes towards sustainable and informed management of natural resources.

INNOVATION CENTRE

Central to LIST’s “smart green” vision is increasing its collaboration with industry. The establishment of the Sustainable Biotech Innovation Centre, linking the public and private sectors has the goal of contributing to the realisation of the national circular economy strategy as well as the environmental health action plan. Sectors identified include construction and industry, renewable energy, organic waste, agriculture and food, health, soil remediation and use, and water.

SPIN-OFFS

One of the important LIST missions is to create economic impact. The ERIN department contributed to the creation of the 4 spin-offs RTC4Water, Agroptimize, Wasdi and Invitrolize.