Investment Highway takes effect: Lithuania opens Europe’s fastest development track
Lithuania is transforming the timelines for strategic investment development in Europe. The country’s Investment Highway initiative, entering into force on November 1, 2025, enables large-scale projects to progress from initial decision to active construction in as little as three months, thus positioning Lithuania as one of Europe’s most agile investment destinations.
Accelerating pre-construction timelines
The Investment Highway removes traditional bureaucratic bottlenecks in territorial planning and construction permitting processes. Qualifying investors can begin building immediately after publishing a construction notice, while permitting proceeds in the background. The framework also enables phased construction, allowing work to commence on completed sections of the technical project while other components remain in design. These changes deliver substantial time savings compared to previous timelines, where the journey from site selection to construction could stretch up to three years.
In practice, this means pre-construction timelines shrink by up to 50% for all large-scale projects – from 36 months down to around 19 months. Projects establishing operations in Lithuania’s seven Free Economic Zones, where territorial planning is already complete, can break ground even faster, reducing timelines from 24 months to just 9 months. Defence sector projects benefit from the most dramatic acceleration: timelines compress from 36 months to just 3 months in non-urbanised areas and from 36 months to 10 months in urbanised locations.
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Originally published on 3 Nov
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Lithuania’s fast-growing gaming ecosystem is getting another level-up: the second edition of the GameTech Accelerator has officially kicked off with 10 new studios ready to take their game ideas global.
“Lithuania’s game scene is buzzing with creativity and potential. The country’s first dedicated GameTech accelerator proves that with the right mentorship and international exposure, our local teams can become competitive on a global stage,” said Karolina Urbonaitė, Head of Startup Lithuania at Innovation Agency Lithuania. “We’re proud to be part of this initiative that’s not only accelerating game studios but also reshaping our startup ecosystem.”
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Originally published on 15 Apr
Riga Technical University (RTU) Science and Innovation Centre (ZIC) invites applications for participation in the defence industry hackathon EUDIS Defence Hackathon 2025 by May 5. The hackathon will take place from May 9 to 11 at RTU Rezekne Academy.
The goal of the hackathon is to promote innovation development in the defence sector, focusing on the creation of innovative equipment and software solutions for Ukraine’s defence needs.
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Originally published on 14 Apr
Luleå University of Technology is taking a unified approach to AI development through a strategic action plan that encompasses the entire organisation. The aim is to integrate AI into its core mission while ensuring the technology is used ethically, legally, and intelligently.
“AI is here to stay and affects all of us, regardless of our role. This is one of the biggest technological changes we face – perhaps comparable to the introduction of personal computers. We need to understand it and use it in a responsible and smart way,” says Pär Weihed, Pro Vice-Chancellor at Luleå University of Technology.
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Originally published on 14 Apr
While foreign direct investment flows across Europe dropped in 2024, Finland held its line in attracting international companies. Sustainability took center stage, with investments driving cleaner solutions for energy, manufacturing and recycling. AI and imaging were in the mix too.
According to Invest in Finland’s monitoring service, foreign companies established or acquired 231 new entities in Finland during 2024 – a decrease of just 6% from the previous year. Over the same period, foreign-owned companies already operating in Finland made 130 follow-up investments.
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Originally published on 14 Apr
Today, on April 13, the Baltic Pavilion, with the theme “We Are One,” was officially opened at Expo 2025 Osaka, the world’s largest international exhibition. Showcasing a joint presence of Latvia and Lithuania, the pavilion explores the synergy between nature, people, and technology. The global event in Japan will run for six months—until October 13—bringing together 160 countries and 9 international organizations. An estimated 28 million visitors from around the globe are expected to attend.
The official opening of the Baltic Pavilion was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Edmunds Valantis, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economics of Latvia; Lāsma Līdaka, Commissioner General of Latvia at Expo 2025; Zigmārs Zilgalvis, Ambassador of Latvia to Japan; Lina Antanavičiene, Commissioner General of Lithuania at Expo 2025 Osaka; Aurelijus Zykas, Ambassador of Lithuania to Japan; and Artūrs Analts, the artist and designer of the Baltic Pavilion.
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Originally published on 14 Apr
Four ambitious startups have kicked off their journey in the Tehnopol Startup Incubator’s Film and Multimedia Accelerator IDA Hub. This marks the beginning of the program’s third cohort.
The Film and Multimedia Accelerator focuses on multimedia, virtual and augmented reality, and related fields, supporting startups that are innovating in these areas. Participants are guided by top-tier mentors who provide direct access to key figures in the film industry, the market, and investors. This creates a unique opportunity to develop products or services in a sector where innovation and creativity meet high technology.
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Originally published on 11 Apr
Business and Innovation – Are You Ready for Tomorrow?
Entrepreneurs are invited to the Future_Ready 2025 conference on April 25 in Riga, organized by the Latvian IT Cluster (LITK), Latvian Digital Accelerator (LDA), and the academic partner RTU Riga Business School. The event will bring together industry leaders and entrepreneurs to highlight key technology trends and their impact on business.
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Originally published on 11 Apr
Money laundering remains one of the biggest threats to the global economy, fueling organized crime, terrorism, corruption, and tax evasion. Despite ongoing efforts, financial institutions have long struggled with a fragmented and inconsistent approach to combating illicit financial activities.
In response to this challenge, AMLYZE is proud to announce the launch of AMLTRIX, a first-of-its-kind open knowledge initiative designed to standardize and revolutionize the fight against money laundering.
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Originally published on 10 Apr
The European renewable energy group Energiequelle has reserved a site for a new hydrogen project to produce hydrogen in Oulu, northern Finland. When all three stages of project are fully completed, the plant could produce hydrogen by electrolysis with a capacity of over 500 megawatt (MW). The hydrogen plant would be commissioned in three phases between 2028 and 2033.
The first phase of the project would involve the construction of a hydrogen production plant of maximum 5 MW and a hydrogen refuelling station for buses and other heavy-duty vehicles. In the next phase, the capacity of the hydrogen production plant would be increased to 10-50 MW and hydrogen exports via the planned hydrogen pipeline and the port of Oulu could be an option, if the needed infrastructure is available. In the third phase, production would be further increased to an additional capacity of 100-500 MW. The schedule and full size of the project is highly depending on the market situation and the infrastructure available in the selected new greenfield site.
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Originally published on 10 Apr
On 9 April, Minister of Energy Žygimantas Vaičiūnas attended the annual conference of the European Wind Energy Association, Wind Europe 2025, in Copenhagen (Denmark).
During the conference, Minister of Energy Mr Vaičiūnas met with Kaspars Melnis, Minister for Climate and Energy of the Republic of Latvia, and Volker Oschmann, Director General for Electricity at the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, and together they presented the planned project of an offshore electricity interconnector between the Baltic States and Germany.
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Originally published on 9 Apr