Leuven, knowledge pearl. Fostering high-tech entrepreneurship in the heart of Europe

Transcription

1 Leuve, kowledge pearl Fosterig high-tech etrepreeurship i the heart of Europe

2 Cotet. Leuve, a regio for iovatio & high-tech etrepreeurship 3 Leuve, a dyamic ad fast-growig regio 6 Leuve, specialisig i four techology domais 9 Life scieces 10 Health Scieces campus i expasio 14 Naotechology 16 Imec campus i expasio 18 Mechatroics & smart systems 20 Cleatech 22 Leuve, a great city to live i 25

3 Rob Steves, Ja Fabre Leuve, a regio for iovatio & high-tech etrepreeurship Leuve is situated at the heart of Belgium ad Europe, oly 25 kilometres from Brussels, the Europea capital. The city of Leuve has a log traditio of high-tech busiess developmet ad plays a leadig role i the Europea kowledge ecoomy as it provides the key igrediets for iovatio ad high-tech etrepreeurship: cuttig-edge sciece & techologies; a log traditio of techology trasfer; a iovative busiess climate with may high-tech compaies ad state-of-the-art icubators & sciece parks; ivestmet capital; people & etworkig opportuities; iteratioal affiliatios. The K.U.Leuve Associatio, icludig the Leuve Uiversity Hospitals, is raked amog the 25 most reowed Europea academic research cetres ad aims to ehace ad reiforce this positio. The uiversity hospitals erich the Leuve regio with oe of the most moder ad dyamic Europea hospital ifrastructures. 3

4 The role of the K.U.Leuve Associatio i the Leuve kowledge ecoomy regio is closely liked to the achievemets of the ao electroics research istitute imec. Imec coducts world-leadig research o ao electroics ad has global parterships i ICT, healthcare ad eergy. Furthermore, may departmets of the VIB, the Flemish Iteruiversity Istitute for Biotechology, are also located i Leuve. The K.U.Leuve Associatio, the Leuve-based VIB departmets ad imec have a combied R&D budget of 593 millio ad employ about 19,500 people, 6,000 of which are researchers. These kowledge istitutes provide a fertile breedig-groud for iovatio ad high-tech etrepreeurship. They also geerate a huge iflow of state-of-the-art kowledge that brigs about a myriad of iovative ideas for ew as well as existig compaies. This favourable climate for kowledge-drive etre preeurship ad iovatio makes the Leuve regio a attractive locatio for may high-tech compaies. A large amout of ivestmet capital is available to support ad stimulate iovative etrepreeurship, either via veture capital groups or via uiversity fuds such as the Gemma Frisius Fud, a seed capital fud established by K.U.Leuve ad two private equity groups, BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity ad KBC Private Equity. I additio, Capital-E is a veture capital fud that is liked with imec. The Leuve regio is also home to several veture capital firms maagig fuds such as the Capricor fuds ad the Quest for Growth fud. K.U.Leuve Research & Developmet (LRD), the techology trasfer office of K.U.Leuve, was established i 1972 as oe of the first techology trasfer offices i Europe. LRD actively promotes ad supports the trasfer of kowledge ad techology betwee the uiversity ad uiversity colleges o the oe had, ad idustry ad the ecoomy o the other had. Several icubators, sciece parks ad busiess cetres i the Leuve regio provide state-of-the-art lab ad office space for iovative spi-off compaies as well as iteratioal research-itesive compaies. I additio, Leuve has plety of semiar ad coferece facilities, ad offers a broad rage of hotel accommodatio. The Leuve regio has a large supply of highly educated, multiligual ad flexible employees. It is easily accessible, withi close proximity to major motorways ad oly a 15-miute drive from Brussels Iteratioal Airport. By trai, it takes oly 13 miutes to reach the airport thaks to a direct railway coectio. The Atwerp harbour, the secod largest port i Europe, is oly a hour from Leuve by car. The Leuve Iovatio Networkig Circle, Leuve.Ic, stimulates high-tech etrepreeurship by brigig together like-mided people from academic research groups, high-tech start-ups, cosultig agecies, veture capitalist firms, ad well-established compaies i the Leuve regio. I addito to this horizotal etwork, several specialised techology cluster etworks are i place to stimulate the iteractio betwee uiversity ad idustry. I additio, the Vlaams-Brabat Iovatio Cetre supports iovatio i SMEs. A strog ad dyamic triple helix cooperatio betwee idustry, kowledge istitutes ad govermet has led to a very favourable etrepreeurial climate. The city of Leuve, the provice of Vlaams-Brabat ad the Flemish govermet collaborate closely o regioal developmet. Together with the kowledge regios Eidhove (The Netherlads) ad Aache (Germay), Leuve forms a strog cross-border etwork, ELAt (Eidhove-Leuve-Aache triagle). ELAt is oe of the top Europea techological regios, promotig a kowledge ecoomy via cross-border ad iterregioal cooperatio. 4

5 LEUVEN 5

6 Leuve, a dyamic ad fast-growig regio Leuve s strog focus o the creatio of kowledge ad techology has led to a rapid icrease i iovatio ad high-tech etrepreeurship. Leuve is a dyamic, fast-growig regio with great potetial for research & developmet ad high-tech busiess developmet. The kowledge istitutes have a cosiderable impact o local ecoomic growth, ow as well as i the future. Employmet Employmet spi-off compaies 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2, ,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1, K.U.Leuve Leuve Uiversity Hospitals imec Spi-off compaies K.U.Leuve & imec K.U.Leuve imec Leadig Europea regios i employmet i high-tech kowledge-itesive services (source: Eurostat regioal yearbook 2009) Total umber % of total (1,000 s) employmet Berkshire, Buckighamshire ad Oxfordshire (UK) Stockholm (SE) Oslo og Akershus (NO) Praha (CZ) Comuidad de Madrid (ES) Bedfordshire ad Hertfordshire (UK) Hovedstade (DK) Bratislavský kraj (SK) Auverge (FR) Provice of Vlaams-Brabat (BE)

7 R&D budget (i euro) Number of spi-off compaies 500,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, K.U.Leuve imec K.U.Leuve imec Icome from research collaboratio (i euro) Number of patet applicatios 300,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, ,000,000 50,000, K.U.Leuve imec K.U.Leuve imec K.U.Leuve & imec (joit) 7

8 Number of active patet families Number of iteratioal publicatios i sciece jourals 1,000 6, , ,000 3,000 2,000 1, K.U.Leuve imec K.U.Leuve & imec (joit) K.U.Leuve imec Number of studets at K.U.Leuve, Groep T & KHLeuve Number of PhD degrees at K.U.Leuve 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10, ,200 1, K.U.Leuve, Groep T & KHLeuve K.U.Leuve 8

9 Leuve, specialisig i four techology domais The three kowledge istitutes, the K.U.Leuve Associatio, imec ad the VIB departmets guaratee a cotiuous iput of kowledge ad iovative ideas, providig the spark, the egie ad the fuel for the techological ad busiess developmet of the Leuve regio. They have attracted may kowledge-itesive compaies, resultig i a high-tech ecosystem withi the Leuve kowledge regio. The most efficiet way of trasferrig kowledge ad techology betwee kowledge istitutes ad society is via direct cooperatio withi the cotext of research programmes. Techology that is sufficietly market-ready ca be immediately trasferred to a existig compay, whether or ot via tailored licesig. Aother efficiet way to iovate is the creatio of spi-off compaies that exploit research results ad itellectual property developed withi the kowledge istitutes. Fially, the creatio ad the growth of dedicated K.U.Leuve R&D iovatio platforms (e.g. CD3 i the area of drug desig ad discovery, Leuve-MRC i the area of materials iovatio, L-MTC i the area of medical & healthcare techologies) has sparked techology trasfer ad created ample opportuity for close academic-idustrial iteractio. Over the last few years, four major techology domais have emerged i the Leuve regio, which has created dyamic clusters i which iovative compaies ad kowledge cetres iteract closely. These clusters are life scieces, aotechology, mechatroics & smart systems, ad cleatech. Life scieces Cleatech Naotechology Mechatroics & smart systems 9

10 Life scieces Top-rakig, moder hospitals. The Leuve Uiversity Hospitals have 2,000 beds ad 8,500 employees. They are amog the most moder ad well-equipped hospitals i Europe ad have bee accredited by the Joit Commissio Iteratioal (JCI). The uiversity hospitals are embedded i a Health Scieces campus where educatio, advaced research ad medical care are brought together i oe sigle locatio, facilitatig a strog cross-fertilisatio betwee research ad patiet care. Curretly the campus is home to 1,300 researchers ad 5,000 studets who atted classes there. A log-stadig experiece. Leuve has a log traditio i the developmet of revolutioary medicatio. I 1979 K.U.Leuve researchers discovered tpa, a protei ivolved i the breakdow of blood clots. By prevetig coroaries ad strokes, tpa has saved the lives of te thousads of people. Millios of patiets have bee treated with this medicatio. Viread, aother revolutioary drug, was discovered i 1993 as a ati-hiv aget ad is the most commoly used ati-hiv drug i the world. 10

11 Cliical excellece. Belgium has the highest umber of cliical trials per capita i the world. Thaks to the availability of highly skilled research staff ad excellet ifrastructure, leadig pharmaceutical compaies come to Belgium because it is particularly suited to deliver high-quality cliical trial data. With two weeks for Phase I studies, Belgium has the fastest approval procedure withi Europe. K.U.Leuve also plays a leadig role i these cliical trials by coordiatig them via the Cliical Trial Cetre of the uiversity hospitals. I additio, the Flemish uiversities, uiversity hospitals, the pharmaceutical ad biotech idustries, together with the Flemish govermet have established the Cetre for Medical Iovatio (CMI). CMI, which is headquartered i Leuve, aims to establish a itegrated biobak ad promote traslatioal research. Potetial ew medicies ca also form the basis for spi-off compaies. Via CD3 K.U.Leuve has take the iitial steps i the developmet of ew medicatio for various coditios, such as AIDS, Hepatitis C virus ifectios, cacer, arthritis, asthma, Degue virus ifectios, epilepsy ad Alzheimer s disease. World-class iteratioal. compaies ad spi-offs. K.U.Leuve s log ad successful track record i biomedical R&D has led to the creatio of umerous spi-off compaies with global appeal, such as ThromboGeics, TiGeix ad remynd. A uique techology trasfer. platform for drug developmet. The Cetre for Drug Desig ad Discovery, CD3, is a uique techology trasfer platform created by K.U.Leuve with the ivestmet support of the Europea Ivestmet Fud. CD3 aims to discover ew drugs ad develop them to the stage where the pharmaceutical ad biotech idustry are iterested i either licesig the techologies developed or i udertakig collaboratios with the project parters. Highly qualified researchers. K.U.Leuve employs may promiet researchers who receive iteratioal acclaim. Désiré Colle ad Erik De Clercq, for example, are two respected researchers, raked i the world s top 1%, who started their career at K.U.Leuve. They coduct pioeerig research o cardiovascular disease ad virology. ThromboGeics develops advaced biopharmaceutical drugs that cotrol blood vessel developmet ad growth, leadig to applicatios i a variety of domais, such as ocology. TiGeix develops iovative local treatmets for osteoarthritic or damaged joits, while remynd is a biopharmaceutical compay developig disease modifyig treatmets agaist Alzheimer s ad Parkiso s disease. 11

12 Iterdiscipliary research. K.U.Leuve ecourages iter discipliary research through horizotal structures withi the uiversity. The Leuve Medical Techology Cetre (L-MTC) is a case i poit. L-MTC icorporates 41 differet research groups i egieerig ad biomedical scieces ad brigs together over 700 researchers ad professors. L-MTC has developed expert skills i the followig areas: medical imagig, bioic systems, healthcare automatio, cotrolled release, biomaterials ad tissue regeeratio, biomoitorig, ad biocotrol. Large iteratioal biomedical compaies such as Terumo Europe, IDT ad VWR Iteratioal have also established operatios i the Leuve regio. Tailor-made ifrastructure. Leuve offers excellet facilities for life scieces busiesses. The Leuve Bio-Icubator provides a iovative, dyamic ad stimulatig eviromet i which etrepreeurs ad compaies active i the field of biotechology ca develop their ideas ad techologies. Its locatio also makes it the ideal base of operatios for busiesses with Europea iterests. The buildig has 12 modules, each offerig 250 m² of state-of-the-art laboratory ad office facilities. Next to this facility a secod Bio-Icubator will soo become operatioal. A third icubator, the Biogeerator, will become the mai feature of the Feed Food Health campus. The Feed Food Health project focuses o fuctioal food for aimals ad people, health ad quality of life. Collaboratio with the global. idustry. K.U.Leuve collaborates with several global players i the idustry, such as Johso & Johso, GSK ad Pfizer. For may years K.U.Leuve ad imec have bee providig their R&D expertise to the Australia compay Cochlear, which develops cochlear implats for hearig impaired people. Advaced research o utritio. ad health. LFoRCe, the Leuve Food Sciece ad Nutritio Research Cetre, was established by K.U.Leuve to focus o the relatio betwee utritio ad health. It is a multidiscipliary research cetre with a wide expertise i food techology, biomedical research ad social scieces. The activities of LFoRCe have resulted i several collaboratios with local ad iteratioal compaies, as well as i the creatio of the spi-off compay Fugeia, which focuses o digestive health. 12

13 Big i bioelectroics. Imec s HUMAN++ research drives ad supports iovatio i biomedical tools used across the etire healthcare spectrum, from predictio to detectio ad treatmet. The research focuses o health ad comfort moitorig devices that keep track of vital bodily fuctios i a uobtrusive way so people ca wear them durig their daily activities. Imec s HUMAN++ programme also ecompasses the developmet of molecular detectio platforms icludig lab-o-chip for fast, easy-to-use ad cost-effective diagostic systems ad aoparticles for i-vitro ad i-vivo diagostics as well as for therapy. I additio, imec develops techologies for i-vitro ad i-vivo cell-ic iterfaces for high-resolutio sesor/actuator arrays (cell-o-chip), miiaturised implats (i-vivo pharmacology), active brai implats (medical therapy) ad i-situ biosigal processig. Imec employs 200 researchers i the field of bioelectroics ad works closely with leadig compaies worldwide. Advaced research o. euroelectroics. Imec, K.U.Leuve ad VIB, Fladers' leadig life scieces istitute which also has importat R&D departmets i Leuve, have lauched a joit basic research iitiative to uravel the euroal circuitry of the huma brai: Neuroelectroics Research Fladers (NERF). Supported by the Flemish govermet, NERF ivestigates fudametal euro - scietific questios through collaborative, iterdiscipliary research which combies aoelectroics with eurobiology. This yields vital kowledge for the pharmaceutical ad medical idustry ad is crucial for the study of pathologies such as Parkiso's disease, Alzheimer's disease or eve psychiatric disorders. NERF is located o the imec campus, where researchers work i iter discipliary teams, thus beefittig from imec's state-ofthe-art clea room ifrastructure ad the ew 1,000 m² eurolab. By 2014 NERF aims to attract a team of 50 top iteratioal scietists. 13

14 Health Scieces campus i expasio By ivestig 800 millio over the ext te years ad doublig the campus surface, K.U.Leuve will expad its Gasthuisberg campus ito a Health Scieces campus that brigs together educatio, R&D ad medical care i oe sigle locatio. The objective behid this project is to cetralise all K.U.Leuve life scieces departmets i order to boost academic research ad traslatioal medicie. This project will allow the Leuve Uiversity Hospitals to offer the highest stadard of medical care as well as maitai ad stregthe their leadig positio o the Europea level. The project will start with the costructio of a ew critical care departmet, cosistig of a emergecy room, a ew operatig room ad a itesive care uit. It also ivolves the costructio of a psychiatric hospital. The plas for a K.U.Leuve research buildig are curretly beig fialised. I the log term this project also icludes ew teachig facilities, a expasio of the ocology departmet, a childre s psychiatry departmet, a day care cetre, a hotel ad a idoor boulevard coectig the differet areas of the campus. Today 5,000 studets atted classes at the Gasthuisberg campus ad 30,000 people visit the site o a daily basis. By 2015 the campus is expected to welcome 40,000 visitors daily ad employ over 20,000 people. THV AR-TE - djga - STABO Patrick Hederyckx 14

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16 A log-stadig experiece. Imec was established i 1984 i order to stregthe the microelectroics idustry i the Fladers regio. With a reveue of 275 millio i 2009 ad over 1,750 employees, imec is a global player i aoelectroics research. Imec s research cotributes to better healthcare, smart electroics, sustaiable eergy, ad safer trasport. Besides imec, there is K.U.Leuve s Departmet of Metallurgy ad Materials Egieerig (MTM), which was fouded i 1930, ad the Departmet of Electrical Egieerig (ESAT), which was established as early as 1900 ad also makes sigificat cotributios to the egieerig research o micro- ad aoelectroics. A uique research platform. Imec has established a uique research platform usig state-of-the-art clearoom facilities (200 ad 300 mm silico wafers, with a lik betwee desig ad process techology). The platform brigs together a uique cosortium of compaies ivolved i the IC (itegrated circuit) processig chai, icludig key global players i the micro electroics idustry such as Itel, Samsug, TSMC ad Paasoic. It has a successful busiess model based o ope iovatio ad iterdiscipliary research teams. Almost the etire iteratioal semicoductor idustry is clustered aroud imec. Naotechology 16

17 A uique techology trasfer. platform for materials. The Strategic Iitiative Materials (SIM) was fouded i 2009 by te major compaies that produce ad process various materials (icludig AGC Flat Glass, Agfa Gevaert, Arcelor-Mittal, Bekaert, Recticel, Solvay ad Umicore), i collaboratio with Agoria Vlaadere, Sirris ad the five Flemish uiversities, ad with the support of the Flemish govermet. SIM offers a platform to fiace ad coordiate joit strategic research by uiversities ad compaies. SIM focuses o materials for eergy ad light, durable ad sustaiable structural materials, as well as tailored aomaterials i their eviromet. K.U.Leuve has a importat role withi SIM. World-class iteratioal. compaies ad spi-offs.s Thaks to the cetres of excellece such as imec ad K.U.Leuve may iteratioal compaies, such as Philips Iovative Applicatios ad Resoext Commuicatios, have established operatios i the Leuve regio. Numerous spi-off compaies have also bee created based o the kowledge ad techology developed. Septetrio, for example, commercialises the satellite avigatio kow-how developed at imec, while Target, aother imec spi-off compay, provides retargetable software tools for the core elemets of systems-o-chip. The imec spi-off compay Essesium specialises i ASIC solutios for wireless sesor etworks. Easics, a spi-off compay of K.U.Leuve s ESAT departmet ad imec, is a system-o-chip desig compay. The spi-off compaies ICsese ad Asem focus o high-ed chip desig. Iterdiscipliary research. I the Leuve Naosciece ad Naotechology Research Cetre (LNANO) K.U.Leuve brigs together all its R&D activities i the field of aosciece ad aotechology i the form of 26 research groups. The cetre has the largest umber of materials ad facilities for ao sciece ad aotechology i the etire regio of Fladers. The Leuve Materials Research Cetre (Leuve-MRC) was created i 2005 as a collaborative iterfaculty cetre, fuctioig as a umbrella orgaisatio for 19 materials sciece ad techology research groups at K.U.Leuve. The Leuve-MRC iitiative icludes 61 professors ad early 450 researchers. Leuve-MRC aims to itegrate aotechology ad materials developmet, ad to guaratee the logevity of materials. Specific stadards have bee set for the developmet of aocomposites ad biopolymers, materials for sesors ad micromaufacturig, aostructured steel ad ceramics. 17

18 Research o solar pael. efficiecy. Iterdiscipliary cooperatio betwee the Cetre for Surface Chemistry ad Catalysis ad the K.U.Leuve Departmet of Molecular ad Naomaterials has resulted i the developmet of a material with lumiescet characteristics that icreases the efficiecy of solar paels. This material efficietly coverts the ivisible (ultra)violet part of the light spectrum ito visible light. Sice the efficiecy of solar cells is sigificatly lower for (ultra) - violet light tha for yellow or gree light, for example, this techology makes solar cells covert sulight ito eergy more efficietly. Moreover, imec s silico solar cell idustrial affiliatio programme (IIAP) strives to reduce silico use sharply, while also icreasig the efficiecy of solar cells. This will lower the cost of solar eergy substatially. With its IIAP, imec has created a research ecosystem aimed at creatig iovative processes to maufacture the ext geeratio of silico solar cells. Researchers from eergy compaies, solar cell maufacturers ad materials ad equipmet suppliers are workig together with imec s solar experts to further develop these advaced processes ad test them o a semi-idustrial pilot lie. Imec campus i expasio Imec has recetly exteded its state-of-the-art clearoom, icreasig the surface to 10,000 m² ad makig the clearoom facilities 450mm-ready, thus esurig that imec s advaced research i chip process techology cotiues to meet the idustry stadards. I additio to the clearoom extesio, imec has also started costructio of ew lab space to facilitate ad exted imec s advaced research o silico, orgaic solar cells ad biomedical electroics. These labs accout for aother 1,600 m 2, icludig facilities for the recetly lauched Neuroelectroics Research Fladers (NERF) iitiative, which aims to uravel the euroal circuitry of the huma brai. Imec has also begu costructio of a impressive ew 16-floor office tower which provides office space for up to 450 people ad icludes a auditorium as well as lab facilities. The extra 18,000 m 2 of the ew clearoom, lab facilities ad office buildig brigs the total size of the imec research campus to 80,000 m 2, puttig imec o a par with high-tech aoelectroics research cetres aroud the world. As such, imec aims to cotribute sigificatly to the growth of the Flemish high-tech ecoomy. 18

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20 A log-stadig experiece. K.U.Leuve has developed a large amout of expertise ad kow-how i mechatroics, the domai of mechaics, robotics ad electroics. As early as 1973, the Divisio of Productio egieerig, Machie desig ad Automatio (PMA) itroduced a digital FFT aalyser as oe of the first Europea labs. The PMA Divisio, together with the Departmet of Electrical Egieerig (ESAT) ad the Departmet of Computer Sciece, forms the backboe of the research o mechatroics at K.U.Leuve. The first K.U.Leuve spi-off. A first PMA divisio spi-off was fouded i 1979: Leuve Measuremets ad Systems (LMS Iteratioal), the world leader i the field of computer aided dyamic aalysis. LMS Iteratioal was also the very first spi-off compay of the uiversity. World-class iteratioal compaies ad spi-offs. After LMS Iteratioal, may other spi-off compaies i the field of mechatroics have bee established i the Leuve regio. Materialise has the world s largest rapid prototypig ad maufacturig capacity i oe sigle locatio. Materialise is market leader for 3D pritig ad Digital CAD software as well as a major player i medical ad detal image processig ad surgery simulatio. Layerwise specialises i metal rapid maufacturig. Mechatroics & smart systems 20

21 Krypto was oe of the first spi-off compaies i the field of mechatroics, but was later acquired by the fast-growig spi-off compay Metris. Metris provides complete solutios for 3D digitisig, 3D ispectio ad reverse egieerig. I 2009 it was acquired by Niko Metrology. Xeics, a imec spi-off compay, provides a wide array of ifrared imagig solutios. All these compaies ad may others located i the Leuve area are active i the field of mechatroics ad smart systems. This mechatroics cluster accouts for half of the employmet i the Leuve spi-off compaies, which amouts to about 3,600 people i total, ot icludig employees i offices abroad. Tailor-made ifrastructure. Leuve offers a ideal ifrastructure for R&D itesive ICT compaies. The Areberg Sciece Park, which opeed i 2004, covers a area of 125,000 m². It offers multifuctioal office space ad ultramoder lab facilities as well as support services. This sciece park, adjacet to the imec research campus, cosists of four clusters, two of which focus o biotechology ad two of which o ICT ad related high-tech sectors. The Areberg Sciece Park houses umerous K.U.Leuve ad imec spi-off compaies. I additio, the K.U.Leuve Iovatio & Icubatio Cetre (I&I) is a specialised icubator for mechatroics offerig outstadig facilities for prototypig ad small-scale productio. A bridge betwee academic.research ad. idustrial applicatios. Fladers Mechatroics Techology Cetre (FMTC) was fouded i 2003 as a research cetre for leadig Flemish mechatroics compaies. FMTC wats to bridge the gap betwee academic research i the field of mechatroics ad its idustrial applicatios. FMTC is supported by the Flemish govermet ad collaborates closely with the K.U.Leuve PMA Divisio. Multidiscipliary research o ICT. With the Leuve Cetre for Iformatio ad Commuicatio Techology (LICT), K.U.Leuve eables electroics egieers, computer scietists ad sociologists to pool their expertise ad experiece i the field of ICT. This has resulted i a multidiscipliary research cetre that aims to play a leadig role i the global ICT research commuity. LICT brigs together over 50 professors ad over 350 researchers. The research cetre focuses o social as well as idustrial eeds i a attempt to make people s lives more comfortable ad more secure, improve their health ad preserve eergy sources as well as the eviromet. K.U.Leuve is also a active ad leadig participat i the Iterdiscipliary Istitute for Broadbad Techology (IBBT). IBBT is a idepedet research istitute fouded by the Flemish govermet to stimulate ICT iovatio. IBBT ecompasses 16 research groups ad uites over 600 researchers from various Flemish uiversities ad kowledge cetres. Fially, LSEC (Leaders i Security) is dedicated to creatig IT security awareess i the busiess world i geeral by brigig together compaies with expertise i electroic security, such as Ubize, which is ow part of Verizo Busiess. Heterogeeous itegratio techologies. for iovative smart systems. Imec s smart systems research is cocered with eergy-efficiet wireless commuicatio, wireless autoomous trasducer systems, iovative visualisatio systems ad orgaic electroics for applicatios such as itelliget clothig, RFID labels, rollable displays, orgaic memories, plastic sigage ad lightig. Imec s smart systems research forms a uique lik betwee its desig ad process techologies as may of these iovative smart systems make use of heterogeeous itegratio techologies. Imec refies ad exteds stadard chip processes with ew processig steps to make ovel micro- ad aodevices, addig ew fuctios to the chips other tha logic ad memory. Possible applicatios are MEMS (microelectromechaical systems) ad NEMS (aoelectromechaical systems), such as smart sesors, actuators ad power scavegers, but also biochips, microimplatable appliaces ad solar cells. 21

22 Cleatech World-class iteratioal. compaies ad spi-offs. Thaks to the itesive cleatech research at K.U.Leuve ad imec, several spi-off compaies have bee created with very diverse activities. Photovoltech, IPCOS, M4E, Ispyro, Triphase ad EcoCore are all examples of compaies which have specialised i a specific cleatech domai, ragig from solar cell maufacturig, over advaced process cotrol ad rapid product developmet for power electroics, to the developmet of lightweight structures. Waterleau is oe of the few global players with a complete portfolio of water, air ad waste treatmet, as well as eergy recovery applicatios. With regard to aaerobic waste water treatmet, Waterleau belogs to the global top three. Bluways develops itegrated hybrid drivig systems that provide uprecedeted reductios i harmful emissios ad icrease fuel efficiecy. A leadig positio i. sustaiable eergy R&D. Imec holds a promiet global positio i photovoltaic techologies. A sigificat amout of research o photovoltaic cells is cetralised i the K.U.Leuve ad imec cetres of excellece ad the imec spi-off compay Photovoltech, a maufacturer of multicrystallie silico solar cells. Apart from solar eergy, K.U.Leuve s research also focuses o the developmet of lightweight materials for wid mills. 22

23 Specialised fudig for cleatech compaies. Capricor Veture Parters, located i Leuve, maages veture capital fuds o a pa-europea level. The Capricor Cleatech Fud ivests i iovative Europea growth compaies ad this i a broad rage of cleatech areas. The fud has 112 millio uder maagemet, available for ivestmets i early to mid-stage ew vetures. Iterdiscipliary research. Leuve Sustaiable Earth (LSUE) is a K.U.Leuve research cetre which seeks to develop kowledge ad techology for a sustaiable maagemet of our atural resources. LSUE itegrates the expertise of more tha 60 professors, icludig evirometal scietists, egieers, ecoomists, sociologists ad legal experts, who work together i 25 research groups. The commo goal is to fid solutios for a more sustaiable future by focusig o a umber of research domais, such as climate, water, biodiversity, eergy ad sustaiable food productio. Diverse, coordiated research. Excellece i smart grid research. Smart grids are itelliget eergy distributio etworks that ca avoid overproductio of eergy by brigig productio i lie with demad. The icreasig umber of households that produce their ow solar eergy ad release it ito the power grid will icreasigly cause productio ad demad to fluctuate. At the ed of 2009, the Europea Istitute of Iovatio ad Techology (EIT) selected the cosortium of K.U.Leuve ad VITO (Flemish Istitute for Techological Research), together with TU Eidhove ad a few other leadig Europea research istitutes ad compaies, to further develop the IoEergy project. This project is related to the creatio of Eergyville, a large Europea research cetre for reewable eergy, cocetratig o smart grids ad eergy-efficiet buildigs ad cities. I additio, imec s research o gallium itride (GaN) based switchig techologies will allow smart grids to carry much larger currets ad voltages tha today. K.U.Leuve s cleatech research is very diverse, ragig from water ad air purificatio by usig membrae techology, over biofuels ad ecodesig, to additive maufacturig ad the efficiet productio of biomass. The Leuve Materials Research Cetre (Leuve-MRC) moitors ad coordiates may of these differet fields of research. Expertise i sustaiable maufacturig. Several K.U.Leuve spi-off compaies develop ad commercialise ew maufacturig methods that use eergy ad materials more efficietly. For example, IPCOS offers advaced process cotrol, Ispyro optimises metallurgical processes ad M4E has developed a magetic emulsio techology that saves up to 90% of eergy compared to covetioal techologies. 23

24 Specialised i sustaiable structural materials. A cosiderable amout of research at K.U.Leuve focuses o sustaiable structural materials, such as lightweight materials ad biobased materials. This has led to the creatio of EcoCore, a spi-off compay that develops lightweight hoeycomb cores for applicatios i logistics, costructio ad packagig. The Strategic Iitiative Materials (SIM), a platform that provides fudig for materials research, ad Leuve-MRC brig together sigificat expertise o sustaiable structural materials. Experiece i cradle to cradle techologies. Cleatech research i the Leuve regio also cocetrates o materials that ca be reused i differet products for a idefiite amout of time without ay loss of quality. Whe such products are discarded, the materials ca be recovered completely ad used agai for other products, withi a cradle to cradle model. For istace, waste materials ca be used to store CO2 ad residues of icieratio processes ca be recycled. 24

25 Leuve, a great city to live i Leuve, which is situated at the cetre of the Belgia motorway etwork ad close to several major trai ad bus routes, is oly 15 kilometres from Brussels Iteratioal Airport ad 25 kilometres from the Europea capital, Brussels. The whole regio of Fladers has a excellet educatio system ad a high stadard of medical care. May iteratioal educatioal istitutios are located ear Leuve. With a populatio of 96,000 ihabitats, Leuve is a lovely medium-sized city offerig a perfect balace betwee leisure, culture, work ad life. Sice its foudatio i 1425, the Leuve uiversity has cotiuously played a importat role i the history of the city, which spas more tha a thousad years. May historic buildigs, such as the city hall, Sait Peter s Church ad the uiversity library, bear witess to Leuve s prosperous history. The Stella Artois brewery, which was established i 1366 ad has ow become the global player AB Ibev, has udoubtedly also shaped Leuve ito the flourishig city it is today. 25

26 26 The 43,500 studets of the uiversity ad the uiversity colleges keep the city youg ad vibrat. The 196 atioalities workig, studyig ad livig i Leuve also give the city a iteratioal flavour. There are plety of bars, restaurats, sports facilities ad cultural evets to ejoy, while those searchig for a little peace ad quiet ca go for a stroll aroud the parks, squares, museums or coutryside i ad aroud Leuve.

27 Published by K.U.Leuve Research & Developmet, i cooperatio with imec ad the city of Leuve K.U.Leuve Research & Developmet Miderbroedersstraat 8A box Leuve Belgium T +32 (0) E lrd@kuleuve.be lrd.kuleuve.be K.U.Leuve Research & Developmet, 2010 Pictures: imec, K.U.Leuve, UZ Leuve, stad Leuve, Rob Steves, THV AR-TE - djga - STABO ad Patrick Hederyckx. All rights reserved. No part of this publicatio may be reproduced, stored i a automated database or published i ay form or by ay meas, electroic, mechaical photocopyig, recordig or otherwise, without prior writte permissio of the publisher. For this publicatio several sources have bee used as well as iformatio provided by various orgaisatios. K.U.Leuve Research & Developmet caot guaratee the accuracy of the data, iformatio or opiios icluded i this publicatio. K.U.Leuve Research & Developmet is ot liable for ay damage, losses or other cosequeces that may result from usig the data, iformatio or opiios i this publicatio.

28 K.U.Leuve Research & Developmet City of Leuve Miderbroedersstraat 8A box 5105 Professor Va Overstraeteplei Leuve 3000 Leuve Belgium Belgium T +32 (0) T +32 (0) E lrd@kuleuve.be E ecoomie@leuve.be lrd.kuleuve.be