Together successful.

GAIA-X

A European IT initiative for data sovereignty

GAIA-X is a major European digital project aimed at strengthening Europe’s position in international competition. The goal is to establish a European data infrastructure for the secure digitalization and networking of industry, finance, and healthcare, and as a basis for the use of new applications with artificial intelligence (AI). Professor Friedhelm Loh, owner and chairman of the Friedhelm Loh Group, was one of the co-founders of this major European project, which was launched last autumn by Peter Altmaier, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy. As a subsidiary of the Friedhelm Loh Group, German Edge Cloud is one of the founding members of the GAIA-X Foundation.

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SmartFactory KL e.V.

The technology initiative SmartFactory KL e.V. was founded in 2005. It brings together participants from industry and research in an Industry 4.0 network to carry out joint projects for the factory of the future.

Your benefits:

• Transfer of know-how about the latest innovations in the industrial sector
• Possibility of conducting joint research and development projects
• Use and testing of the latest information and communication technologies in realistic industrial production environments

Smart Electronic Factory (SEF)

The Smart Electronic Factory e.V. is an Industry 4.0 information and demonstration platform. The association’s objective is to implement Industry 4.0 scenarios in companies’ actual production facilities. Various software and hardware manufacturers as well as university institutions are involved in implementing this initiative.

Your benefits:

• Support in the analysis of different machine processes to solve process-specific problems and thus increase performance
• Active quality regulation and production control of your production facility to avoid cost-intensive production losses or warranty claims

ZVEI: Zentralverband Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie e. V.

The ZVEI is one of the most important industrial associations in Germany with around 1,600 member companies. It represents the interests of the high-tech industrial sector with a very broad and dynamic product portfolio. German Edge Cloud is an active member of the association and provides special support to the Automation and MES (manufacturing execution systems) working groups.

Your benefits:

• Always up to date: sharing of experience and opinions on current technical, economic, legal, and socio-political issues in the electrical industry
• Support in the creation of framework conditions and common platforms for the growth of the industrial sector in international competition

Catena-X

The German Edge Cloud is a founding member of Catena-X and thus an important part of the future-oriented automotive network, which has far-reaching significance beyond the automotive industry. With our development know-how in the areas of data security/data sovereignty and secure data exchange, we are designing and developing new use cases, standards, and requirements for shared services for the digital ecosystem of the future together with our partners. Catena-X is the first open and collaborative data space for the automotive industry – for optimized business processes through data-driven horizontal value chains. 

Since September 2024, we have also been an active member of the new CX-Next consortium to support the development of new use cases and standards as well as their practical adaptation around Catena-X. 

Your benefits:

• Secure and open data ecosystem for the automotive industry
• Innovation through industry standards and new use cases
• Practice-oriented further development with CX-Next

Factory-X

In addition to Catena-X, we have also been involved in the Factory-X project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) since 2023 and are firmly integrated as a development partner. Together with the partners involved, we are pursuing a similar principle here to that of Catena-X – with the difference that Factory-X is to be designed for the broad manufacturing industry (factory suppliers and operators). In addition to the existing horizontal integration (Catena-X), this project will also consider the vertical integration down to the shop floor. This lighthouse project with its holistic approach enables seamless integration of processes at different levels of production, from supply chain management to on-site operations. One of the goals is also to support sustainability through CO2 management, energy efficiency and solutions for the circular economy.

Your benefits:

• Holistic integration in the manufacturing industry
• Sustainability and energy efficiency in production
• Cross-industry approach to innovation