Brussels, 3 December 2024
Stakeholders at the “Cross-Domain Standardisation and Architecture for IoT and Edge Computing” workshop emphasised the need for open standards, open-source innovation, and coordinated efforts across sectors like energy and mobility to enhance Europe’s position in IoT and edge computing.
The workshop, held on 26 and 27 November 2024 in Brussels, brought together industry leaders, policy makers, technical experts, and project representatives. Organised by the European Commission with support from the EU-funded INSTAR and CEI-Sphere projects, the event focused on the role of standardisation in strengthening Europe’s technological competitiveness and sovereignty in IoT and Edge technologies. These efforts align with the strategic priorities outlined in the future of European competitiveness report by Mario Draghi, emphasising advancements in IoT and edge computing, with coordination on relevant standards seen as critical to competitiveness and the decarbonisation transition.
Participants highlighted the importance of open standards, open-source solutions, and cross sector coordination. These approaches are seen as essential for overcoming fragmentation and enabling innovation in key verticals like energy and mobility. Discussions addressed the challenges of device orchestration, data management, and industry fragmentation, with a focus on the role of interoperability and emerging common European data spaces, digital twins, and APIs for distributed energy resources (DER) management and grid integration. Leveraging industrial integration, AI, decentralised intelligence, and the 3Cs (Connected Collaborative Computing Network), Europe aims to address interoperability challenges, strengthen competitiveness, and accelerate decarbonisation.
The event explored how the lack of standardised data-sharing protocols creates silos between systems, limiting scalability. Proposals include adopting practical tools like the CEN/CENELEC S2 or EEBus standards and developing Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs) to achieve interoperability across diverse assets such as energy-smart appliances and electric vehicles.
Manufacturers of smart appliances, including heat pumps, demonstrated how digitalisation can increase grid flexibility while preventing distortions. Cross-sector coordination and semantic abstraction were highlighted as strategies for enabling seamless data exchange and device orchestration. The adoption of standardised approaches can drive Europe’s industrial transformation and provide the flexibility needed for future energy systems.
A recurring theme of the workshop was the pivotal role of open standards and open-source innovation in reducing fragmentation within IoT and edge ecosystems. Evidence was presented on how open-source software accelerates the adoption of emerging standards in areas like IoT, data spaces and EV Charging. Horizontal standardisation approaches that support multiple verticals while aligning with international standards were also emphasised as key to enhancing Europe’s global competitiveness.
The event featured strong contributions from international representatives, including Korea’s Global Standardisation Forum, reflecting the country’s recent integration into the Horizon Europe Framework programme. Korean representatives endorsed greater alignment between European and International standards.
Participants also considered the creation of a European trust label for CEI ecosystems. This initiative aims to ensure a conformity, end-to-end interoperability, and market trust while supporting legislative alignment. It was noted that the trust label could significantly lower entry barriers for SMEs engaging in standardisation efforts. Scaling successful pilot projects, like the above-mentioned IoT Platform pilots, into internationally recognised frameworks was identified as a priority for addressing Europe’s fragmented digital ecosystem.
The discussion highlighted the important of international Cloud-Edge-IoT standards in creating common digital infrastructure. At a time of increasing geopolitical conflicts and climate and economic challenges, participants emphasised that a strategic approach to standardisation should be driven by market forces. Adoption could be significantly accelerated through international collaboration. Enhanced collaboration between European projects, industry stakeholders, and standards-developing organisations, was emphasised as critical for accelerating the adoption and deployment of innovative technologies.
For more details and outcomes, visit the official event page.
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Source – EU Commission