EDICs: Why they matter - takeaways from the “Future of Digital Investments in the EU” Conference in Aalborg

At the session "EDICs – Why, What and How?", held during the Future of Digital Investments in the EU, the first conference on digital topics under the Danish EU Presidency 2025, that took place on 2-3 July in Aalborg, experts from across Europe gathered to explore the evolving role of European Digital Infrastructure Consortia (EDICs) in shaping the continent’s digital future. 

The event provided a rich platform to showcase how EDICs act as powerful enablers of cross-border digital projects, bringing together Member States, industry, and research actors in flexible and future-proof legal frameworks. 

Why EDICs?  

The European Commission officials from DG CNECT, Matthieu Delescluse, Acting Head of Unit, Research and Deployment Strategy and Programme Coordination and Beata Bartosova, Programme Manager, introduced EDICs, a relatively new instrument, first established in 2024, designed to address fragmentation and foster multi-country collaboration on digital infrastructure projects that individual Member States cannot tackle alone. They are central to the Digital Decade strategy, serving as a catalyst to pool resources, data, and governance around key digital priorities. 

Highlights from leading or future EDIC initiatives 

The growing interest in the EDIC legal structure reflects a broader European ambition to support large-scale digital infrastructures that serve the public good. The session offered an opportunity to learn from the experiences of organisations that have already made this transition or are in the process of becoming an EDIC: the Alliance for Language Technologies (ALT-EDIC), the Local Digital Twins (LDT EDIC), ESNA (Europe Startup Nations Alliance) and EBRAINS.  

Edouard Geoffrois, Director of ALT-EDIC, shared the journey of this EDIC established in February 2024. Bringing together 27 members, ALT is coordinating language technology projects with a total value of about 60 million euros. It aims to provide critical services - including federated data protection and neutral evaluation - to support the development of European AI-powered language tools such as chatbots, filling gaps not covered by the private sector. "Europe needs to catch up with the U.S. in this space," Geoffrois stressed, noting that ALT-EDIC offers a sustainable and collaborative European way forward. 

Koos Boersma, NL Member State representative in the LDT EDIC, illustrated how digital twin technologies can support decision-making in cities, from climate resilience to mobility planning. This EDIC connects 14 countries and numerous cities to ensure interoperability and reusability of urban data across Europe. Boersma stressed that 3D simulation is a powerful tool, and it also offers a way to engage citizens and help them visualise challenges and support their decisions. 

Arthur Jordão, Executive Director of ESNA, highlighted the need for better data and insights for policymakers in Europe’s startup ecosystem. ESNA, which brings together 26 countries, is preparing to transition to an EDIC to strengthen cooperation, access EU support, and foster peer learning.  Replying to the question: “What is the main challenge of becoming an EDIC?”, Jordão said “Political alignment”.  “It’s crucial to be clear on the added value and return on investment to Member States from day one.”, he continued.  

During this session, Philippe Vernier, Joint CEO of EBRAINS, outlined EBRAINS’ ambition to become an EDIC.   

The EBRAINS research community has already developed, for instance, advanced 3D brain atlases and is working on digital twins of the brain for various diseases through modelling and simulation tools supported by high-performance computing, and providing access to high-quality data. 

Created in 2019, EBRAINS was established as an infrastructure to facilitate researchers' access to its tools and services and to collaborate on advancing knowledge of brain structure and function, as well as fostering medical treatments supported by software and tools co-designed by informaticians and neuroscientists. Such cross-border innovation in health and research, and this level of collaboration and expertise, cannot be achieved at the national level alone, as a single country cannot afford the cost of developing such infrastructure on its own. 

Inside EDICs: the key takeaways from the European Commission  

The session concluded with the valuable insights from the European Commission representatives, who elaborated on the key features of the EDIC that is designed to: 

• Facilitate deployment and scale-up beyond research. 

• Offer flexible governance models, with Member States’ leadership, while ensuring budget commitments and coordination across ministries. 

• Ensure long-term sustainability, going beyond the typical EU project lifecycle. 

• Deliver on Digital Decade targets through large-scale, interoperable digital solutions. 

As Europe strives to lead in the deployment of trustworthy, interoperable, and future-ready digital infrastructures, EDICs are proving to be a promising new tool to make this vision a reality.