Barcelona co-leads European digital innovation

Barcelona and Valencia present the EDIC Consortium to the European Parliament

..
31/05/2024 - 12:32 h - Smart City IMI

Last February, the European Commission officially announced the creation of the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC) to implement the EU’s ‘Local Digital Twins and CitiVERSE’ initiative and connect the local digital twins created in EU cities.

Barcelona has been a key player in shaping this new instrument as a co-leader with Valencia, which presides over the working group. The EDIC is a significant opportunity for the city to consolidate its position as a benchmark in the field of smart cities and technological innovation.

The IMI has been actively involved in the preparatory phase of the EDIC LDT CitiVERSE, highlighting the importance of working collectively to drive the development of innovative tech solutions that benefit both local communities and SMEs. It is currently co-leading the working group along with Valencia, the president, and is leading the EDIC’s working group on infrastructures.

Within this framework, the city of Barcelona is teaming up with IMI as an active participant in decision-making and developing initiatives related to digital twins, like the EDIC LDT CITIVERSE, Living-in.EU and the LORDIMAS tool for measuring the degree of digital maturity of Europe’s cities. Furthermore, with the new version of the Marenostrum 5, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) will have high-performance capacities to develop and manage potent components of urban digital twins.

This initiative is a great opportunity for Barcelona’s economic and technological growth, as well as a significant contribution to the EU’s goal of fostering technical interoperability and the development of common standards for smart cities. Barcelona will continue to be an example of collaboration and innovation within the context of the EDIC by working alongside other European cities and regions to promote digitalisation and improve their citizens’ quality of life.

As the EDIC continues to be developed and implemented, Barcelona will be on the front line to further its participation and contribution to this exciting European project.

Implementing decision on setting up the EDIC