A Silicon Valley of Healthcare to emerge in Esch-sur-Alzette
The futuristic HE:AL complex for innovative health research will bring researchers and companies together. Shared facilities on a single campus will make it easier to exchange information, conduct experiments and reach new heights in related fields. Besides, it will cover an area of 10 hectares and employ 3,000 to 3,500 people.
Luxembourg is set to establish a Health and Lifescience Innovation Campus in Esch-sur-Alzette by 2035-2040, but the first buildings will be constructed as early as 2025. The center will provide appropriate infrastructures and interconnectivity to about 150 companies in the healthcare sector.
The Campus aims to globally influence the field of health technologies as a flagship initiative for the diversification of the Luxembourg economy in cutting-edge technology, – according to Franz Fayot who is the Minister of Economy of Luxembourg.
The HE:AL Campus will focus on entrepreneurial innovation rather than laboratory research, with a well-known Luxembourgish approach to building an ecosystem for innovative businesses. Romain Poulles, the administrator of the Campus, highlighted the significance of the research process: “Research will be essential, less within laboratories, but in entrepreneurial innovation”.
The project was inspired by the Medical Valley in Erlangen (Germany) and is aimed at creating synergies between different actors in the healthcare industry. The main objective of the German center is to accelerate the time to market for healthcare solutions.
The so-called «Luxebmourgish Health Valley» is supposed to connect actors in the healthcare system of Luxembourg. The government will act as a guarantor for rental space issues, with the usual private-public partnership being an important aspect of the project.
The general plan for the project is currently being drawn up, and it will be finally adopted within two months. Construction work for the first buildings could begin in early 2025.
The HE:AL Campus is a significant initiative that will provide the healthcare industry in Luxembourg with the necessary resources, infrastructure, and connectivity to facilitate further growth and development in the field of health technologies.
