At the end of November, in Europe’s most ambitious 5G ecosystem forum, 5G Techritory, representatives of industry, science and ministries signed memoranda of understanding in the fields important for the development of Latvia’s economy. Those will be national initiatives, which will open the opportunity for Latvia’s companies, academic environment, and public sector to engage in developing and implementing new technologies fully.
The 12 largest Latvian technology companies, universities (including the University of Latvia and the ISSP UL), organizations and responsible ministries signed a memorandum on the production of microchips in Latvia. The memo defines cooperation, which is expected to be implemented in three main directions: the development of the microchip ecosystem, educational and research opportunities, and the development and production of microchips in Latvia. The purpose of this memorandum is to show Latvia’s desire to participate in the semiconductor economy. Both the National Development Plan of Latvia and the National Industrialization Policy state that the country must create smart industrialization processes and renew high-value-added technology factories.
The second memorandum signed during the 5G Techritory is important in the context of a fragile energy situation in Europe and worldwide. This memo envisages the foundation of a Hydrogen Technology Development Consortium and aims to promote a strong and coherent hydrogen ecosystem and technology development, as well as to accelerate the uptake and capacity of hydrogen innovation, infrastructure, production, and applications in Latvia, enabling the hydrogen industry to develop in line with the objectives set by the European Union, contributing both to the Latvian economy and to the achievement of climate goals.
In addition to the memorandum, a Latvian Hydrogen Alliance is being established in Latvia, which will bring together industry players and stakeholders on a single platform for information exchange, communication, project and cooperation development at both local and international levels. This is an essential step for the sector, as one of the tasks of the memo is to develop a Latvian hydrogen roadmap by mid-2023 and a hydrogen strategy by the end of 2023. Hydrogen is seen as one of the possible decarbonization pathways in the world. Offering new products and technologies to the sector will be in high demand and with high growth potential.
5G Techritory 2022 is Europe’s leading 5G ecosystem forum, which was held for the fifth time this year and is organized by the Electronic Communications Office of Latvia in cooperation with the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The forum’s strategic partner is Latvijas Mobilais Telefons, other partners are the Digital Accelerator of Latvia and the Latvian IT Cluster, and it is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
