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Potential users of Edge computing currently lack suitable tools to either assess the suitability of public Edge service offerings or to plan, design and build their own customised Edge computing solution. Testing suitability often requires the costly and time-consuming construction of a real infrastructure. The EMULATE – Concepts and tools for measuring, analysing and optimising the performance of edge services in the European cloud-edge continuum – project at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts aims to provide a remedy by creating emulation and diagnostic platforms. On the one hand, the provision of a flexibly configurable emulation platform enables the creation of a digital twin of a Cloud-Edge infrastructure. On the other hand, the diagnostic platform supports the evaluation of existing environments with regard to their suitability for a Cloud-Edge continuum and simplifies troubleshooting in existing Cloud-Edge solutions. The project thus accelerates the planning process for customised Cloud- edge solutions and increases their quality.

The FACIS project – Federation Architecture for Composition of Infrastructure Services – enhances the development of collaborative ecosystems by orchestrating innovative federated infrastructures and exemplary governance frameworks (e.g., Service Level Agreements). It achieves this through the development and application of Federation Architecture Patterns (FAPs), machine-readable Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and low-code technologies. The goals include the seamless integration of different providers, the harmonization of SLAs, and the accelerated adoption of digital services. The project supports the implementation of forward-looking applications, such as the digital product passport, AI-driven processes, and Collaborative Condition Monitoring in Industry 4.0.

By utilizing European standards such as the European Digital Identity (eID) and publishing the project results as free & Open Source, FACIS reduces reliance on non-European providers. The practical applicability is demonstrated in pilot projects and test environments, for example, in monitoring production processes or optimizing global supply chains within sovereign Cloud-Edge operational frameworks. In doing so, FACIS makes a significant contribution to strengthening a sustainable digital infrastructure in Europe

The public sector needs to be digitalised. To achieve this, there is a lack of digitally savvy staff – for example, there is a shortage of around 330,000 employees in the public sector. There is also a need for trustworthy infrastructure that functions in accordance with European data protection guidelines.

The AIDED – Artificial intelligence in a secure, distributed cloud for the public sector – project is implementing AI-based automation of repetitive administrative tasks to reduce the staff shortage. To this end, the project is building a multi-provider edge-cloud continuum that enables a unique, highly available, secure, GDPR-compliant and decentralised server structure for public administration. Data is structured and anonymised using machine learning and information is extracted and processed for administrative tasks. In addition, the project aims to automate the transfer of administrative tasks both between customers and sectors, e.g. local authorities, with individual requirements. Up to 70 per cent of the software and AI models used should be reusable for different customers, which offers enormous savings potential.

European industries are facing major challenges in digitalisation, such as in Industry 4.0 – where the control of production machines and robots requires closed and secure control loops. In addition to the Cloud, this also requires a wireless connection for communication via 5G. Ericsson’s KeeCEK – Development of small, efficient, effective cloud edge nodes – project is developing technologies to make the Cloud-Edge nodes smaller, more energy-efficient and effective. More effective means developing Cloud-Edge systems for business and industry-critical applications in order to be able to process very large amounts of data with very low latency in a particularly reliable manner. KeeCEK enables the use of existing mobile networks as a platform for providing Cloud services for critical applications. Lower latency times and the direct connection of devices with applications in the Cloud-Edge enable improved and new business processes.

Healthcare can significantly benefit from digital innovations in cloud and edge computing. These technologies hold great potential for improvement, especially when processing large volumes of data. A prime example is the analysis of long-term ECG recordings, where approximately 100,000 heartbeats are measured per session.

The FACE project, led by GETEMED Medizin- und Informationstechnik AG, is developing solutions that leverage the advantages of artificial intelligence (AI), edge computing, and cloud computing to make ECG analysis more efficient and improve patient care. The project’s innovative approach lies in a two-stage analysis process that intelligently distributes the workload between edge and cloud systems. This involves creating interfaces that ensure seamless integration of ECG data between edge and cloud models, enabling fast and precise data transfer and continuous model improvement.

By employing state-of-the-art machine learning models, the project supports a continuous learning process that aids experts in evaluating and interpreting ECG findings. To ensure that the developed models are not only technologically advanced but also clinically relevant, the project collaborates closely with medical professionals and research institutions.

The ECOTWIN (Edge-Cloud Operative Digital Twin) project is developing a hybrid platform for implementing technical digital twins in industrial and building technology applications. Its goal is to enable efficient, AI-driven analysis, monitoring, and optimization of time-critical technical processes, such as chemical reactors, industrial furnaces, or building climate control systems. ECOTWIN leverages the computational power of the cloud for AI training and simulations while utilizing the real-time responsiveness of edge computing to create robust, reliable, and transparent AI systems. A modular architecture ensures seamless integration of new applications and technologies.

The consortium consists of three core partners: IANUS Simulation GmbH, serving as the project lead, alongside TU Darmstadt and TU Dortmund, supported by numerous technology partners. Use cases from industrial and building technology domains, such as optimizing chemical reactors and intelligent climate control in buildings, demonstrate the platform’s practical applicability. ECOTWIN contributes to strengthening Europe’s digital sovereignty, lowering entry barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and advancing sustainable, future-oriented technologies.

IONORA is planing to collaborate with energy providers to build an innovative and sustainable data centre that evaluates, implements, and tests synergies between data centres and energy producers/consumers. This initiative aims to reduce energy transmission losses, enhance redundancy concepts through proximity, and sustainably utilise waste heat with district heating networks and advanced liquid cooling systems. The project also focuses on optimising cloud-specific infrastructure at the server rack level across the public to edge cloud continuum. It involves developing integrated cooling rack-scale designs, which are crucial for increasing energy efficiency, reducing CO₂ footprints, and improving performance/cost ratios. This includes overhauling supply chains to minimise CO₂ impacts and integrating open blueprints like Open19 and OCP to streamline hardware automation and telemetry for workload optimisation. Additionally, IONORA is developing a provider-agnostic API for orchestrating cloud platforms that will enable its integration with edge infrastructures. This system incorporates AI to optimise workload impacts on infrastructure, focusing on reducing energy use and CO₂ emissions. Lastly, IONORA is establishing a Gaia-X compliant open cloud-edge PaaS layer to foster a sovereign European platform that supports rapid innovation cycles in various data ecosystems. This includes providing open-source services and developing a standardized runtime environment conducive to future ecosystem expansions.

Water utilities, such as municipal waterworks and public utilities, face the challenge of increasing pump performance, minimising failures, and enhancing safety. To meet these demands, KSB SE & Co. KGaA is integrating pump applications into the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) through their project “IoT-Panda.” The goal of the project is to develop solutions for connected pump applications.

A key initiative in this project is the development of an open interface for the KSB Cloud, which will enhance interoperability with various cloud systems and enable secure real-time analysis and control of pump data. Technologies such as the Industry 4.0 administration shell will provide standardised descriptions of pump components and functions to facilitate integration into IT systems and promote networking within the industrial Internet of Things. This is expected to lead to optimised process efficiency, easier preventive maintenance, and sustainable resource use.

The next generation of Cloud-Edge infrastructure and services must be more decentralised, greener and smarter networked, as this is the only way Europe can take a pioneering role in the decade of sustainable digitalisation and the ICT sector can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. LIMEBIRD’s GREC – Green Edge Cloud – project develops and establishes heterogeneous and decentralised Edge data centres in wind/solar parks as well as in customer properties and industrial sites. The project uses artificial intelligence and decentralised optimisation methods to orchestrate the Edge data centres intelligently and automatically. A self-organising swarm platform is the key to resilience, sustainability and automation as well as to harmonising the Edge data centres in terms of energy management, work distribution and dynamic workload migration. Open source, compatibility and common standards (e.g. GAIA-X) enable scaling and a multi-provider approach.

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Enormous amounts of electrical energy, including fossil fuels, are used to power computing systems and operate their cooling systems, 100 percent of which is released into the atmosphere unused in the form of waste heat. Lindner SE’s BIGREEN – Green edge cloud technology fully integrated into building technology – project is working on highly innovative, modular Edge-Cloud computing systems that can be seamlessly integrated into the building technology of new and existing buildings. The waste heat emitted during utilisation is used directly on site for heating buildings, hot water or process heat. The energy should primarily come from local, renewable energy sources. The “swarm” of distributed Edge-Cloud systems is intelligently controlled in order to optimise the relationship between renewable energy, the use of the waste heat generated and the available computing power. In addition, a completely new, multi-dimensional security and access concept, known as multi-layer confidential computing, protects the systems.

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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly faced with the challenge of obtaining real-time data from their customers. Machine manufacturers, for example, can monitor the use of their machines and systems in the customer environment and thus open up new digital business models. This increases the need to utilise Cloud technologies. At the same time, customers are concerned about transferring data to a single cloud provider. The GREEN-TWIN project from N+P Informationssysteme GmbH implements digital twins in the building and factory sector as a sovereign cloud solution. By setting up and managing hybrid platform environments and their data rooms as a combination of on-premise and Cloud components, the project aims to create multi-provider infrastructure scenarios that guarantee the trustworthy cross-company use of data. In order to support interoperability and data sovereignty, the project integrates basic GAIA-X components and standards. The aim is to develop specific use cases in the areas of digital buildings, digital factories and digital products.

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The increasing level of digitalisation in industry, administration and mobility means that systems are being networked with each other, creating more and more points of attack to the outside world. In security-critical applications, such as driverless, teleoperated driving, the highest demands are placed on security, latency and availability, including with regard to post-quantum secure encryption methods. The PoQuaSIA – Development of a distributed and scalable IoT platform using a post-quantum secure cloud data connection – project at the Rheinmetall Technology Center is developing modules for a generic IoT platform for secure connection to decentralised Edge-Clouds or central Clouds. On the one hand, the project is creating the necessary secure computing infrastructure with sufficient computing power and security against connection interruptions and cyberattacks. Secondly, the post-quantum secure and particularly low-latency communication between the subsystems involved is guaranteed by an embedded system. This generic IoT platform is applied to use cases from the mobility sector, e.g. the teleoperation of cars, simulatively and in the form of field tests.

The functionality of vehicles is increasingly defined by software, which leads to increased computing effort and energy consumption. The use of Edge and Cloud capacities offers the opportunity to reduce the embedded electronics in vehicles and offer functionality more cost-effectively. This requires solutions for dealing with latencies and ensuring availability, especially for real-time applications. The Cube-C – Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Cloud Continuum – project from Bosch is developing methods, components and tools for the realisation of safety- and time-critical cyber-physical systems (CPS) in a Cloud-Edge continuum. On this basis, the vehicle and Cloud infrastructure can be optimally utilised so that vehicles can be operated in a resource-saving, energy-efficient and safe manner. This includes development environments, operating concepts and real-time-critical functions with quality of service assurance and methods for distributing functionalities during operation. The project is also developing initial applications for such a Cloud-Edge continuum in the areas of powertrain, driver assistance systems and cooperative driving.

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Project description will be available soon.

With the ApeiroRA project, SAP aims to develop a reference blueprint for an open, flexible, powerful, and secure next generation cloud-edge infrastructure. The project will include the use of intelligent monitoring and optimization methods in order to achieve energy efficiency and support sustainability. The project will strengthen the goal of a Multi Provider Cloud-Edge Continuum in and for Europe, and will also provide a strong fundament for future software development, deployment, and usage in cloud-edge environments.

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For future highly secure Cloud-Edge solutions, scalability, interoperability and trustworthiness as well as increasing energy efficiency through computing at the point of energy generation are highly relevant. The secunetEdgeCloud project from secunet Security Networks AG will develop fully integrated and automatically networked Cloud-Edge infrastructure modules that are characterised by maximum security. The nodes can be automatically connected to each other to form large computer networks, so that scaling networks can be created to provide computing power at low operating costs. This is achieved through security-conscious code development and selection, the use of state-of-the-art encryption and virtualisation technologies and cryptographic isolation of workloads. This combination of highly secure, energy-efficient, easy-to-use and open source-based technology closes a technological gap and is certifiable.

Edge technology shows great potential for decentralised data analysis and digitalisation of production processes across industries. The setting of factories is characterised by heterogenous systems, diverse machinery and highest security requirements. The project Kicks4Edge by Siemens Digital Industries aims to promote interoperability of systems as well as to advance and support the extension of software and service offerings for an open industrial Edge technology so that manifold players in IT and OT can create business with Edge technology as part of the Cloud-Edge continuum. The project applies a novel approach for technology adoption in SMEs, derives industry requirements to be fed into the IPCEI-CIS technology development and enables new app and device builders to participate with Edge technology with its three building blocks Edge Build & Connect, App & Device Test Ecosystem and Edge Kick-Start.

Project description will be available soon.

The networking of safety-critical systems in the rail sector, for example in signal processing in rail network or data processing in rail vehicles, requires the use of intelligent and therefore safe and functional connectivity platforms, such as Cloud services, among others. This is where the SuzECK – Secure, safe, authorized & certifiable Edge & Cloud Key components – project comes in by creating a safe computing platform (SCP). A platform-independent application programming interface (PI API) is planned between safety-relevant areas in the rail sector and Cloud and Edge applications. This creates a safety layer and supports portability between applications from different providers. The safe computing platform is supported by a functional open source reference implementation and other proprietary safety adaptations. The project is based on the SCP PI standard, which was developed in collaboration with European railroads (Germany, France, Netherlands, Switzerland).

Data centres face major challenges as they are the engine of a digital society. Hyper-scalers define the easily accessible service offering, but serve hardly any customer sovereignty when it comes to meeting individual sustainability or regulatory requirements. In order to offer a better counterbalance in the European and German market, a cooperative and sustainable Cloud ecosystem must be created. WestfalenWIND IT’s SDEC – Sustainable distributed edge colocation – project is researching data centre Edge infrastructures within wind turbines for this purpose. The central challenge is to establish the architecture and integration in a cross-location co-location operating model. The project looks at issues that should lead to an architecture that meets the requirements. The aim is to create a distributed co-location ecosystem and enable the seamless merging of the solution into an energy generation infrastructure. The provision of these resources on the market also supports use cases for smart city platforms or non-profit cultural platforms.

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Project description will be available soon.

The Digital Trust Services – DTS – project is a significant step towards enhancing trust in digital data, thereby fostering collaboration and boosting European competitiveness. This industry-independent, interoperable open data authentication solution is designed to facilitate the development of innovative solutions. The primary goal of DTS is to create a mass data authentication service applicable to all data sources, thereby establishing the concept of trusted and verifiable digital data. The project’s scope extends from the data source (e.g., IoT device) to the point of use, ensuring data integrity and authenticity. The technology underpinning DTS is Blockchain (BC), which guarantees data authenticity. The system allows for the verification of data from its source to its point of use, free from corruption and manipulation. It also provides information about the data’s origin and important “meta” descriptors (sensor ID, GPS, owner, etc.). The consensus of closed authentication nodes, provided by partner companies and supervisory bodies, further ensures authenticity. The innovation resulting from the DTS project is envisioned as a universal data authentication platform, accessible to all, regardless of industry or company size. This groundbreaking initiative underscores the transformative potential of blockchain technology in fostering trust in the digital landscape.

Project description will be available soon.

The Distributed Edge data centre infra (DEDCI) project will develop green, ultra-cost-efficient far and near Edge data centre types with a PUE lower than 1.2, integrated with power supply from renewable energy sources and waste heat reuse technologies.

These data centres are going to be modular, containerised, can be integrated into buildings, prefabricated, scalable, and quick to deploy with a capacity of up to 150 kW. Their cooling will rely on cutting-edge, free-air cooling combined with on-chip-liquid cooling and advanced cooling control techniques. By developing interfaces for selected use-cases, the edge nodes will be able to supply their waste heat to third parties.

The project is aiming at creating an EDGE network consisting of 5 near and 20 far edge data centres across Hungary. By applying the EDGE meta-orchestration solution developed by other IPCEI-CIS projects it will offer an Edge-as-a-Service environment that provides (i) Scalable ultra-low latency (1.5 ms), and (ii) Scalable availability of IT services (99.999%). This network will be used as a living lab for (i) establishing standards against EDGE nodes/networks, (ii) developing local and Pan-European orchestration, and (iii) providing access to end-users for software developers.

The project aims to develop an environmentally-conscious littering and waste detection AI camera platform and AI models. The solution could be used in multiple areas: monitoring outdoor and indoor spaces and continuous monitoring of cities for waste identification. Littering detection AI models, and the camera platform will help municipalities and camera operator companies fight against littering and illegal waste dumping. The AI Camera platform will allow interoperability through open standards (ONNX AI models, REST/GraphQL APIs), while part of the platform will be available as an open-source solution. The platform will also integrate additional data sources beyond standard cameras: drone / unmanned aerial vehicle, satellite, and other custom data sources.

At the heart of AVANT’s mission lies the creation of specialised platforms that empower organisations to harness the transformative power of digital twins across the spectrum of the edge-to-cloud continuum. One of the most significant challenges tackled by AVANT is the need for interoperable and intelligent secure middleware. This middleware serves as the backbone of the digital twin ecosystem, ensuring seamless communication and data exchange between disparate systems and devices, regardless of their hardware or software configurations. By establishing a common language and protocol, AVANT eliminates the siloed nature of traditional computing environments, fostering a unified digital landscape where data flows freely and securely.

Another crucial challenge addressed by AVANT is the need for seamless and reliable data access, irrespective of its distribution. Furthermore, AVANT tackles the complexities of training and utilising AI algorithms in distributed environments. AVANT’s support to AI development and deployment ensures that organisations can harness this transformative technology effectively, enabling them to automate tasks, predict future trends, and gain a competitive edge on the market. By ensuring that its platforms seamlessly integrate with existing infrastructure and align with organisational goals, AVANT empowers businesses to embrace digital twins without disrupting their operations or compromising their security posture. With AVANT, companies can streamline processes, optimize resource utilisation, and contribute to Europe’s decarbonisation efforts, all while enhancing their resilience in the face of ever-changing market conditions.

Fincantieri Group IPCEI-CIS Project aims at creating an efficient suite of processing services to properly organise and orchestrate information flows in an Edge-Cloud/Multicloud Continuum, for their secure integration and implementation in a variety of application areas: (i) the Smart Shipyard, enabling true Industry 4.0 solutions for the ship construction phase, and preparing the future Industry 5.0 solutions; (ii) the Smart Ship, creating the best conditions for the optimisation of ship operations, its energy efficiency, its environmental footprint, its safety, and its maintenance by properly integrating digital twins in the Edge-Cloud Continuum; (iii) Digital Lifecycle Management, by enabling the lifecycle management of complex systems and infrastructures with an ever increasing level of automation and autonomy and by integrating and orchestrating advanced cloud and edge-based features; (iv) Cybersecurity of the Edge-Cloud Continuum, by implementing advanced probes for maritime applications and suitable threat intelligence strategies.

From the architectural point of view, a fundamental role shall be played by a robust and scalable maritime data platform that will enable the proper exchange of data, information, and processing services on the (IoT)-Edge-Cloud Continuum.

DataCLEEN exploits high-performance computing technologies in a highly scalable, federated, trusted cloud-edge continuum to accelerate the energy transition and to create new products and services with the large involvement of industries and public entities in Italy and Europe. To meet the new energetic and environmental challenges, DataCLEEN infrastructure, based on five ENEA computing and data centres from north to south of Italy, aims to be highly scalable, flexible, sustainable, low power but at the same time with high performance computing and big-data capabilities from the cloud to the edge, till the laboratories and the energy plants. DataCLEEN meets European requirements in terms of cybersecurity and data protection to contribute to a more sustainable use of cloud and edge computing for the Italian and European companies participating in IPCEI to accelerate their R&D&I phase to arrive as soon as possible to deliver their FID activities. DataCLEEN is greatly innovative since it provides, in a seamless and sustainable way, HPC technologies and AI at the edge to exploit on premises data of five applications in the energy field: critical infrastructures management, smart cities, materials for energy, fluid dynamics and cultural heritage.

The project aims to create cutting-edge software on Cloud-Edge technologies, empowering individuals and businesses to seamlessly share data through multiple, disaggregated and distributed data networks. It features a modular and open system architecture designed to facilitate real-time interactions and harness advanced AI/ML capabilities. With a strong focus on security and privacy, this initiative prioritises secure-by-design solutions. Its use cases involve integrating an autonomous service platform for vehicles and robotics, facilitating the coordination and collaboration of autonomous driving cars, trucks, logistic vehicles, and manufacturing robots.

The TIM Edge & Cloud Continuum will develop a next generation Cloud-Edge continuum that is a fundamental enabler of new digital solutions that require high performance in terms of latency, minimum guaranteed bandwidth, availability, resilience and security, ensuring open and public access to all the use cases and related open data management, while guaranteeing security and compliance to legislation on EU Data, favouring and enabling the free flow of non-personal data, providing the foundation for European digital services not only for big enterprises but also for SMEs and start-ups.
This project aims at promoting new disruptive solutions in terms of energy-efficiency, cloud security and openness of Cloud and Edge services notably including interoperability. To meet local – and global – customer demand for integrated and trustworthy solutions, services will need to be interconnected and federated, easy to consume, and built on common standards and values that ensure trust in data management and data exchange: security, data protection, transparency and development of the European ecosystem. A lack of interoperability prevents addressing grand societal challenges that require efficient data sharing and a multidisciplinary, multi-actor approach (climate change which cannot be addressed by climatologists alone).

The Villanova project is a bold initiative with the goal of revolutionising the field of Artificial Intelligence through research, development, testing and deployment of two key innovations in various scenarios. The primary focus is on crafting Multimodal Generative-AI models tailored specifically for European languages. These models are meticulously designed to address linguistic nuances and regional demands, with the aim of dynamically generating high-quality textual and multimedia content in real-time. The implementation of cloud-edge computing is a foundational element, ensuring the effectiveness and adaptability of AI-driven smart applications.

Simultaneously, the project aims to build a user-friendly, open-source framework driven by Generative AI. This framework is intended to foster seamless collaboration between human operators and AI systems, streamlining the intricate processes involved in creating and maintaining sophisticated applications. By providing reusable GenAI-based components, the initiative seeks to democratise access to state of the art technologies based on Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models, making them available to a broader user base, including non-technical individuals and resource-constrained small businesses. The overarching goal of the Villanova project is to be at the forefront of driving transformative changes in AI applications while addressing EU linguistic diversity and privacy considerations. The central aim of the Villanova project is to be at the forefront of driving transformative changes in AI applications, with a dedicated focus on addressing the linguistic diversity and privacy considerations within the European Union.

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The DigiTDevOps project aims to develop a modular digital twin development and operations platform, which would simplify the creation of urban digital twins. Currently urban digital twins are developed on a case by case basis, which makes the process complex and costly. Unlike existing digital twin development solutions, the DigiTDevOps platform will be comprised of standardised, modular components, which will streamline building digital twins using various data formats and types of edge computing equipment. In addition, the platform will accumulate best practices for designing municipal digital twins in the form of patterns. Reusability, standardisation, and knowledge sharing will contribute to a wider adoption of digital twin technology on an EU scale. The developed platform will be tested as a part of a smart city and smart mobility first industrial deployment, where digital twin solutions will be created for Latvian municipalities.

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Project description will be available soon.

This project tackles the challenge of multilingual data processing in today’s information age. The project builds a comprehensive platform equipped with cutting-edge AI-powered language technologies. This platform will be able to handle massive amounts of multilingual data in different modalities across all 24 official EU languages. The project’s core mission is two-fold: (i) Empowering Global Access: By removing language barriers, we aim to ensure everyone has access to information, regardless of their native tongue. This foster cross-border cooperation, mobility, and social inclusivity within the EU; (ii) European Technological Leadership: This platform will integrate state-of-the-art language technologies developed through a powerful European partnership between industry and academia. This strengthens Europe’s technological sovereignty and positions it as a leader in the field of multilingual AI. The benefits of this project extend far beyond language. It allows to unlock the true value hidden within vast amounts of unstructured multilingual data. This is especially crucial during times of crisis, where timely and accurate information is vital for public safety.

It is expected that in the near future, micro-manufacturing and decentralised manufacturing will significantly facilitate the creation of innovative products, making prototyping and new product development more accessible to entrepreneurs, inventors and micro-producers.

Thanks to (manufacturing as a service) platforms, it is expected that every manufacturer, designer and self-employed, even in the least populated regions and small towns of the EU, will be able to remotely receive the services of other micro-manufacturers.

The next-generation cloud will significantly help automate such solutions: designers and manufacturers will be able to work and collaborate remotely from anywhere. Potentially, anyone can be a creator of new products and benefit from cloud manufacturing in the future. The creation of the platform will require the use of different software and infrastructures to integrate different systems and effectively provide services at least on an EU scale. The project will explore and propose solutions for two stages of the IPCEI value chain: (i) Platforms and Smart Processing Services for app and data management and processing in the cloud-edge continuum. (ii) Initial Roll-out and deployment of innovative use cases at first industrial deployment stage.

For Data Privacy and Protection by Design to become mainstream, open source software will be developed and made available to a large community of developers and users. The project will develop lean modules that can flexibly be integrated into any data-sensitive application, independent of the underlying architecture. The modules will be designed to work across the full architectural spectrum, from centralised to fully decentralised.

Project description will be available soon.

CyFORT is a research project aimed at developing a series of open-source cybersecurity software tools, with the overall objective to build an open platform of interconnected resources and cybersecurity solutions addressing current challenges in the cybersecurity landscape of cloud computing. Therefore, CyFORT aims at improving node and network security of entities that either provide or use cloud infrastructure and services. CyFORT is developing the following activities: secure software development and assurance, intrusion detection and prevention, cyber threat intelligence analysis, pseudonymisation in distributed ledger technologies, risk management, governance, auditing and monitoring in cloud services, and migration of classical cryptographic solution to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) schemes.

The project is built on advanced machine learning algorithms such as deep neural networks (DNNs) combined with innovations in sophisticated mathematical techniques aimed at tailoring advances in this realm to the domain of intrusion detection systems. CyFORT incorporate state-of-the-art strongly typed database systems powered by logical type systems into cyber threat intelligence (CTI) to create a CTI analytics platform that can benefit from automated reasoning and inference engines not only to derive new CTI knowledge, but also to facilitate analysis and exploration of the already vast space of CTI repositories and knowledge bases.

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The project CLAUSEN, together with other Luxembourg contributors to the IPCEI-CIS, propose the creation of a new collaborative approach for threat detection and threat mitigation in a cloud edge continuum. Specific sensor, SIEM and EDR technology will be developed which interact with the first open cybersecurity data space. To make cybersecurity more inclusive, accessible for SME, we need an open cybersecurity data economy that capitalises the tremendous synergies by boosting collaboration and fostering innovation to reduce complexity and costs.

Project description will be available soon.

Project description will be available soon.

MISD (Modular & Integrated Sustainable Datacenter) focuses on the development of a unique field lab ecosystem, the “decentralised network of data centres of the future”, where innovations in the field of modularity, advanced cooling, energy, communication, network, and cybersecurity technology come together. The field lab ensures data centres to innovate more rapidly and share knowledge in the societal impactful areas of energy efficiency, sustainability, and security. With the decentralised network of data centres of the future through a de-central modular data centre design, data can be brought to the user with a lower latency while increasing security for the user to fend off cyber-attacks and maximising the integration into the energy network. The major goal of MISD is achieving energy savings of over 50%. This will be aided by (i) realising and managing a staging lab in which various innovations and technologies can be tested, (ii) developing technology and ICT solutions for optimising data processing in and between data centres as well as energy consumption, (iii) developing new structures that enable cloud architecture and orchestration while guaranteeing availability and increasing cybersecurity, (iv) developing and automating advanced cooling systems and innovative heat reuse as well as exploring clean tech solutions, and (v) developing an Innovations and Expertise centre for sharing expertise in the Netherlands and the EU.

The European Cloud Campus will fulfil the need for advanced, secure and sustainable infrastructure and a corresponding set of technology services and innovations. The project enables EU hyperscaler-like deployments of compute, storage and other Cloud-enabled capacity, allowing development and deployment of modern applications on a platform following European values, standards and rules. A sovereign European Cloud is desirable, as it – among other reasons – enables alignment with EU standards and rules from the start (instead of needing to adjust to them when regulations and standards change), data residency in Europe and the possibility to more easily attract and keep knowledge workers in the EU. The European Cloud Campus project creates such a platform, creating the possibility for SMEs and developers to create sovereign European cloud apps and enabling companies to run their application in a fully European Cloud. There are no solutions (either Open-source or commercial) that satisfy the requirements to be highly scalable, energy-efficient, vertically integrated and have the ability to provide efficient multi tenancy – these solutions will be created during the project, and made available to the market.

Spatial data, essential for various sectors in Europe and globally, is being heavily invested in, generating tens of petabytes annually. This data, used for applications like traffic, weather, and agriculture, needs efficient sharing, access, and processing. The management of this data is shifting towards sustainable methods, emphasising distributed cloud-edge systems and carbon-aware computing.

The Gateway – Gateway to geospatial continuum – project addresses these needs by providing a unified platform for accessing and processing spatial data. It combines tools, interfaces, and applications to streamline data access, integrating various technologies into a single market. Focused on efficient data storage and processing, Gateway utilises cloud-edge resources powered by green energy, reducing carbon emissions and costs. The project includes developing applications that leverage this data for added value, marking a significant step in sustainable data management.

Oktawave’s project named “Next Gen Cloud” aims to strengthen the EU’s digital industry, both at the infrastructure and service level, and to strengthen European sovereignty over data and technology. As part of the project, the company planned to conduct research, development and investment works, as a result of a proprietary and open technology. This is necessary to make secure cloud computing available in the federation model, new generation infrastructure, i.e. one with a sufficient level of automation. This is the basis to resolve data in-motion issues for new generation technologies (e.g. containerization and its successors, edge computing) built in an architecture consisting of central (regional) data centres – and so-called near edge, in which data processing will take place. The project’s key activities will focus on research and development of the cloud-provider independent technology to protect and secure data processing in public clouds. The project will cover the encryption area of the storage, and processing stage, including the use of encryption schemes that allow for the processing of encrypted data. The company will involve the technologies that introduce secure password storage functions (e.g., based on RiffleScrambler schemes) or schemes that allow for encryption while maintaining the format (e.g., based on GraFPE), which the company previously researched.

The CAISE project integrates several key technologies such as Cloud Computing, Big Data, Deep Learning and High Performance Computing to enable intelligent content analysis of digital documents that play an important role in an ever-evolving knowledge-based society and economy. The main goal of the project is to build a cloud platform supporting the development of intelligent and universal services that automatically interpret three types of documents: those containing only text, only images and hybrid ones combining both of the latter. Interpreting the content of these documents will allow to extract information and build knowledge that helps people to make decisions, analyse various activities documented there, as well as discover hidden relationships between them in order to create service pipelines representing various important fragments of human activities. This type of functionality will undoubtedly stimulate the further development of the digital society. Expected results of the CAISE project address directly the public sector. However, their feasibility and development potential of multi-cloud technology will enable the adaptation of the developed digital document analysis solutions to other sectors, including Industry 4.0. The core of the planned solution is a wide adaptation of the existing cloud and AI open software technologies. The expected innovation is of two types. The first is process innovation, related to a unique combination of the DevOps methodology with continuous quality assessment techniques, and the second is product innovation, consisting in providing a production platform that can flexibly adapt to the specific user needs.

The EnerHum – Innovative fusion for industry of food, waste and energy solutions management solutions – project comprises of several different sub-systems components that together form a digital horizontal backbone for industry 4.0. Project will establish a real-time information system for various monitoring (energy, composition of the soil and multi-year planning of crops, the need for irrigation, protection against weather conditions. Project will offer data on population composition and changes in dietary habits, better distribution of food and enable better utilisation of collection and processing, by setting up a local (3), regional (2) and national centre. We will monitor at the local and regional level: weather conditions, soil conditions, vegetation with implementation of edge technology on GIS, monitoring building blocks and sensors as well as IT technologies.

The SIChain-EIPS project is pivotal for society as it enhances interconnectivity among blockchain infrastructures, leveraging the energy-efficient Hashnet protocol to foster widespread adoption of blockchain applications. This will significantly reduce the need for intermediaries in transaction validations, lowering operational costs and spurring the creation of innovative services and business models. Additionally, the project’s integration of AI, DLT, IoT, and DTs with user-friendly interfaces will offer advanced data infrastructures, catalysing the development of new start-ups and streamlining the adoption of cutting-edge technologies across Europe. Project goals and scope is to develop: (i) the national blockchain infrastructure from the test to the FID phase and integration of the national blockchain infrastructure into the common European Data and Services Infrastructure, (ii) interoperable connection of national blockchain infrastructures and their integration into a common European data and services infrastructure, (iii) IPFS Decentralised Data Storage as an integral part of the European data and services infrastructure (for storage of blockchain applications outside the national blockchain infrastructure (off-chain storage)) as an integral part of the European data and services infrastructure, and (iv) pilot integration of a blockchain user application for document authentication (notarisation and timestamping) and digital identity of natural and legal persons. The SIChain EIPS project innovates with the high-performance Hashnet protocol, enabling up to 50,000 transactions per second, which addresses scalability issues present in most blockchain infrastructures. Furthermore, by adapting the Ethereum Virtual Machine to Hashnet, it allows seamless integration of Solidity-based decentralised applications, offering a competitive, energy-efficient blockchain solution with lower operating costs.

The GDCE-CI – Geo-distributed Cloud-Edge environment for critical infrastructure – project holds paramount significance for society as it endeavours to advance the landscape of cloud and edge infrastructures, ushering in novel technologies with wide-ranging benefits. The project aims to conduct Research and Development (R&D) and implement Proof of Concept (PoC) for innovative cloud and edge technologies. These technologies include (a) a geo-distributed cloud and edge infrastructures, supporting the coexistence of containerised and non-containerised virtualisation, multi-cloud (meta-)orchestration, automatisation, quality and security assurance, and life cycle management; (b) virtualised and portable mobile and/or wireless Networking Services for on-premise or near/far edges. The major goal is to provide end users with cost and performance-effective provisioning of mission-critical applications, deployable in various cloud and edge infrastructures, including public networks or private interconnection and/or networking infrastructures, depending on specific application needs.

By focusing on the coexistence of containerised and non-containerised virtualisation, multi-cloud orchestration, automatisation, and quality and security assurance, the project addresses the growing demand for efficient and secure computing environments. Portable mobile/wireless Networking Services contribute to the evolution of communication technologies. This is particularly crucial for society as it supports mission-critical networking, ensuring reliable and responsive connectivity in diverse scenarios.

The GDCE-CI – Geo-distributed Cloud-Edge environment for critical infrastructure – project holds paramount significance for society as it endeavours to advance the landscape of cloud and edge infrastructures, ushering in novel technologies with wide-ranging benefits. The project aims to conduct Research and Development (R&D) and implement a Proof of Concept (PoC) for innovative cloud and edge technologies.

These technologies include (a) geo-distributed cloud and edge infrastructures, supporting the coexistence of containerised and non-containerised virtualisation, multi-cloud (meta-)orchestration, automatisation, quality and security assurance, and life cycle management; (b) virtualised and portable mobile and/or wireless Networking Services for on-premise or near/far edges. The major goal is to provide end users with cost and performance-effective provisioning of mission-critical applications, deployable in various cloud and edge infrastructures, including public networks or private interconnection as well as networking infrastructures, depending on specific application needs.

By focusing on the coexistence of containerised and non-containerised virtualisation, multi-cloud orchestration, automatisation as well as quality and security assurance, the project addresses the growing demand for efficient and secure computing environments. Portable mobile and wireless Networking Services contribute to the evolution of communication technologies. This is particularly crucial for society as it supports mission-critical networking, ensuring reliable and responsive connectivity in diverse scenarios.

eEarly – Platform for early detection of health symptoms – will be a European open-source platform for gathering and analysing health related biometric data. There are numerous biometric sensors available at affordable prices. They can be used for early detection of possible health related symptoms of European population. Early treatments assure better outcomes and consequently healthier population and lower costs of treatments. In the end we have a healthier society aware of their health risks with less absence from work. Major goals of the project are setting up a distributed open-source platform where all nodes can share data, where algorithms for detection of health symptoms can be exchanged among scientists and health organisations and where federated learning can be used to define new patterns of different diseases within the vast amount of shared data. Platform will be built on cloud-edge technologies provided by other partners within IPCEI-CIS, in this way assuring complete European sovereignty of the platform.

Arsys’ vision for this project comprises the design, development and integration of new products and services federated in the common European multi-cloud-edge continuum infrastructure. It includes: (i) Solutions at data centre level, including a digital twin fed by a telemetry platform and the integration of innovations to increase energy efficiency; (ii) Virtualisation platform: meta orchestration software to create a multi-vendor solution from tech providers across Europe. (iii) Portal service: framework for developers and integrators to offer apps and services that exploit customers’ data in the cloud / edge continuum. Arsys’ federated multi-cloud-edge orchestrator will be a powerful highly-innovative technology enabler. Customers will leverage the full potential of hybrid multi-cloud scenarios without the complexity of managing silos or vendor lock-in. Small cloud vendors could enter and compete in the market without being displaced by the current dominant players. This will have wide benefits for businesses in terms of choice, access, seamless use and highly energy-efficient processing of their data in real-time with guaranteed ultra-low latency, and advanced secure features from anywhere across the EU territory.

The project is focused on researching, developing, and carrying out a pilot industrial deployment of Europe’s first next-generation open source platform for the datacenter-cloud-edge continuum. It will support the dynamic provisioning, application portability, multi-cloud interoperability, federation, and uniform multi-provider management of the emerging hyper-distributed computing continuum. The main outcome of the project is a powerful but flexible open source middleware platform that will enable companies to build distributed private Edge-Cloud environments by aggregating infrastructure resources along the whole cloud-edge continuum. Users will be able to easily combine their on-premise data centres with additional capabilities offered by public clouds and 5G/edge providers.

This product will support next-generation infrastructure services, advanced cloud extensions, smart data processing services developed by other IPCEI-CIS partners, and external contributions and modules. This new open source solution will be based on OpenNebula, which will be enhanced with major innovations guided by the real needs of eight research-driven use cases in strategic EU domains: Mobility, Energy, Industry & Manufacturing, Health, Tourism, Agriculture & Environment, and Media. Our platform will help to reduce the overall carbon footprint associated with the rapidly expanding global cloud infrastructure, offering a secure and easy-to-use vendor-neutral alternative that democratises access to edge computing and promotes competition in the EU cloud market.