Data CLEEN
ENEA IPCEI DATA CLOUD FOR ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
The Important Project of Common European Interest on Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI-CIS) is a major EU digital policy initiative aimed at strengthening Europe’s digital and technological sovereignty. Approved by the European Commission in December 2023, it involves 12 Member States and around 120 industrial and research partners, with many additional stakeholders benefiting indirectly.
The initiative consists of 19 direct projects led by 19 companies, working together to develop the first interoperable European Multi-Provider Cloud-Edge Continuum. In total, about €3.5 billion will support these projects, with further contributions from indirect partners including large companies, SMEs, startups, and research organizations.
Italy participates with five major companies (TIM, Fincantieri, Engineering, Tiscali, Reply) and two research centers (ENEA and FBK), with €409 million in public funding and around €450 million in additional private investments.
The project comprises five ENEA computing and data centres in Italy, exploits high-performance computing technologies in a highly scalable, federated, trusted cloud-edge continuum. Its main object is to accelerate energy transition and to create new products and services with a strong involvement of industries and public organizations from Italy and Europe.
Cloud technologies play a key enabling role in digitalization by providing scalable data management, integrated AI tools, and advanced computing resources for complex applications such as predictive AI models, simulations, and digital twins.
Moreover, DataCLEEN complies with European requirements on cybersecurity and data protection, supporting Italian and European companies involved in the Important Project of Common European Interest on Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI-CIS).
At the European level, the actions of the IPCEI CIS aim at developing a federated cloud that can serve as an alternative to large American and Asian cloud providers. in fact, IPCEI-CIS is a key pillar of the 8ra initiative, providing funding and a collaborative framework to implement a European multi-provider Cloud-Edge Continuum. Its projects directly contribute to building a decentralized, federated cloud infrastructure aligned with 8ra’s goals.
PCEI-CIS addresses the fragmentation of the European cloud market by fostering a sovereign and competitive cloud-edge ecosystem, ensuring interoperability and data portability, reducing dependence on non-EU providers, supporting energy-efficient infrastructures, and enabling secure real-time data processing for critical applications.
By bringing these projects under the 8ra initiative, Europe takes a significant step toward a federated cloud-edge infrastructure that supports innovation, security, and technological autonomy.