NATO is set to launch a €1 billion innovation fund – based in Luxembourg – to help start-ups develop cutting-edge technologies that can be used both by the military and for civil purposes, the military alliance said this week.
The NATO Innovation Fund will invest in start-ups and other venture capital funds that are developing these so-called dual-use products, which NATO sees as pivotal to bolster security.
The technologies include artificial intelligence, big-data processing, quantum computing, novel materials, energy, propulsion and space.
The fund will complement the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), which brings together academia and the private sector, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a summit in Madrid on Thursday.
The Grand Duchy, a founding member of the alliance, will host the fund to which it will also contribute, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said on Thursday.
Luxembourg will double its defence expenditure by 2028 compared to current levels, the country said last week. Dual-use items would be a focus, while a joint Luxembourgish-Belgian battalion, was another priority.
While Luxembourg does not have a strong defence industry, many companies do produce such dual-use items.
Luxembourg allowed military items to be exported outside the EU 85 times last year. The Grand Duchy issues eight authorisations for dual-use goods to be sent to Russia last year, with a total value of around €606,000.
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