Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Digital Europe Programme is the first EU programme that aims to accelerate the recovery and drive the digital transformation of Europe.
Worth €7.6 billion (in current prices), the Programme is a part of the next long-term EU budget, (the Multiannual Financial Framework), and it covers 2021 to 2027. It will provide funding for projects in five crucial areas: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and ensuring the wide use of digital technologies across the economy and society.
The Programme is fine-tuned to fill the gap between the research of digital technologies and their deployment, and to bring the results of research to the market – for the benefit of Europe’s citizens and businesses, and in particular SMEs. Investments under the Digital Europe programme supports the Union’s twin objectives of a green transition and digital transformation and strengthens the Union’s resilience and strategic autonomy.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The overall aim of the Testing and Experimentation Facility (TEF) for Edge AI hardware is to ensure the availability in Europe of trusted, high-performance, low-power edge components and technologies to support the massive data-processing requirements of AI and the digital transformation. The emergence of novel computing paradigms, such as neuromorphic, provides an opportunity for the European industry to take the lead in a new generation of edge and distributed computing systems.
This project aims at delivering a European platform that will enable companies to develop, test and experiment AI product prototypes based on advanced low-power computing technologies, custom-designed for their application environment.
Detailed Call Description
It involves the set-up of facilities for design, fabrication, integration and verification, employing leading-edge equipment with advanced semiconductor process and fabrication technologies. Such a platform will be able to bring novel embedded AI technologies to high Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), delivering prototypes for field validation that can significantly accelerate industrialization and time-to-market for edge AI components, resulting in a competitive advantage for the European ecosystem.
The TEF will realise a joint distributed platform (pilot line) to be led by EU centres of excellence in microelectronics technologies for advanced computing and key industrial actors of the microelectronics ecosystem such as integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) foundries and system integrators. The platform will be open to exploitation by EU industries, including SMEs, through direct support or through projects funded by other European or National programmes. In particular, strong cooperation is envisaged with the Joint Undertaking on Key Digital Technologies, which may support projects in close coordination with the TEF on Edge AI, as well as other EU partnerships in the area of AI, HPC, 5G/6G and cloud computing. It will provide also SMEs and Start-ups with fast and simple access to world-class testing facilities, rich networks of stakeholders and potential customers.
The selection of projects to be supported by the Edge AI TEF will be based on the character of innovation, on the business potential and on the strategic dimension for Europe. The project will be divided into two phases (see page 17 of the call document).
The activities to be implemented are the following:
- Procurement and preparation of the infrastructure – equipment installation, design tool finalisation, definition of devices with users, distribution;
- Production of System Exploration Platform software for emulation of hardware;
- Progress of key building blocks (such as sensing, in-memory computing, 3D architectures) to higher TRLs and validation of their design kits; development of design and prototyping frameworks;
- Integration of building blocks into solutions, implementing rules and procedures for testing and transfer to industry.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
Grants for Procurement: 50%
Thematic Categories
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
Eligibility for Participation
- Large Enterprises
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies)
- be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)
- non-EU countries:
- listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Digital Europen Programme (associated countries) or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature.
For the consortium composition see the details of the specific topic, in the Call document.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
It will be announced soon.
(Publish Date: 18/11/2021-for internal use only)