Lab8ra: Powering Europe’s Sovereign Cloud Future
A collaborative testbed driving innovation, interoperability, and digital resilience for Europe’s cloud-edge ecosystem. Lab8ra pioneers a federated European cloud-edge ecosystem, uniting Telcos, industries, and innovators to deliver secure, interoperable solutions.
What is Lab8ra?
Lab8ra is a pioneering, multi-site testbed under the IPCEI-CIS (Important Project of Common European Interest on Cloud Infrastructure and Services).
This initiative, led by industry leaders like TIM, Orange, Deutsche Telekom, but also Engineering, Fincantieri, eGroup, and innovative contributors like HashNET, backed by strong research institutions such as Fondazione Bruno Kessler, creates an open environment to test and validate next-generation cloud and edge technologies.
Lab8ra connects a continuously growing number of organizations across multiple European countries (currently 19 across 6 countries), enabling the integration of infrastructure, applications, and orchestration solutions, including blockchain-based architectures for AI and digital services.
From smart mobility to federated AI learning, Lab8ra is the launchpad for a federated, sovereign, and sustainable European cloud-edge continuum. The core theme is "Unifying Innovation, Security, and Sovereignty Across Europe’s Cloud-Edge Continuum".
- Key Features:
- Real-World Testing: A distributed network for piloting cloud-edge solutions across national and operator boundaries.
- Collaboration Hub: Unites industry, academia, and innovative startups to co-develop standards and solutions. This involves bridging expertise across technology providers, Telcos, and industries to build open, federated ecosystems.
- Digital Sovereignty: Promotes open-source, interoperable technologies, including blockchain for secure data exchange, aligned with open or de facto standards Gaia-X and EU Data Act standards. Lab8ra emphasizes sovereign cloud-edge solutions and seamless interoperability.
Driving Europe’s Digital Future
Lab8ra is a cornerstone of the IPCEI-CIS, a €1.2 billion EU initiative aimed at building a decentralized, interoperable cloud infrastructure. Our mission aligns with the AI Continent Action Plan, which aims to position the EU as a global leader in responsible, human-centric AI.
By providing a testing ground for cloud-edge technologies, including blockchain solutions pioneered by partners like HashNET, Lab8ra supports the development of AI Factories—innovation hubs offering startups, researchers, and industries access to massive computing power and high-quality data. Our work contributes to the EU’s goal of deploying 10,000 edge nodes by 2030 and tripling data capacity in 5-7 years, with sustainability at the core through Frugal AI—efficient, low-resource AI models. Lab8ra addresses market failures via scalable solutions and boosts European competitiveness through federated infrastructure.
Real-World Impact: Shaping Tomorrow's Digital Landscape
Lab8ra enables scalable use cases by integrating cross-border networks, Kubernetes orchestration, and AI-driven cybersecurity. We demonstrate our impact through diverse applications, from maritime services to real-time digital twins.
Key Use Cases Include:
- Healthcare Application: A distributed healthcare solution that analyzes patient data and provides personalized recommendations through five services: Frontend, Data Lake, LLM Data Analytics, Backend, and Anonymiser, deployed according to hardware, location, and carbon intensity requirements.
- Digital Twin Accelerator: A platform that facilitates the development and deployment of reactive digital twins.
- Maritime Data-Driven Services: Capabilities that enable real-time analytics and operational optimization for shipping and port operations.
- Secure AI Threat Detection: A solution that protects critical infrastructure through advanced AI techniques while preserving privacy.
- User-Centric Ecosystems: An approach that empowers diverse applications by supporting collaborative AI and LLM-based coordination.
Our Impact:
- New Generation Services: Data-driven services enabling real-time analytics and operational improvements.
- Digital Twins: Real-time analytics powering digital twins exploiting the cloud-edge continuum.
- Threat Detection: Secure AI threat detection systems protect critical infrastructure while preserving privacy.
- Market Solutions: Scalable solutions address market failures while boosting European competitiveness through federated infrastructure.
Our Innovative Technical Architecture
- Lab8ra pioneers a federated European cloud-edge ecosystem by integrating cross-border networks, Kubernetes orchestration, and AI-driven cybersecurity.
- Core Architectural Components (PoC Lab8ra High-Level Picture):
- Pilot Building Blocks include HPC HW, Telco Edges, and Clouds in a single integration test environment
- Up-to-date technologies comprising sylva, liqo.io and many more components aimed to demonstrate interoperability at all levels and targeting real use cases
Work Stream-Specific Angles
Could be additional sections or integrated into “About” or “Technical Architecture
Cloud Infrastructure:
Hybrid edge-to-central infrastructure supporting a European edge-cloud continuum.
Networking:
Evolved models for federated clouds and cloud-based cross-network services.
Orchestration:
Multi-cluster Kubernetes federation integrating Telco Edge, HPC, and cloud environments.
Cybersecurity:
AI-driven threat detection, secure digital identities, and privacy-preserving collaborative AI.
Data Processing:
Real-time pipelines and scalable AI architectures for actionable insights.
Applications:
User-centric ecosystems and collaborative AI/LLM coordination.
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