As global demand for material resources is projected to nearly double by 2060 compared with 2017 levels, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), LIST is emerging as a key driver of Europe’s industrial transition towards cleaner, more circular and resilient economic models. By developing sustainable manufacturing processes, renewable energy systems, innovative materials, and circular economy strategies, the institute helps enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of industrial sectors. The institute integrates advanced digital solutions to accelerate this transformation and support more resilient and sustainable industries, This approach is fully aligned with the ambitions of Industry 5.0 as well as European legislative frameworks such as the Net Zero Industry Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act, supporting the emergence of a new generation of industrial systems that balance.
The ValueHeat technology aims to transform waste heat from industries into a useful resource, thereby helping to reduce their energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. Using a software platform for analysis and optimization, it identifies the best solutions for recovering and utilizing this often-wasted energy. In 2025, ValueHeat reached a major milestone with increased visibility at the Luxembourg Venture Days, confirming its potential for large-scale deployment, while continuing its development in collaboration with ArcelorMittal, a key partner for testing the solution under real-world conditions. This breakthrough reinforces ValueHeat’s positioning as a concrete lever to guide industry towards more sustainable practices.
Launched in 2024, the second phase of the strategic partnership between LIST and Goodyear pursues a bold ambition: to make Luxembourg a major innovation hub for tire technologies and sustainable mobility. Focusing on key themes such as materials science, the analysis of structure-property relationships, data science, smart sensors integrated into tires, and the development of more sustainable materials, this collaboration is gaining remarkable momentum.
Just one year after its launch, 22 joint research projects were already underway, involving five cross-functional research units at LIST as well as several central offices. This scientific intensity has led to international recognition: a joint publication by LIST and Goodyear was honoured at the 7th International Conference on the Industry of the Future and Smart Manufacturing (ISM2025) in Malta, receiving the Industrial Impact Paper Award among some 400 peer-reviewed articles. The award-winning paper presents a methodology developed to support Goodyear in evaluating the reconfiguration of its Amiens plant. This distinction illustrates the partnership’s ability to generate innovation with significant industrial impact.
In 2025, LIST researchers strengthened the institute’s position at the highest European level by securing competitive funding from the European Research Council (ERC) and the European Innovation Council (EIC), demonstrating the institute’s ability to lead groundbreaking projects.
Emmanuel Defay received an ERC Proof of Concept Grant for the CUBE_SAT_PYRO project, aimed at accelerating the commercialization of his work on heat conversion and cooling technologies. For his part, Nicolas Boscher secured an EIC Pathfinder Challenge for a project (SUN2CN) aimed at developing an autonomous conversion device that will use sunlight to transform molecules derived from waste, such as nitrates (NO3-) and carbon dioxide (CO2 ), into valuable chemicals. This project builds on the results of an initial ERC Consolidator Grant obtained by Nicolas Boscher in 2019 for the CLEANH2 project, which concluded in April 2025.
In parallel, Emmanuel Defay continued his research on the ERC Advanced Grant (ELEC_FROM_HEAT project), aimed at accelerating research on electricity generation from waste heat, as well as on the COOLPOL project (EIC Pathfinder), which aims to develop advanced polymer-based cooling technologies. For his part, Florian Kaiser advanced the Q-CHIP project (ERC Consolidator Grant) dedicated to quantum technologies.
All of these results confirm the institute’s growing prominence in ERC and EIC programmes, while strengthening its international visibility and its ability to transform research into high-impact innovation.
LIST organizes scientific and professional conferences and participates in numerous trade shows and fairs. In 2025, this included:
