Press release of the Austrian Institute of Technology

Vienna, 23.11.2022

With the 3rd Gaia-X Summit 2022 in Paris, the Gaia-X Initiative enters the operational implementation phase to create a European data ecosystem

From 17 to 18 November 2022, the Gaia-X Summit 2022 in Paris, under the motto “We are up and running – The Future is Gaia-X”, presented the technical developments now available for building a transparent, trustworthy and secure data market in Europe. The Gaia-X Hub Austria plays a central role in mediating and coordinating the various initiatives at Austrian and European level and was also prominently represented on site. Helmut Leopold, Chairman of Gaia-X Hub Austria, Mario Drobics, Tobias Höllwarth and Christian Tauber, members of the Gaia-X Hub Austria Management Board, together with Lisbeth Mosnik, Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK), positioned Austria in this international initiative. In addition, the Data Intelligence Offensive (DIO), as an important communicator and partner of the Gaia-X Hub Austria, took part in the session on “Energy/Sustainability” on the first day of the event.

After the focus of the Gaia-X Hub Austria has so far been on creating a common understanding and broad distribution of information and strategies around the creation of data ecosystems, the next phase will focus on strategic and technical support for concrete implementation projects in the Austrian economy. The first pilot projects, such as the Austrian/German lighthouse project EuProGiant, are already being successfully implemented. This should create the basis for a successful participation of domestic companies in the emerging European data ecosystems.

Already in the previous week, Helmut Leopold emphasised the central role of national hubs as intermediaries between European initiatives and regional companies in the course of a working meeting with the Austrian State Secretary for Digitisation Florian Tursky at the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF). He emphasised the particular importance of concrete technical open source solutions for the Austrian economy and the role of implementing reference projects based on data-driven business models. This was also confirmed by Francesco Bonfiglio, CEO of the Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud AISBL (GAIA-X AISBL), who explained in the run-up to the Gaia-X Summit that this year’s Summit marks the transition from the previous concept phase to the implementation phase of Gaia-X and sets the starting point for concrete implementation activities on the market.

The new cooperations with the European Central Bank (ECB) and the World Economic Forum announced at the Summit also create an important basis for successful implementation at the European level. In addition, a demonstration of the Gaia-X Federation Services (GXFS), available as open source, was presented for the first time at the Summit. The GXFS are technical services that enable confidential data exchange between different business partners without the need for additional elaborate or individual contractual agreements. In this way, data-based business processes can be implemented in a trustworthy, decentralised network of secure cloud and server infrastructures. This creates the basis for new cross-company business processes and creates effective and secure data marketplaces.

In order to ultimately ensure certification of Gaia-X rule compliance, the first European Digital Clearing Houses (GXDCH) are already being realised. To enable the transformation from analogue contracts to digital marketplaces, a common and secure basis of trust in the technical systems used and defined business processes is necessary. Digital Clearing Houses ensure that this high level of security is maintained and that the business partners involved behave in accordance with the defined minimum standards within the framework of digital cooperation. The Gaia-X Hub Austria supports the establishment of such an important function at the Austrian location so that a Gaia-X compliant data ecosystem for Austria as a business location can develop quickly. Helmut Leopold, Chair Management Board, Gaia-X Hub Austria: “Close cooperation between research, industry and the public sector is the basis for sustainable innovation and at the same time an essential prerequisite for ensuring the competitiveness and data sovereignty of the European economic and social area.”

Presentation of the Gaia-X Hub Austria at the Gaia-X Summit in Paris. In the picture from left: Helmut Leopold (Chairman Gaia-X Hub Austria), Roland Fadrany (COO GAIA-X AISBL), Francesco Bonfiglio (CEO GAIA-X AISBL), Tobias Höllwarth and Christian Tauber (Members of the Management Board, Gaia-X Hub Austria).
© Gaia-X Hub Austria