CAPE (European Open Compute Architecture for Powerful Edge) aims to redefine the landscape of edge-cloud computing infrastructures by developing the EdgeMicroDataCenters (EMDC's) and eHPS as a 'new unit of computing' for data-dense edge environments. The project designs and showcase an innovative, open hardware platform that is dynamically composable via CXL to answer the end user needs. EMDC and eHPS provides an open high density platform for heterogeneous computing units (XPU), RISC-V architectures all based on industry-standard form factor, COM-HPC that is supported by a robust ecosystem of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) within Europe, ensuring wide accessibility and adoption. To allow end users to be digital sovereign e.g. manage the governance of data, AI models, applications deployed across an ‘edge-first’ edge to cloud continuum, CAPE will employ a cloud-agnostic overlay known as Infrastructure from Code (IfC). This innovative approach abstracts the complexities inherent in diverse cloud computing infrastructures and services, empowering software developers to deploy applications effortlessly across the edge-to-cloud continuum. This is achieved without necessitating extensive knowledge of the underlying cloud infrastructure, enabling deployments across on-premise and off-premise, public and private cloud environments with minimal complexity. CAPE's solution will be validated in 3 use cases: the management of intelligent electric energy microgrids, edge AI and satellite communications. All usecases will evaluate RISC-V (EPI) and CXL solutions. Each usecase will be evaluated on technical, economical and sustainability aspects and benchmarked against legacy hardware in local clouds against edge-optimized data centers.

SHIFT2DC project aims to propose and implement a top-down application-agnostic approach for the design, simulation, test, validation, and application of both medium (MV) and low voltage (LV) direct current (DC) solutions. Thirty-two partners, including affiliated and associated partners, from twelve countries, will join expertise to develop, test and demonstrate the technical feasibility, cost-benefit, life cycle and environmental impact of the proposed DC solutions in Data centres, Buildings, Industry and Ports across Europe (Germany, France, and Portugal). The field-tests and demonstrators will allow an evaluation of the advanced control methodologies and tools, the definition of the appropriate implementation conditions, and a consolidation of the most promising solutions and corresponding business models for MV and LV DC systems. Beyond the DC solutions that will be tested and demonstrated, SHIFT2DC will also evaluate the consumers´perspective regarding DC solutions and propose new tools that promote the faster adoption of DC solutions. All the solutions and tools that will be developed in the SHIFT2DC project will be case-agnostic allowing the use of its results in most applications. In a second stage of the development, specific libraries for buildings, datacentres, industry and ports will be proposed allowing a better and more detailed simulation of the mentioned environments. The DC solutions proposed and developed in the SHIFT2DC project will be designed taking into consideration the interoperability requirements, the scalability opportunities and the security and privacy needs. In addition, the project results will contribute to the development of standards in compliance with the needs of DC solutions. Finally, a regulatory framework that promotes the adoption of MVDC and LVDC solutions and assures secure and economic power systems management under hybrid AC/DC grids will be proposed.

Edge computing offers many technical advantages, e.g., reduced latency, secure decentralized processing and storage, scalability at lower complexity, versatility to adapt the changes in resources and applications, and increased reliability. Edge computing can dramatically boost services and applications by supporting artificial intelligence (AI) natively, instead of relying on the cloud. Edge computing supporting AI is the only technology that will enable many of the long-awaited game changers: Industry4.0 and smart manufacturing, 5G, IoT, self-driving vehicles, remote robotics for healthcare, and machine vision among others. The BRAINE project’s overall aim is to boost the development of the Edge framework focusing on energy efficient hardware and AI empowered software, capable of processing Big Data at the Edge, supporting security, data privacy, and sovereignty. The approach is to build a seamless Edge MicroDataCenter interlinked with AI enabled network interface cards. BRAINE employs a visionary utilization method for edge resources management and network-edge workload distribution. Predicting resource availability and workload demand, identifying trends, and taking proactive actions are all aspects of these novel methods. The impact of BRAINE encompasses advances in the European video distribution ecosystem, improving data processing at the network edge, and proving integrated AI for applications. These will lead to unprecedented savings in performance and energy efficiency: 2x performance/Watt and 50% energy savings; 71% latency reduction for an acceleration centric EMDC; 80% space and maintenance reduction, 99.999% fault tolerance with level 5 autonomy (autonomous driving, robotics, mission-critical system); and significantly faster infrastructure installation and deployment. BRAINE boosts EU’s position in the intelligent edge computing field and enables growth across many sectors, e.g., manufacturing, smart healthcare, surveillance, satellite navigation.