IPCEI AI

 Important Project of Common European Interest on Artificial Intelligence

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to significant changes in almost all sectors of industry. Autonomous manufacturing, AI-controlled logistics, AI-driven robotics, AI-supported design, or the industrial metaverse are not possible without powerful artificial intelligence.

However, this requires highly specialised AI models that go beyond generative large language models (LLMs). Industry in Europe manages large amounts of data that can be used to train specialised AI models. Europe has the potential to become a global leader, not only to develop the next generation of industrial and highly specialised AI models, but also to successfully apply them.

The Commission has made it possible to directly support AI as an ‘important project of common European interest’ (IPCEI) under Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (2016/C, 202/01). Further to this, in a consortium with other Member States coordinated by Germany (BMWE), it is preparing a joint project on industry-specific AI. The common goal is to create a strong AI ecosystem in Europe, tailored to the specific needs of an industry that provides easy-to-use technologies. The IPCEI initiative aims to support large-scale, innovative, cross-border projects that respond to key societal and economic challenges of the EU and require coordinated efforts and investments by the public and private sectors of several Member States.

Through the IPCEI, it is planned to develop a strong next-generation AI ecosystem in Europe that requires the joint use of expertise and investment by a number of stakeholders. The objectives of this highly integrated project are:  
  • Creating a sovereign continuity of next-generation AI, encompassing basic components for the training and implementation of AI systems, open and competitive basic AI models, innovative reasoning and fine-tuning techniques, sector-specific AI services and energy-efficient AI applications.
  • A standardised approach and availability of high-quality and highly structured industrial data under European data protection and security rules.
  • Development and adoption of principles, such as AI as a service (AI-as-a-Service, AIaaS), adapted to the needs of AI developers and users, enabling the broad implementation of AI models for specific applications in different sectors (e.g. energy, telecommunications, defence, finance, aviation).
  • Develop open source solutions that would be available in an open environment for developers and end-users.
  • Wide integration of AI models into sector-specific systems and applications focused on business applications in enterprises and public administration.

IPCEI Thematic Areas


The main thematic areas of value chain development for IPCEI-AI are:

1) Data processing, orchestration, provisioning
2) Sovereign foundation model (LLM/LRM)
3) Sovereign industry sector specific foundation model (SFM)
4) AI deployment and operations
5) Open platform for AI (e.g. Multi Agentic)
6) AI Services and sector specific use cases