LuxUnplugged Podcast

Claudia Hitaj welcomes Christa Anderson, Director of Climate Science, Carbon Metrics, and Climate Change at WWF-US and technical development expert at Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). Christa tells us how SBTi validates and helps companies set near term and long term targets for their path to net zero. We discuss SBTi's new targets for the forest, land, and agriculture sector, and whether companies can use carbon offsets to make net zero claims. 

Thierry discusses with Emmanuel Rammos the profile of SkyfloX, an ESA spin-off company, developing ORCA an Earth Observation system re-using commercial aircrafts to capture data. They talk about the ORCA system that not only helps reducing space debris, but also saves a lot of money compared to sending satellite systems into space. 
During the conversation, Emmanuel & Thierry also discuss what legal challenges there are for a company like Skyflox and why Luxembourg remains a top location for the space sector. 

Claudia and Adrien welcome Selma Vincent, student and climate activist with Youth for Climate Luxembourg. Selma talks about her experience as a youth delegate to the COP26 conference in Glasgow, what it's like as a nineteen-year-old to hold adults to account when it comes to mitigating climate change, and why it's important to vote.

Adding value is the key - This episode is sponsored by the Cluster for Logistics Luxembourg.
Thierry discusses with Kevin Nash the current challenges in the Supply Chain sector and why Luxembourg is a key location for Kuehne & Nagel. Kevin explains to our listeners why he entered the logistics sector over a decade ago. Both Thierry & Kevin also discuss the importance of the sustainability aspect in the logistics world. 

Thierry discusses with Edgar Milic about his 30 year love affair with space and why Luxembourg is a key location for space companies while also highlighting the key achievements of OHB Luxspace. Thierry and Edgar also discuss the 4M mission  and what the company has in the pipeline for future. 

Thierry welcomes back Mike Reiffers, CEO at Skeeled. On this follow up episode Thierry and Mike discuss how the HR & Recruitment sector have experienced the past two years caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and how his Luxembourg-based business helped clients in Luxembourg and abroad to make better hiring decisions. Finally, Mike shares his thoughts on the future outlook for the hybrid working model and on the future of his business.  

Claudia welcomes Claude Turmes, Minister of Energy and Spatial Planning, to the LuxUnplugged's new series on climate change and sustainability - Net Zero Future. Minister Turmes discusses how Luxembourg will shift away from fossil fuels to renewable power and how the government can ensure that the climate transition is just. He highlights the role of spatial planning and discusses why he launched the Luxembourg in Transition consultation. At the end, we find out what he does on a daily basis to reduce his own carbon footprint and what gives him hope for the future. 

Adrien welcomes Fedor Antonov, CEO and co-founder at Anisoprint, to the show. An academic at heart and accidental entrepreneur, Fedor walks Adrien through the genesis of his firm together with his co-founders and how he further pursued his world-class research and project after the sponsoring university discontinued the programme. Then they get into the weeds as regards the whole process behind their 3D printing technology and how the use of composite materials such as carbon fiber offer a clear-cut advantage to their customers in many industries. Thereafter Fedor explains why he chose Luxembourg not only to conduct business from there but also to manufacture highly specialised 3D printing machines. Adrien briefly touches upon the application of his technology in the space industry where his firm recently experienced a major breakthrough. Finally, Fedor lays out his numerous exciting plans for Anisoprint.

Adrien welcomes Artem Axelrod and Alex Pospekhov, co-founders at Mission Space, to the show. Having founded their start-up with two other co-founders in 2020, they discuss how their business is pioneering the commercial use of space weather intelligence in light of growing space exploration plans worldwide. Laureates of the Fit4Start program in Luxembourg, they then extensively go through the major reasons why Luxembourg is a destination of choice for space start-ups given the level of risk involved in this still very young industry. Finally, they briefly highlight their plans for the coming months.

This series is kindly supported by Hogan Lovells.

Adrien welcomes Filip Westerlund, Founder and CEO of OURCHOICE, to the show. As part of a recent change within the LuxUnplugged team, Claudia Hitaj, a previous guest on the programme, joins them to discuss sustainability topics and make important announcements on the podcast's future plans.
A relentlessly dynamic entrepreneur, Filip walks them through the genesis of his circular vision in fashion and challenges them on the definition of a visionary. Then they dive into the whole process that makes OURCHOICE shoes circular and sustainable over the long run, this compared to mostly plastic derived shoes in the fast fashion industry. Finally, Filip extensively highlights the benefits of launching a sustainability business in Luxembourg before discussing his plans on the upcoming pivot for OURCHOICE.