Innovate for a Diverse Europe
[Budapest, Hungary] Huawei held European Innovation Day 2022, its flagship summit on innovation in Europe today in Budapest. This is the tenth year that Huawei hosted this event where Huawei and partners presented insights on how technology innovation can advance digitalization, green energy transition, biodiversity conservation and talent cultivation.
About 250 representatives from government, industry and academia gathered at the historic Castle Garden Bazaar to discuss the summit’s theme – “Innovate for a Diverse Europe”. At the event, Huawei showcased multiple 5G use cases for different industry scenarios, including logistics, ports, and mining with private 5G mobile networks in its 5G demo truck.
Jeff Wang, President of Public Affairs and Communications Department at Huawei, opened the summit: “At Huawei, we believe that we can lead innovation for the future through continuous investment in research and development. While the process of innovation is full of uncertainty, as our path to the future, one thing is certain: innovation will be crucial to realize our sustainable future. We look forward to working with our partners to create a smarter, greener and sustainable Europe.”
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said: “In recent years, Hungary has achieved success in the competition for the investments of large Chinese companies. Huawei’s R&D center in Budapest, as well as its largest European logistics center next to the capital, are special advantages for our country. Huawei’s investments in Hungary are a pride for us, and we are proud that the company trusts in Hungarian talents, people and the Hungarian education system. Both parties benefited greatly from the strategic cooperation signed ten years ago, and the Hungarian government is ready to continue this cooperation.”
Green Energy Transition
With a shared vision for the green energy economy, the Ministry of Technology and Industry of Hungary, the Hungarian Battery Association, Planergy Solutions and Huawei have partnered on a white paper for the future of the Hungarian power sector. The paper examines the challenges of currently plaguing green energy transition in Hungary such as energy storage strategy.
“We are making good progress towards reducing greenhouse gases. Digitization will be extremely necessary in the energy supply, innovative solutions must come to the fore, and we have placed all of these on Hungary’s investment map,” said Márk Alföldy-Boruss, Deputy State Secretary for Energy at the Ministry of Technology and Industry.
Besime Özderici, a board member of SolarAPEX, spoke about their ongoing partnership with Huawei: “We have harnessed technology to build a greener planet and to create a better future for the next generations.” Earlier this year, SolarAPEX partnered with Huawei to build what will be the world’s largest rooftop solar plant project for Tosyali Holding in Turkey. The project will have a total installed power of 140 MW, cutting carbon emissions by 116,525 metric tons per year.
5G Enables Innovation for a Smart Europe
Huawei is the source of many innovative 5G-powered solutions in Europe.
“In Greece, Huawei and Nova collaborated with Greek startup PROBOTEK to develop and successfully implement an innovative solution for early detection of fires and immediate intervention using 5G, Artificial Intelligence and drone technology. This pilot project was a collaborative initiative aiming to address a problem with social, environmental and economic implications,” said George Delaportas, Co-Founder and CEO of PROBOTEK.
In Austria, Huawei has similarly worked with the drone company Dronetech to develop a smart farming solution that uses 5G technology to reduce water and pesticide use and boost productivity. In Hungary, Huawei and its partners are building Europe’s first 5G smart railway hub.
“The traditional taxonomy that divides manufacturing, services, and the digital economy are vanishing. International organizations and governments should work together with the private sector to support productive digital transformation with artificial intelligence,” said Marco Kamiya, Chief of the Division of Innovation Strategies and Digitalization at UNIDO. Kamiya appreciated the support of Huawei to the forthcoming Global Innovation Award, a major initiative to be launched by UNIDO in this field.
Talent Development and Biodiversity Conservation
During the event, the University of Public Service of Hungary signed a partnership agreement with Huawei as part of the company’s Seeds for the Future Scholarship program to promote ICT education. The Seeds for the Future Scholarship has awarded about 1,000 students from 12 European countries a total of 5 million euros in the past two years.
Huawei also unveiled its latest efforts on nature conservation in a TECH4ALL project which it cooperated Rainforest Connection and Poland’s Bialowieza National Park. This project uses an AI-powered acoustic monitoring system forests to study the impact of climate change on the biodiversity.
Dr. Gergely Deli, Rector of the University of Public Service, highlighted another sustainability project that the university worked with Huawei. The project uses a smart PV solution mounted on trailers to better support water management research in protected areas of the Danube basin for flood prevention.
Dr. Deli said: “This collaboration is an excellent example of how an actor from the business sector can support an academic institution, creating value and showcasing the evolving and sustainable role of modern technology in environmental protection and research.”
