Author: SteveB

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Industrial & Service Transformation Latest news Sustainable & Responsible Development

Green Bonds: Why life cycle assessment is useful?

Green bonds have emerged as a key instrument to fund projects contributing to climate change mitigation or environmental protection. Yet, there is currently no consistent, robust and comparable standard for estimating the environmental impacts of green bonds. This may hamper the growth of sustainable finance. Using life cycle assessment (LCA) can provide a comprehensive environmental assessment of projects throughout their life cycle.

In an in an open access paper, researchers from the Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN) department of the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) examined how effective green bonds are at decarbonising the economy and if there are potential unseen side effects.

Data scarcity and heterogeneity

Undoubtedly, green bonds play an increasing role in financing investments for development and climate transition.

As no global standard exists to report information, a number of initiatives emerged to reduce the risk of greenwashing and increase transparency. They include the Green Bond Principles (GBP), the Climate Bond Initiative or approved verifiers. In addition, it is market practice that issuers hire a second-party opinion provider to check and rate the green bond issuance from an environmental perspective. Despite these efforts, the industry remains self-regulated.

In this context of data scarcity and heterogeneity in use of proceeds, is there any potential for LCA to support a more robust reporting framework? If yes, how does it compare to conventional accounting? And finally, beyond carbon accounting, can LCA give any indication of wider environmental sustainability consequences?

To limit the increase in global average temperature to 2 °C, funds directed towards sustainable projects need to increase substantially.

Lack of appropriate indicators and metrics increase the risk of greenwashing and present a lost opportunity to direct funds towards the most suitable projects.

Technologies on a level playing field and wider inclusion of environmental impacts

Following a life cycle perspective to assess the environmental impacts of a green bond is useful for two reasons. First, it puts technologies on a level playing field. Indeed, some technologies have relatively low emissions during the use phase but at the cost of relatively higher emissions during the construction or end-of-life phase.

Second, linking projects to LCA databases allows for the inclusion of environmental impacts beyond greenhouse gas emissions. While some investors may only be interested in climate change mitigation, others may want to achieve climate change mitigation with as little cost to other environmental goals as possible.

Box and whisker plot showing the improvement (positive) or deterioration (negative) in various environmental indicators relative to the LCA marginal mix reference case, per million euro invested in the Climate Awareness Bonds’ pool, by technology. The box delineates the lower and upper quartiles with the median marked with a line, whiskers show smallest and largest values.

Life cycle assessment-based rules may prove the right tool to measure sustainability

The recently agreed-upon EU framework for sustainable finance explicitly requires economic activities to provide a ‘substantial contribution’ to one of the six listed environmental objectives while not doing ‘significant harm’ to any of the other environmental objectives for the economic activity to be deemed ‘environmentally sustainable’.

The draft proposal for the EU Ecolabel for Financial Products states that bond funds must show a share of 70% in fixed-income instruments that align with the Taxonomy to receive the EU Ecolabel. As elements of this framework become legally binding in the future through delegated acts, conducting this kind of assessment over multiple indicators may become necessary.

In this context, LCA and the ready infrastructure of LCA databases and methodologies can provide the tools to meet future reporting requirements.

Meet the researchers

Thomas Gibon
 Ioana-Ştefania Popescu
Claudia Hitaj
Claudio Petucco
Enrico Benetto

Extracts from Shades of green: life cycle assessment of renewable energy projects financed through green bonds. Letter by Thomas Gibon et al 2020 Environ. Res. Lett. 15 104045

This research is part of LIST REFUND project.

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About Luxembourg Sustainable & Responsible Development

Smart mobility: What does the future hold?

The EU aims to have three million electric vehicle charging points and 1,000 hydrogen filling stations in operation across the continent by 2030. In this context, automated mobility will be deployed at large scale with digitalisation fuelling increasingly multi-modal transportation options. Luxembourg offers mobility innovators a real life laboratory. Here they can test new solutions which will contribute to improving quality of life, safety, environmental and climate protection.

Transport is the connecting backbone of Europe’s citizens and businesses. With digital, we have an opportunity to change the way we get around, making our mobility smarter, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly. When it comes to mobility, innovation spans a wide range of areas from vehicles through electric and hydrogen-based powertrains to autonomous driving. In this regard, Luxembourg turns out to be the ideal location for developing and testing next-gen mobility solutions for the whole European market.

Luxembourg, a diverse, connected ecosystem for mobility innovation

The country’s mix of established automotive industry, leading research laboratories, and entrepreneurially minded talent combine to make it the most exciting mobility testing ground in Europe.

Companies working on such innovations have a place where they can test them on the roads. Thanks to Luxembourg network of thoroughfares and its automotive and ICT ecosystems, the Grand Duchy is the most dynamic location in Europe.

Case in point: “Stroum beweegt – Elektresch an d’Zukunft”, namely electric power moves – electricity into the future, brings together the various public and private players committed to electric mobility in Luxembourg. The initiative aims to support and advance the development of the electromobility market in Luxembourg and to overcome existing obstacles. Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology is part of the country’s initiative with five successful projects.

CONNECTING project relies on a complex simulation model and an analysis of the environmental life cycle to analyse the effects of political decisions on private mobility in Luxembourg and Lorraine.
eCoBus focuses on the development of an integrated control system based on a cooperative intelligent transport system (C-ITS), which coordinates electric buses, electric charging infrastructure and control traffic.
gENESiS project gives rise to two services / objectives for distinct potential target users: a) An energy management system, including modulation of EV charging, for owners of smart sustainable buildings; b) An optimal multi-period energy flow tool for a distribution grid operator, in order to provide optimal operating flexibility from various controllable assets, including electric vehicles.
HERMES provides an appropriate decision support tool for the territories in order to assess the medium-term consequences of mobility policies.
MODALES aims to study the correlation between driving behaviour and vehicle emissions from three sources: the powertrain, brake wear and tyre wear.

All in all, Luxembourg has built a diverse, connected ecosystem of large companies, start-ups and research laboratories making smart mobility a reality.

SnT’s 360 Lab, the first thematic research laboratory focusing on smart mobility

With the 360Lab, the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) of the University of Luxembourg is an important part of Luxembourg’s smart mobility ecosystem.

The purpose of the 360Lab is to serve as an umbrella for research projects sharing common equipment and complementary expertise. The objective is to conduct strategic and collaborative research in the broader area of mobility innovation.

“Our research centre conducts impact-oriented research. This includes projects with industrial partners — both large and small companies, as well as projects and ideas that are long-term and high risk.”

— Prof. Raphaël Frank, Head of SnT’s 360Lab

In his lab, researchers are exploring the most suitable solutions for tomorrow’s automated vehicles while testing them with their unique self-driving car.

Raphaël Frank in the 360Lab


Overall, the PhD students work on these projects within a 3-4 year time horizon. Thanks to this framework, they have time to publish relevant research results, as well as to create value for the companies they work with.

How SnT spin-off company Motion-S makes the most of mobility data

SnT spin-off company Motion-S is a leading data-driven behavior analytics solution provider in the mobility ecosystem. As a partner for companies from multiple industries, it provides them with the most advanced, accurate, and customised solution on the market.

The Motion-S mobility analytics platform transforms raw location and car data from smartphones, simple trackers, databases, or car data platforms into actionable insights. As such it provides a deep understanding of individual mobility patterns. Thanks to predictive analytics fleet managers, insurers, OEMs, smart mobility operators, public authorities, and transportation providers can optimise their offer and improve their value propositions.

“[In this ecosystem, we get] the support from industrial partners. All our projects, prototypes and proofs of concept have been developed and launched in Luxembourg, with Luxembourgish companies.”

German Castignani, SnT Research Fellow, CEO and co-founder of Motion-S

Find out more about SnT’s 360Lab

Discover Stroum beweegt – Elektresch an d’Zukunft initiative

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Latest news Sustainable & Responsible Development

How climate change and environment change affect vegetation and water resources

How plants interact with the environment.

How do plants interact with the environment? Does vegetation a role to play in water resources?

How climate change and environmental change in general may affect vegetation and water resources? What our landscapes may look like in 100 years’ time?

Stan Schymanski and his team analyse the impact of climate change on our water resources. Vegetation plays a key role.

Plants act as a link between groundwater and the atmosphere

Plants absorb water through their roots. Water reaches the plant’s leaves and is released into the air through the stomata. Stomata are small openings on the upper and lower sides of leaves. They allow the exchange of water and carbon dioxide (CO2). When the stomata are open, the plant can receive CO2 and at the same time expel water. Stan Schymanski and his team are studying the connection between this process and the relationship between CO2 in the air and the amount of water in the soil.

“Our research is meant to help make predictions about climate change and environmental change, if possible before major mistakes are made.”

— Dr Stan Schymanski, LIST

How the level of CO2 in the atmosphere affects plants’ growth and groundwater?

When fossil fuels are burned, the amount of CO2 in the air increases. Plants react much faster to this change than the world climate. When the level of CO2 in the air is high, plants do not need to open their stomata as much to absorb the amount of CO2 needed for photosynthesis and growth. As a result, it releases less water into the air. What is not yet clear are the consequences, positive or negative, of the water content in the soil.

Will the water table be preserved, because each plant will have a reduced consumption? Or will plant growth be stimulated by the water available, resulting in a lowering of the water table?

Building a model to predict future changes

To address these concerns, Stan Schymanski and his team want to develop a leaf model. To do this, they need sensors that react to their environment as sensitively as leaves do. In addition to simulating the reaction of leaves to CO2 levels in the air, they also need to reproduce natural factors such as wind speed or surface temperature. Modelling is expected to predict changes in vegetation and groundwater as a result of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration. The model could also predict the influence of the water table on vegetation.

Dr Stan Schymanski leads the WAVE project

“With this model, we hope to better understand where a plant places its leaves, what properties the leaves have in different positions. Once we understand these principles, the idea is to build a model that converts knowledge into predictions.”

— Dr Stan Schymanski, LIST

Biologist Stan Schymanski has come to Luxembourg thanks to an FNR ATTRACT Fellowship. At the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), he leads the WAVE (Water and Vegetation in a Changing Environment) research team.

Watch his video:

With the ATTRACT programme, the National Research Fund supports young scientists with up to 2 million euros over a period of five years. ATTRACT aims to bring in researchers who will play a leading role in their field of research. ATTRACT Fellows can set up their own team within a research institution in Luxembourg.

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About Luxembourg Latest news

Luxembourg: a top spot for talent

The 2021 Total Workforce Index™ reveals Luxembourg as 18th top labour market across the globe for sourcing, hiring and retaining workforce skills. In the EU, the country ranks 8th.

A top 5 market for workforce availability

In the latest edition of its Total Workforce Index, Manpower has focused on the sudden shift to remote workforce deployment. Factors such as the availability of a remote workforce, access to technology and the performance of communication tools, and the control of risks linked to cyber security were assessed.

For the first time, Luxembourg achieves 5th position worldwide out of 76 countries surveyed, in this category.

Luxembourg ranks 5th for Total Workforce Availability

The aim of this index published by Manpower is to provide an indicator of workforce potential in different countries. According to the agency, the data and insights provided can inform workforce planning in fields such as capacity planning, cost savings, location strategies, organisational restructuring and remote work allocation. The index scores 76 global workforce markets based on over 200 factors. It indicates how they score in four categories: availability, cost efficiency, regulation and productivity.

Read more about Luxembourg 3rd in World Talent Ranking

More about the Total Workforce IndexTM

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21st Century Education Inside Research Luxembourg Latest news

In conversation with our young researchers: Dr Lorella Viola

The impact of digital on humanities research is far-reaching. On top of changing the way many researchers conduct their work, it has also spawned entirely new fields of research, such as digital humanities. Linguist Lorella Viola is examining how software can enable critical digital humanities practice.

Dr Lorella Viola, a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH), has focussed on designing Digital Humanities methodologies that combine both quantitative and qualitative analyses and assist humanities scholars to contextualise and unveil the patterns hidden within large digital collections.

Embedding the active role of the researcher in the process of knowledge production in a digital environment

Lorella Viola’s research explores how software can empower a critical practice of digital humanities. As such, she looks at both the use of technology and the processes that generate it. It includes the historical, social, political, cultural and ethical impact of digital for research.

The role of the linguist is to bring the critical thinking of the humanities not just to the functionalities of the software, but also to the very technologies, methods and infrastructures that support the project

“The aim is to further strengthen and promote cultural criticism in digital practices by embedding the active role of the researcher in the process of knowledge production in a digital environment.”

Lorella Viola

Previously, Lorella developed critical, data-driven methodologies that assist researchers in investigating the relationship between language, media and society in large historical textual repositories.

Interdisciplinary to enable critical digital history practice

Lorella’s work is part of the ‘Digital History Advanced Research Projects Accelerator’ (DHARPA). Bringing together an interdisciplinary team, the project aims to assess the impact of technology on historical research. It also seeks to experiment with how technology can reshape the methodological underpinnings of history as a scientific discipline. The project is led by FNR PEARL Chair Sean Takats at the C2DH at the University of Luxembourg.

Lorella’s research fuels the team’s work towards building software to facilitate computational analysis, replicability, transparency, Open Access publication, standardisation and research dissemination.

Why Luxembourg as a research destination?

“I came to Luxembourg because the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH) where I am based is of the highest expertise and resources in Europe for the study of the epistemological consequences of digital technologies for history and the humanities at large. C2DH is for me the perfect environment to explore how to embed criticality into the development and application of digital tools and methodologies for humanities and social science research as well as to foster transparency, reproducibility and accountability in digital humanities practice. C2DH is also highly interdisciplinary and therefore it was the natural fit for my research.”

— Dr Lorella Viola, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH) .

Read more about the DHARPA research project

Extracts from Spotlight on Young Researchers: Empowering critical digital humanities practice

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Industrial & Service Transformation Latest news

Luxembourg: a thriving scene for Spaceneurship

Luxembourg has built a thriving space industry, currently comprised of 60 companies and research labs and including a growing number of firms that build solutions for the commercial exploration and utilisation of space resources. Approximately 800 employees work in the space sector in Luxembourg, in research and development, manufacturing and operation.

LuxSpace to enable space ambitions of both business leaders and institutions

Founded in 2006, microsatellite and integrated services specialist LuxSpace is a pioneer in the Luxembourg space sector. While its top-notch products enable a variety of space missions, the company thrives in the dynamic Luxembourg space ecosystem where public and private organisations cooperate to make space business happen.

With about 50 employees, LuxSpace is one of the largest space companies in Luxembourg. Its Managing Director, Edgar Milic, joined the company in early 2021 after 12 years at satellite giant SES, headquartered in Luxembourg. As such, he has seen the space sector grow from a rather small community to a dynamic ecosystem of around 60 businesses and research laboratories.

“This development is due to the inspiring vision of some politicians. They were willing to do what it takes to have the necessary tools in place for the space sector to grow.”

Edgar Milic, Managing Director, LuxSpace

In the last five years, Luxembourg has created a stimulating ecosystem dedicated to space.

Mr Milic points out that “the synergies between these instruments have created an enormously rewarding environment that attracts people and companies to Luxembourg.”

“It used to be scientists and engineers dreaming about space – today it is entrepreneurs.”

Edgar Milic, Managing Director, LuxSpace

Generating a talent pool of highly skilled engineers and innovative entrepreneurs

University of Luxembourg, in collaboration with the Luxembourg Space Agency, offers a two-year interdisciplinary Space Master programme. The aim of it is to generate a talent pool of highly skilled engineers and innovative entrepreneurs. Thus, the future talents will be able to create and manage leading commercial space enterprises.

Find out more about the programme.

In just three decades, the Luxembourg space sector has grown from nothing into probably the most dynamic in Europe. The country is building an environment encouraging space entrepreneurship to make space dreams real.

Excerpts from Luxembourg Trade & Invest’s Enabling space ambitions.

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About Luxembourg Industrial & Service Transformation Latest news Sustainable & Responsible Development

Project 5G-EMIT: leading by example

The deployment of 5G and beyond networks will involve new base station equipment to meet the requirements of next generation mobile services. In Luxembourg, specific regulatory measures are in force. Therefore, the challenge is to find and implement new assessment methodologies and network planning solutions to make sure that 5G infrastructure can be deployed efficiently in line with current regulations.

Research project 5G-EMIT, led by Dr Sébastien Faye from the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), is currently supporting the deployment of 5G in Luxembourg. The project aims at making the most of the Grand Duchy model as an example to possibly apply to other countries in the future.

Matching the regulatory framework to new technical needs

The assessment of Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (RF-EMF) compliance has always been a major challenge for the deployment of new cellular communication technologies. As a matter of fact, it requires matching the regulatory framework to new technical needs. In Europe, the regulations proposed by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) are used as framework for the deployment of new radio technologies.

In a few countries, limits were set extremely low, making it impossible to deploy 5G antenna due to RF-EMF exposure and interferences being saturated.

DR SÉBASTIEN FAYE

“All humans moving around wireless communication systems are subject to exposure to an electromagnetic field. We can talk about Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular communications – this is a huge debate, and something known for years. In the case of cellular communications, it’s a bit more complicated because it is regulated. So, as an operator if you want to deploy a 5G or 4G or other cellular communication antenna, then you need to match the regulatory framework. For instance, the framework may allow the deployment of an antenna but with certain limits. This is challenging because of course we are dealing with new communication technologies that behave differently, so we need to make sure we can still match these limits.”

— DR SÉBASTIEN FAYE

Whereas the issue already existed before with 4G, 3G and 2G, it was easier to manage. Indeed, the antennas of the previous generations of cellular communication were passive so the behaviour was constant and always emitting a signal in the same directions, with same power and so on.

With 5G the novelty is that all the antennas are entirely active, which means that they are dynamic in time and space.

A data-driven network planning solution

5G-EMIT aims to propose and validate a data-driven network planning solution to recommend optimal network deployment strategies, while considering RF-EMF limits and the various features provided by new 5G technologies. This decision support system will aim at facilitating the deployment, compliance and sustainability of 5G in Luxembourg.

“The idea is to provide a decision support system to help the deployment of 5G networks, and beyond. The specificity of this system is to consider core deployment constraints that are related to 5G, with a focus on RF-EMF exposure.”

Dr SÉBASTIEN FAYE

LIST’s researchers have the ambition to create guidelines to implement new RF-EMF assessment methods and new deployment approaches using multiobjective optimisation techniques. In this context, a range of complementary aspects will be investigated to consider scientific, technical and standards as well as regulatory frameworks.

Making the most of the Grand Duchy model

From a scientific perspective, the objective is to go further than what exists today. As the methodology would be quite unique in Europe, the Luxembourg model could serve other countries in Europe facing a similar situation.

“What we want to do is use new methods that might be based on artificial intelligence, optimisation, but the objective is to assess what the exposure of this particular antenna is, under a certain set of circumstances, and support its optimal deployment to meet a particular application – such as connected mobility.”

Dr SÉBASTIEN FAYE

The Environment Agency (Administration de l’Environnement), the Ministry of Energy and Spatial Planning, the Ministry of Health, and the FNR are supervising the project.

5G-EMIT is supported by Proximus Luxembourg. The sub-contractor will provide access to experimental test sites in Luxembourg.

Find out more about the 5G-EMIT project.

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Inside Research Luxembourg Latest news

97.06 MEUR committed to 299 research projects in 2020

In 2020, 191 research projects, 54 science communication projects and 54 doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships were selected for funding. 

1397 international expert assessments were carried out as part of the evaluation and selection process. Of the 781 eligible proposals, 299 were selected for funding, representing an overall success rate of 38.28%. To fund all the projects selected in 2020, the FNR committed €97.06 million.

Of the 781 eligible proposals, 299 were selected for funding, representing an overall success rate of 38.28%

7.5 MEUR dedicated to projects supporting the fight against COVID-19

The crisis has been a defining moment for Research in Luxembourg. All actors joined forces to bring in the combined expertise of Luxembourg’s science in an effort to tackle the pandemic. Case in point: the Large-scale Testing initiative, the prevalence and stratification studies, epidemiologic modelling as well as assessment of socio-economic impact are but a few of the activities that are led by the Research Luxembourg Task Force.

All in all, it was clearly demonstrated how Research institutions have now become firmly embedded in Luxembourg’s society and how they can generate impact. The FNR largely contributed to these efforts. Indeed, it invested EUR 7.5 million in research projects and public health initiatives related to COVID-19. It was also very active engagement in the Research Luxembourg Task Force.

In the framework of the “Task Force – COVID19” activities, the FNR launched a new programme to provide initial (co-)funding to support projects addressing the current and future challenges of COVID19. In total, 129 proposals were evaluated and 55 projects were selected for total funding of 7.5 MEUR, including the Luxembourg participation of 0.8 MEUR to CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) and 0.8 MEUR to the international initiative “COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator”.

2020 Annual Report: The FNR – a key player in the Luxembourg public research ecosystem

47 new CORE research projects

Out of 157 proposals submitted in the 2020 CORE Call, a total of 47 research projects, including 12 “Junior CORE” proposals and 4 proposals in the framework of bilateral international cooperation, have been retained for funding. In total, it represents a financial commitment of 30,2 MEUR.

FNR’s CORE programme is one of the major vehicles to implement the national research priorities. Funded research projects have a duration of 2-3 years.

Find out more about the CORE projects.

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Inside Research Luxembourg Latest news Personalised Healthcare

In conversation with our young researchers: Pauline Mencke

Neurodegenerative diseases and cancer affect millions of people worldwide. Translational neuroscientist Pauline Mencke has chosen Luxembourg to study a gene that is involved both in Parkinson’s disease and the brain cancer Glioblastoma multiforme.

Pauline Mencke, 3rd year PhD candidate at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), aims to identify common mechanisms shared by the diseases. Her research would allow for the identification of a common pathway and potential drug target, ultimately improving the outlook for patients.

What do Parkinson’s disease and Glioblastoma multiforme have in common?

Pauline Mencke strives to understand the gene PARK7 encoding the protein DJ-1 to find common disease mechanisms

According to the biologist, the etiology is not yet fully understood because of the complexity and heterogeneity of PD. This is why there is no cure for the disease.

“In the same manner, GBM is a very heterogeneous and complex disease, meaning that it is very difficult to identify individual causes and treatment strategies that are tumour specific,” explains Pauline Mencke.

In the last years, there has been increasing evidence that a specific gene encoding the protein DJ-1 is associated with both diseases. As part of her PhD project, biologist Pauline Mencke is studying the role of DJ-1 in more detail:

“We know that genes that are upregulated in cancer are frequently downregulated in PD and vice versa.”, Pauline explains.

Interestingly, increased expression of some PD-associated genes like one called ‘PARK7 (DJ-1)’ influence cell proliferation and metabolism, meaning they support tumorigenesis – the formation of tumours.

“In PD, the effect reverses, as loss of DJ-1 protein function causes PD. In the scope of my PhD project, we are simultaneously studying the role and function of DJ-1 in PD and GBM to better understand its role in both conditions.”

Making collaboration a source of progress

Collaboration is integral to Pauline’s studies. Indeed, she cooperates with several scientists for her project, both in Luxembourg and abroad.

Case in point: the PD-patient derived iPSCs [stem cells] that she is using for her project were obtained from fibroblasts from a collaboration with Prof. Dr. med. Vincenzo Bonifati from Rotterdam.

“For the CRISPR Cas9 mediated correction of the mutation in the iPSCs, I profited from the expertise of Dr. Javier Jarazo from the LCSB. I am also collaborating with ATTRACT Fellow Dr. Johannes Meiser from the LIH, who is helping me through his expertise in metabolomics.

In collaboration with Dr. Carole Linster from the LCSB, Pauline strives to identify enzymatic functions of DJ-1.

Pauline is also working hand in hand with Prof. Dr. med. Michael Platten from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in Heidelberg.

Why Luxembourg as a research destination?

“I have studied molecular medicine in Regensburg, Germany, and from the beginning of my studies, I was interested in translational medicine, studying causes and mechanisms of diseases to help to identify better treatments. During my master studies in Luxembourg, I met Prof. Dr. med. Rejko Krüger and learned about his excellent research. This is why I decided to do my PhD in his highly interdisciplinary translational group.”

— Pauline Mencke, 3rd year PhD candidate at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB). Her PhD is supported by an AFR grant from the FNR.

Read more about the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine.

Extracts from Spotlight on Young Researchers: The role a gene plays in neurodegeneration and cancer

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Latest news Sustainable & Responsible Development

How habitat fragmentation affects dispersal of insect pollinators?

Pollinators provide a key ecosystem service and their importance for food security is critical. Alarmingly though, wild pollinators are declining at local, regional, and global scales, primarily as a consequence of human activities. Using landscape genetic techniques to understand the impact of habitat fragmentation on the dispersal of insect pollinators, Dr Alain Camille Frantz is one of the 47 research project owners retained for funding by FNR’s 2020 CORE Call.

Analysing functional connectivity of Luxembourg landscapes from the viewpoint of hoverflies

While land-use change is often seen as a main driver of the problem, there is a considerable lack of knowledge on the responses of invertebrate pollinators to the resulting habitat loss and homogenisation. For instance, while hoverflies are the most important pollinators besides bees, little is known about their dispersal in general and the effects of landscape fragmentation on their dispersal in particular.

The overall objective of the study conducted by Dr Alain Camille Frantz is to use microsatellite genotyping and landscape genetics to analyse the functional connectivity of typical Luxembourg and Western European landscapes from the viewpoint of hoverflies.

The study aims to understand whether urbanisation and the structural diversity of agro-ecosystems have an impact on hoverfly dispersal and which landscape features facilitate or hinder gene flow. The approach will focus on four target species in three urbanised areas and two pairs of rural areas with different degrees of habitat diversity.

In addition, the study will test whether hoverfly size and habitat specialisation may influence the impact of habitat fragmentation on the flies.

Finally, the research project will test the validity of extrapolating connectivity models to larger or different study regions.

The proposed project has the potential to make an important contribution in the design of effective habitat management practices for hoverflies, if not insect pollinators in general. Indeed, it proposes to empirically test dispersal capabilities in different landscapes, taking different biological and ecological characteristics into account.

FNR’s CORE programme

CORE is the central programme of the FNR. A multi-annual thematic research programme, the prime objective of CORE is to strengthen the scientific quality of Luxembourg’s public research in the country’s research priorities.

To identify the most promising and most excellent projects, the FNR submits project proposals to an assessment by independent international experts. Out of 157 proposals in the 2020 CORE Call, a total of 47 research projects have been retained for funding, representing a financial commitment of 30,2 MEUR.

Find out more about CORE