Since 2022, LIST has held the Luxembourg seat on the Socio-economic Analysis Committee (SEAC) of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). Appointed by the Ministry of the Economy, Oona Freudenthal contributes to the work of SEAC, whose role is to assess the socio-economic impact of potential legislative measures with regard to chemicals, whether concerning proposals to restrict manufacturing, marketing or use of a substance, or the availability, appropriateness and technical feasibility of alternatives to using such hazardous substances.

In collaboration with the IT for Innovative Services department and with a view to an artificial intelligence (AI) app, Oona also began research in 2022 within the framework of a private-public partnership funded by the AXA Foundation. Her research project aims to help authorities and policy makers to establish an appropriate regulatory framework for these substances and to better manage the risks they pose to human health and the environment. The results of this research project will provide a better understanding of the risks chemicals pose to industrial clients, public health and citizens. This combination of an applied research project and a mission to implement a science-based policy strengthens LIST's activities and the offer of political support in the field of security and sustainability through design (safe and sustainable by design).

Contact: Oona Freudenthal

Europe's dependence on imported steel sources is increasing and is jeopardising goals for the decarbonisation of industry. In order to guarantee the independence of this sector as well as its compatibility with decarbonisation objectives, we are pursuing, together with our European partners, an ambitious objective to optimise the recycling of residues throughout the steel production chain, from both a techno-economic and environmental perspective.

The Horizon Europe TranszeroWaste Project, coordinated by LIST, aims to improve the reuse of waste as a raw material in two promising processes to decarbonise the sector, using hydrogen and electricity. LIST goes beyond assessing the technical and economic performance of these new recycling technologies and takes into account their eco-design and their environmental assessment in order to ensure more sustainable choices. In the long term, these innovative solutions will pave the way for a steel production chain that will not only depend less on imports, but will also be more circular and more environmentally friendly.

Contact:  Elorri Igos

Aerobic granular sludge is now an alternative to the conventional process of activated sludge in biological wastewater treatment. Wastewater treatment plants equipped with aerobic granular sludge achieve high processing efficiency and have lower investment and operating costs than plants equipped with conventional activated sludge, which are in the majority in Luxembourg.

LIST has developed a model for aerobic granular sludge intended for engineering applications based on mathematical process models. This model can predict the concentrations of pollutants during the different operational phases of treatment.

In line with the digitisation objectives of the national research and innovation strategy, LIST studied the mechanical modelling of biological wastewater treatment processes and its application to a pilot unit at a local operator's premises. The scientific and technical aspects of this work were published in the Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology (Society for Chemical Industry, London, UK), where the authors also presented a perspective article on the general use of the Monod kinetic model.

Contact:  Mario Plattes

For more than 10 years, LIST has been commissioned by the Water Management Authority to carry out the operational monitoring of the proliferation of cyanobacteria – blue algae – in official bathing waters in accordance with a European directive. These algae can release toxins and pose a threat to public health.

Throughout the world, cyanobacteria are causing problems in freshwater ecosystems. According to current climate change projections, the problem is expected to get worse. In order to protect public health, it is essential to gain a better understanding of these cyanobacteria and, in particular, their life cycle in order to propose management strategies. In this regard, LIST provides data that can trigger alerts or the closure of Luxembourg's beaches for a period of time.

In 2022, LIST carried out three projects involving the deployment and testing of a unique combination of cutting-edge technologies. In particular, this combination brings together remote detection and in situ detection, automated image acquisition and the rapid dosage of cyanotoxins in order to stimulate the collection of data in the field and to provide information on the risks associated with effective spatial and temporal resolution. An early warning system has been developed for the effective protection of public health, while at the same time improving our understanding of cyanobacteria in order to better forecast algal blooms. A participatory monitoring project has recently been launched, involving citizens in the reporting and documentation of algal blooms in waters used for recreational purposes.

Contact:  Jean-Baptiste Burnet

At the end of 2022, a new Biosafety Level 3 laboratory was set up and officially opened at LIST's Belvaux site. Vector-borne plant pathogens affect almost all crops and can lead to significant economic losses for farmers. A laboratory of this kind is therefore able to carry out experiments on plant pathogens and pests that are not yet present in our region but which could become established in the future due to climate change. These research topics are currently being studied at LIST as part of the Horizon 2020 Virtigation project.

Our new laboratory therefore represents a valuable asset for generating new knowledge and sustainable solutions concerning agricultural pests in a changing environment. The next stage will be to test new biopesticides in the laboratory. These biopesticides to combat parasites and quarantine diseases are being developed in collaboration with the Green Tech Innovation Centre.

Contact: Matteo Ripamonti

As part of the FNR Mobility project "Tracing rainfall through forest canopies into catchments" (TRAFIC), Professor Richard Keim (Louisiana State University) joined forces with LIST in 2022 in view of their common research interests, namely the response of forests to global change.

The main TRAFIC objective was to understand the mechanisms involved in conveying water through forest canopies into catchments. An initial tracker-assisted attempt (with stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen) to measure water flow routes and residence times in a forest canopy-soil linked continuum was carried out, in a pioneering way, in forests around the city of Luxembourg.

TRAFIC has provided new data and a process-driven understanding that will ultimately improve our ability to predict changes in how forests respond to climate change and to adapt forest management strategies accordingly.

Contact:  Stan Schymanski

The objective set by the European Union to be climate neutral by 2050 will have a profound effect on the energy sector, which will be increasingly reliant on distributed energy sources such as renewable energy sources, energy storage, electric vehicles and variable demands connected to distribution systems.

In the long term, operational planning decisions made by agents will no longer be sufficient to maintain the security and stability of distributed systems with increasingly variable operation. As a result, most decisions need to be made in situ and in real time based on the instantaneous data from the distributed networks.

In order to answer these questions, the new project "Learning Enabled Autonomous Real-Time Operation for Distribution Grids" (LEAP), funded by the National Research Fund (FNR), is providing innovative solutions based on cutting-edge technology such as machine learning, which is a key tool for carrying out the energy transition. The project will reveal new knowledge and methods in the fields of energy digitisation and artificial intelligence in order to ensure we adapt to the increasing use of renewable energies and the acceleration of the energy transition, with a view to long-term research.

Contact:  Jun Cao

Demonstrating innovative forms of storage and successfully operating them and integrating them into energy systems and innovative network architectures is essential to making the transition to clean energy.

The Horizon Europe project "Innovative Energy Storage Technologies towards Increased Renewables Integration and Efficient Operation" (I-STENTORE) obtained by LIST in 2022 examines the integration of various energy storage solutions and their combinations. Innovative storage systems will be presented and their cooperation with integrated assets will be co-optimised, with the final objective being to achieve reliability, energy quality, profitable exploitation and to maximise asset life.

LIST is the technical coordinator of the project. It is managing a demonstrator in Luxembourg to study the availability, robustness and security of several energy production and storage systems on an agriphotovoltaic farm (Agri-PV). The aim is to optimise the use of locally produced renewable resources in order to meet the needs of the farm, while at the same time supporting the operator's overall network. Within the framework of this demonstration, LIST is collaborating, in particular, with the Luxembourg companies European Dynamics and Green Power Storage Solutions.

Contact: Pedro Rodriguez & Gregory Baltas