The Walloon Region is to invest USD 30 million in space research at the Sart Tilman Science Park of Liege. The space sector is one of the technological spearheads in which the Walloon Government plans to invest intensively. Half of the amount will be aimed at research and the other half at its application and commercial exploitation. The whole project will support young, innovative spin off companies from the Liege University, in valuing their research and developing their know-how. These companies of tomorrow will be able to use the relay-buildings and facilities to be constructed in the Sart Tilman Science Park next to the Liege Space Centre, one of the four space facilities co-ordinated by ESA.

The Euro is produced in Liege by UCA

In January 1999, the European single currency, the Euro, will be introduced in the 11 Member States participating in Economic and Monetary Union. The Liege based company UCA is producing the mould for the new Euro coins for Belgium. Born in 1988 out of the Cuivre et Zinc de Chênée plants, UCA has enjoyed spectacular development. Its foundry production has jumped from 30,000 tons a year to a forecast 90,000 in 1999 with the production of rolled products up from 12,000 to 30,000 tons. To the latter, one can add about 3,000 tons of monetary moulds, including the moulds for Euro coins. Over the last two years, UCA has invested BEF 500 million in a brand new foundry, including rolling and ‘blanking’ capabilities. The 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 Eurocent coins for Belgium are manufactured at this new foundry production line, which will also enable UCA to provide 9,000 tons of strips for Euro coins per year to meet the needs of Belgium in 2002.

EVS Broadcast Equipment goes public

Liege based High tech company EVS Broadcast Equipment went to the Brussels Stock Exchange recently. World leader in the field of slow motion images, EVS felt strong enough to challenge the current turbulent stock exchange climate. EVS was set up in 1994 by Pierre L’Hoest and Laurent Minguet, who found a niche in the video recorder market for slow motion images for sports reportage. The entrepreneurs developed a video recorder with hard discs delivering far superior quality than the classic magnetic tape. Confirmation of this breakthrough came at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, when EVS developed a slow-motion system for Panasonic, which enabled the replay of clear, sharp images. At the recent World Cup football in France EVS was chosen as the only supplier of slow motion and replay.

The company has 143 customers working with its slow motion equipment, representing a market penetration of 14%. Since its foundation in 1994, EVS has doubled its turnover every year stock exchange analysts expect the company to double its growth figures until 2007. With the majority coming from the digital television sector, the challenge now is to broaden the range of products and EVS is looking at purchase opportunities in both regional and sector companies, as well as foreign players.

New wave at the Aquarium of the Liege University

To date, one and a half million people from all over Europe have visited the Aquarium of the Liege University. Open to the public since 1962 at the initiative of rector Dubuisson, the Aquarium houses more than 2,500 ‘residents’, representing some 250 species from all over the world. The Dubuisson Aquarium is the only aquatic institute of its kind in this part of Europe. As the cradle of life, the water world has not yet given away all its secrets and the aim of the institute is to start understanding, respecting and protecting the residents of oceans, seas, lakes and rivers. With its 42 windows on the water world, the Aquarium is not only a service to the public, but also a useful tool for university research.

Research at the Aquarium is essentially devoted to the behaviour of fish and to ecology and is undertaken by the Behavioural Sciences and Animal Psychology departments of the Liege University. Specialised laboratories contribute to advancing research and provide oceanography and zoology students with an environment for scientific tests and studies into the behaviour of fish. Every basin recreates a scene similar to the natural environment of the fishes and other animals, and is set up to imitate a particular aspect of aquatic life. The themes of the different basins are not fixed, but evolve with the fauna within them. Part of the Aquarium is devoted to coral reef biology and external research is mainly undertaken at Stareso, the university submarine and oceanographic research base in Corsica. The Aquarium is also involved in several scientific projects in the field of pisciculture and has contacts with a large number of European laboratories.