From 5 to 7 May, an Official Trade Mission to Spain gathered 33 Luxembourgish companies in Madrid and Barcelona. The visit was led by Mr. Lex Delles, Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism, Ms. Martine Deprez, Minister of Health and Social Security, and Ms. Stéphanie Obertin, Minister for Digitalisation, Research and Higher Education.
This Official mission was the result of a fruitful collaboration between the Chamber of Commerce, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the Ministry of the Economy, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Digitalisation, the Embassy of Luxembourg in Spain, the Honorary Consul of Luxembourg to Barcelona, the Luxembourg Space Agency, and Luxinnovation.
The Luxembourg–Spain Economic Forum, held on 6 May, brought together over 130 participants around an official seminar which was then followed by three targeted sector seminars and networking opportunities. Key sectors at the heart of this mission (HealthTech, ICT/AI/QC, and Space) reflected the strength and diversity of bilateral cooperation with Spain.
The European Health Data Space
The European Health Data Space (EHDS) revolutionizes healthcare digitalization in the EU by prioritizing citizens and giving them control over their data for improved healthcare across Europe. With robust security and privacy measures in place, these data become invaluable for scientists, researchers, innovators, and policymakers who can leverage Artificial Intelligence to develop the next powerful diagnostics methods and breakthrough treatments. Organised in Barcelona, at the heart of the Catalan healthcare system, one of the most digitally mature in Europe, the Spain-Luxembourg Economic Forum highlighted key health data related strategies and initiatives in place in Catalonia and Luxembourg providing foundations to make the EDHS a reality. This forum served as a source of inspiration to explore health data-driven scientific, technological and innovation cooperation opportunities.
Participants from the HealthTech sector were then offered visits to the Barcelona Health Hub, the Research Institute of the Hospital de Sant Pau and the Scientific Park of Barcelona.
Deep dive into Space
Companies from the Space sector had the opportunity to attend a dedicated programme in Madrid, organised by the Luxembourg Space Agency. They were welcomed by Airbus Spain, Thales Spain and GMV Aerospace & Defence, before making their way to Barcelona.
During the Spain-Luxembourg Economic Forum in Barcelona, the LSA partnered with Newspace Catalonia to provide an overview on respective space policies and activities in Spain and Luxembourg, introduce both ecosystems and discuss opportunities for future collaborations between public and private entities of both countries.
Companies from the Space sector were then received at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) to explore their activities related to the Space sector. The mission of the BSC is to research, implement, manage and transfer technology and knowledge in HPC with the aim of facilitating progress in a variety of scientific fields, and with a special emphasis on Computer, Life, Earth and Engineering Sciences.
On the second day, a visit was organised to the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Center / Phi-Lab, and the Institute of Spatial Studies of Catalonia.
AI at the core of discussions
How to leverage the EuroHPC Network of Q-computers, AI-optimized supercomputers and associated Factories to stimulate innovation? This question was the focus of discussions between the sectoral experts from both countries. Valentin Plugaru, CTO of Luxprovide and Fateh Amroune, AI Factory Lead at Luxinnovation, covered the topics on behalf of Luxembourg, while Mariona Sanz Ausas, Head of Innovation and Business Development at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, offered a complete overview of the BSC’s approach.
Following the forum, a visit was organized to the Barcelona Tech City (Pier01). Since 2016, Pier01 has been Tech Barcelona's emblematic headquarters. The 11,000 m2 building houses startups, corporations, incubators, investors and institutions.
On the second day, the AI/ICT delegation was welcomed at the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), a frontier research center of excellence with research lines that encompass diverse areas in which photonics plays a decisive role. One of the center’s spin-offs, LuxQuanta, as well as the center’s main labs, were presented to the visitors.
Among other networking opportunities, an Official Reception was held at the Círculo Ecuestre. The evening brought together around 110 Luxembourg and Spanish attendees, with the main leitmotif of strengthening bilateral business ties and cooperation.
This mission set an important milestone in bilateral relations and opened the door to a large number of bilateral discussions. The expected next step will be to build upon the discovered synergies and build more bridges between our dynamic ecosystems. The Chamber of Commerce will make sure to keep the momentum going and support companies from both countries in reaching their common goals.
Note : The delegation included a diverse group of innovative companies in the fields of HealthTech, Space and AI: Adwaiseo, Ai Mediq, Amphinicy Technologies, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Clearspace, Deep by Post Group, Emailtree.ai, Emma Technologies, Esklepios, Ey Luxembourg, Ey Law Luxembourg, Gradel, Gsk Stockmann, Gulliver Luxembourg, Hôpitaux Robert Schuman, IEE, Indexbox, Integrasys, Korus Group, LuxAI, Luxprovide, Mdsim, Medical Office, NTT Data, Openfield, Pharmony, Rss-Hydro, SES, Softbrik, Telemis International, Tumi Robotics Space and Tuomi.
Other organisations took part in the visit, such as ESRIC, FHL, FEDIL, IML, LIH, LIST, LNDS, SNCI, SpaceR-SNT and the University of Luxembourg.
