Luxembourg will host the 2020 Cleantech Forum Europe

It will also showcase Luxembourg’s most dynamic organisations and projects in the field. Cleantech Forum Europe has been organised since 2005 and has become a “must attend” event for key investors, government agencies, corporations, SMEs and start-ups. It is organised by the renowned Cleantech Group and usually attracts hundreds of delegates from up to 30 different countries. Similar forums are also organised every year in Asia and the United States.

At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of the Economy, Luxinnovation and Luxembourg for Finance jointly submitted a successful offer to host the forum in 2020. The selection of Luxembourg as the host city was announced on 22 May during the gala dinner of this year’s edition of the Cleantech Forum Europe in Stockholm, Sweden.

"We are excited to take our 16th annual Cleantech Forum Europe to Luxembourg. The city lies at the very heart of Europe and shows a clear and active commitment to developing the technologies that drive sustainability in areas such as circular economy, smart mobility and cities. It’s also a leading hub for green finance and for funds, and is home to two institutions critical to financing the European innovation economy, the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund," says Richard Youngman, CEO of Cleantech Group.

Cleantech and the circular economy: a firm commitment

"The economy of tomorrow has to combine the impact of change in energy sources, the use of disruptive technologies and the digitalisation of both our economy and society. We need and want economic growth, but a sustainable growth with a high quality of live. The Luxembourg government considers clean technologies and circular economy as crucial in order to meet these objectives. The decision to organise the 2020 Cleantech Forum Europe in Luxembourg clearly recognises that we are on the right track," says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy Étienne Schneider. The programme of the 2020 Cleantech Forum Europe will cover areas where Luxembourg is at the forefront and can demonstrate expertise of wider interest. "Luxembourg is currently experiencing interesting developments in fields such as smart cities and smart mobility, and we work systematically to facilitate the growth of the cleantech SMEs and start-ups. Hosting the Forum gives us an outstanding opportunity to showcase the dynamism of the sector to the international cleantech community," says Sasha Baillie, CEO of Luxinnovation.

Sustainable finance hub

Luxembourg’s leading financial centre is a driver of sustainable finance, a key issue for the cleantech sector. The Agency for the Development of the Dinancial sector, Luxembourg for Finance, will provide input on this topic and host an "investor’s dinner" to facilitate the exchange between this the participants and experts in this field. "The Forum is an excellent opportunity to discover many exciting cleantech projects which will help to reduce global warming and mitigate its effects. The development and production of these projects require vast amounts of capital. As a capital raising pioneer for green and sustainable projects, Luxembourg sees this Forum as a valuable opportunity to gather different communities to make progress on our promise to future generations. The expertise and the framework Luxembourg has built in finance will be central in shaping the future of sustainability," says Nicolas Mackel, CEO of Luxembourg for Finance.

Press release by the Ministry of Economy / Luxinnovation/ Luxembourg for Finance