“Lithuania is an industrialised state, with manufacturing industry contributing around 20% of GDP, but only 25.2% of companies are introducing environmental innovations in their operations. However, to remain competitive and reduce industrial pollution, we need to move towards a circular economy as early as possible. The creation and operationalisation of the Industry 4.0 Lab platform through targeted consultations will help accelerate this transformation of Lithuanian industry – we have no doubt that by 2030 the number of companies implementing environmental innovations will increase and make up 35.5%,” said Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of Economy and Innovation.
The implementation of the platform will be coordinated by the Innovation Agency and developed by project partners – the European Digital Innovation Hubs operating in Lithuania.
Up to EUR 1 million is envisaged to be allocated for the development of the Industry 4.0 Lab infrastructure, and at least EUR 2.5 million for consultancy activities for the industrial sector.
“The platform will include both infrastructure development and consulting services. The infrastructure will provide a public demonstration of virtual production lines focused on technological solutions for the circular economy. Consulting services will enable Lithuanian industrial enterprises to accelerate the implementation of transformative and climate-smart technologies. In addition, the consultancy will include innovation audits and recommendations for the implementation of digital innovations,” said Ieva Valeškaitė, Vice-Minister of Economy and Innovation.
The European Digital Innovation Hubs will play a key role in the implementation of the Digital Europe Programme by promoting the use of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, ensuring cyber security, and accelerating the implementation of other industrial digitisation technologies, particularly in SMEs and European public sector organisations.
To strengthen the Lithuanian economy, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation will implement measures totalling almost EUR 1 billion by the end of 2023. Around EUR 365 million has been earmarked for business, innovation and investment, EUR 320 million for the digitisation of the state and business, and EUR 268 million for the greener economy.
