Luxembourg is betting on smart cities

The Luxembourg authorities announced the launch of a national Smart City project competition aimed at supporting digital and sustainable solutions in municipalities. The initiative was presented by Minister of Economy Lex Delles and Minister of Environment Serge Wilmes. The new competition should catalyse a double transition: digital and green, at the local level. The programme has a total budget of 5 million euros to be spread over two years.

Both individual municipalities and inter-community alliances are eligible to apply. The project must fulfil at least one of the three priorities: Smart Mobility, Smart Energy or Smart Ressources. This can range from transport analytics or smart stops to digital platforms for tracking energy consumption or waste management.

The projects will be evaluated based on several key criteria: innovativeness, social and environmental relevance, ambition, quality of data management (including cybersecurity and openness), scalability, and feasibility and sustainability of implementation. Pre-selection will be made by a jury consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Environment and the Klima-Agence agency. Applicants will be provided with feedback on the results of the evaluation.

Each selected project can receive up to 500 thousand euros. For small municipalities with a population of less than 3,000 inhabitants and for projects implemented in partnership between several municipalities, a higher level of co-financing is possible. The funding is primarily aimed at compensating for the lack of economic viability in the early stages of launching innovative solutions.

Projects can be submitted in two stages: the first wave will end on 16 November 2025 and the second on 15 March 2026. This format makes it possible, on the one hand, to quickly finance projects that are already at the stage of readiness and, on the other hand, to give time for more complex initiatives to be finalised.

Minister Lex Delles emphasised in his speech that the transition to smart cities and local communities is a prerequisite to meet the challenges of tomorrow. He said Luxembourg aims to become a living laboratory where private and public sector innovation meet to create new value and improve the quality of life. Minister Serge Wilmes added that the development of digital technologies will allow public utility entities to become more circular, reduce their ecological footprint and become sustainable in line with the country's climate goals.