CICAT and TALQ Collaborate to Advance Interoperable Smart Lighting in Spain and Abroad

Together with LUCI the partners organise a joint event to discuss the role of smart outdoor lighting for safety and wellbeing

PISCATAWAY, NJ, UNITED STATES, September 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The TALQ Consortium, a global standardization body enabling interoperability in smart cities, and CICAT, the Lighting Cluster of Catalonia, have established a new partnership to support cities and the lighting ecosystem in advancing towards smarter and more interoperable outdoor lighting solutions. In August 2026, CICAT formally joined the TALQ Partner Program following the signature of the partnership agreement. As a first concrete step in this collaboration, the organisations are preparing a first joint event together with the LUCI Association. The three non-profit organisations invite global city representatives and urban planners to a short conference followed by a guided ‘lighting walk’ after dusk on November 2, 2026, in Barcelona, Spain.

Cities must rethink how they plan, deploy and tender their urban lighting infrastructure and how to ensure cost-efficency, openness and interoperability at the same time. Today, cities are constantly under pressure to improve public safety, support climate goals and keep public spaces inclusive and well-served. These goals are hard to reach with ageing infrastructure that reduces long-term flexibility. To provide cities with vendor-independent information and showcase interoperable solutions to address these complex challenges, CICAT and TALQ have decided to cooperate more closely.

Through the partnership with TALQ, CICAT will bring knowledge on open, vendor-independent interfaces and interoperability standards closer to its members and wider ecosystem, supporting the exchange of knowledge around smart outdoor lighting and related smart city services. For TALQ, the partnership with CICAT provides a connection to the lighting ecosystem in Catalonia and Spain, bringing together manufacturers, designers, specifiers, technology centres, universities and other key actors across the lighting value chain. The collaboration will help bring interoperability and smart city standards closer to professionals and organisations working on urban lighting, public space and new lighting technologies.

Public lighting and wellbeing, perception of safety in cities after dark
As a first visible milestone of the cooperation, CICAT and TALQ – together with the LUCI Association – are preparing a joint event in Barcelona for cities, utilities, manufacturers and lighting professionals to discuss sustainable urban lighting. On November 2, the day before the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) opens its doors, the partners invite participants to a panel session with international speakers, followed by a joint lighting walk in the early evening. The session aims to examine and discuss how interactive lighting, urban design, and smart city technologies can help cities respond to the diverse needs of people at night, particularly women, ageing populations, minorities, and other vulnerable groups.

“This year it feels to us as if all pieces of a large puzzle are falling into place,” reports Simon Dunkley, Secretary General of the TALQ Consortium. “The cooperation with CICAT and LUCI is evolving in a harmonious way and brings valuable insights to all involved parties.”

“The collaboration with TALQ and LUCI reflects CICAT’s approach of collaborating while competing: Connecting companies, professionals and institutions around shared challenges to strengthen the competitiveness of the whole lighting ecosystem. Working together allows us to bring interoperability and smart city knowledge closer to the sector and create new opportunities for companies and cities,“ adds Andrea Padré, Cluster Manager CICAT.

“Cities are increasingly looking at lighting not only as infrastructure, but as an essential part of how people experience and use public space after dark. This collaboration between LUCI, CICAT and TALQ brings together complementary perspectives to explore how smarter and more interoperable lighting solutions can contribute to safer, more inclusive and more sustainable night-time environments,” explains Jasmine van der Pol, General Manager of the LUCI Association.

About CICAT: CICAT is the Lighting Cluster of Catalonia, a non-profit organisation that brings together companies and organisations across the entire lighting value chain, including manufacturers, designers, specifiers, technology centres, universities, knowledge partners and startups. CICAT connects the ecosystem to foster collaboration, innovation and knowledge, strengthen the competitiveness of the sector and promote the value of light from a technical, economic, social and environmental perspective. The cluster works at national and international level to create new opportunities, build strategic alliances and anticipate the challenges shaping the future of lighting.
More information www.clusteriluminacion.org

About LUCI Association: LUCI (Lighting Urban Community International) is the international network of cities on urban lighting. Created in 2002 and based in Lyon, France, LUCI brings together cities and associated members worldwide that use light as a tool for social, cultural, environmental and economic development, and promotes sustainable urban lighting policies and practices.
More information: www.luciassociation.org

Eva Jubitz
TALQ Consortium
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Written By: EIN Presswire