• The new Digital Innovation Hubs (FIWARE iHubs) in France and Sweden will expand the potential for local businesses and further disseminate FIWARE technology; 
• FIWARE iHubs break traditional barriers for technology enablement and business acceleration with the usage of Open Source technologies and standards, and access to an international network;
• With the 2 new joiners and 4 others in Morocco, Spain and the US in the final evaluation stage, the FIWARE iHubs network reaches roughly 30 on a global scale.

Berlin, June 23, 2021 — FIWARE Foundation, the non-profit organization that drives the definition and encourages the adoption of open standards — based on Open Source technologies, reference architectures and over 600 data models — to ease the development of smart digital solutions across multiple domains, announces today the opening of new FIWARE iHubs in Grasse (France) and Lund (Sweden), 4 iHubs in the final evaluation process in Morocco (Casablanca), Spain (Barcelona and the Balearic Islands) and the US (Atlanta), as well as the expansion of FIWARE iHub IDEASFORUM in Germany. 

Serving as innovation and business growth engines, FIWARE iHubs support companies, cities, developers and academia in their innovation and digitalisation journey by offering easy access to Open Source technologies, business development support, and community networking, thus accelerating regional business opportunities and expansion.

By breaking the traditional barriers for technology enablement and business acceleration with the usage of Open Source solutions and standards, FIWARE iHubs encourage the development of scalable, interoperable and disruptive smart digital solutions across domains like smart cities, mobility, industry, agrifood, energy, water, and tourism, among other areas. 

Think global, act local 

FIWARE iHubs facilitate collaboration between scientific research, non for profit, public and private businesses, access to training and mentoring, as well as fostering an entrepreneurial culture and new paths for business to flourish. The ultimate goal is to focus on building communities that will, in turn, enable local digital businesses to thrive not only at a regional but on a global level. Spanning across a range of industries, the new joiners to the FIWARE iHubs network play a clear role in delivering on this goal.  

CentifoHub (Grasse, France): Set up by SCIC Tetris – a not for profit cooperative that brings together local actors involved in the ecological transition. With roots in the social innovation-based economy – the new iHub is looking to build and help others (local authorities, SMEs, education and citizens) create demonstrators for sustainable solutions, and integrate FIWARE technologies into sustainable development initiatives with special interests in agriculture, circular economy and climate change adaptation. Its social science research center will also help to integrate organizational innovations in these projects.

FIWARE OIL iHub (Lund, Sweden): Focused on the domains of smart cities, smart building, smart energy, smart water, smart agrifood, smart shipping, smart transport, smart industry, and smart health, the iHub aims to – among other objectives – leverage on the existing open smart city network in Lund (LOSC) operated by FIWARE Foundation member Sensative AB and powered by the FIWARE compliant IoT platform Yggio as a living lab for smart research and innovation projects. 

For the Chairman of the FIWARE iHubs Committee, Gonzalo La Rosa, the steady growth of the FIWARE iHubs means a crucial boost for the global digital ecosystem.

“The incorporation of these new iHubs is a reflection of the FIWARE iHubs network’s growing work in Europe towards helping local ecosystems. But it does not end there. We are currently working on several actions to be developed jointly and collaboratively between European iHubs and others outside Europe, striving to help them achieve higher levels of performance, whilst also expanding the network in Asia, Africa and the Americas.”

From Monheim am Rhein to Herne: expansion is underway

On June 30, FIWARE iHub IDEASFORUM will officially announce its establishment as an association (“eingetragener Verein”, in German). Initially established in Monheim am Rhein (Germany), IDEASFORUM joined the FIWARE iHubs network in 2020 and focuses on smart cities, smart energy, CEF building blocks, and smart mobility.

The iHub provides developers with key knowledge and information on how to use FIWARE technology and strives to guide society to cope with digitalisation, by generating awareness, training students and workers, and helping public authorities in assessing technology or developing digitisation projects. 

Backed by Herne city (Germany) – one of IDEASFORUM’s founding members and a FIWARE Foundation Gold Strategic End User – FIWARE members umagine, and RWTH Aachen University, as well as the Institut für Nachhaltige Stadtentwicklung, and the cities of Dormagen and Göppingen (Germany), IDEASFORUM association will now move its activities to Herne, as part of the city’s ongoing digital strategy.

Ahead of the official announcement, IDEASFORUM Director – and FIWARE’s Smart Energy MSC Vice-chairman – Gianluca Dianese will speak at the event Durchstarten Dank Digitalisierung on June 23 at 16:30 (CEST) to showcase the work of the iHub and its accomplishments to date. 

Organized by the city of Herne, the event will address how effective networking between companies and overall stakeholders is an essential basis for optimizing the living environment in cities. It will also tackle the role played by Open Source technology on that front and how both IDEASFORUM and FIWARE are guiding smart cities in the Ruhr region (Germany) to be powered by FIWARE. The event will be attended by Herne city Mayor Dr. Frank Dudda, Herne’s Chief Digital Officer Pierre Golz, FIWARE Foundation CEO Ulrich Ahle, among other experts in digitalization, and Open Source technology. 

Commenting on the official launch of the IDEASFORUM association, Gianluca Dianese said:

“The key challenge for companies, research institutions, public administrations and cities, in general, is having access to disruptive technologies, digital tools and the relevant network. With outstanding organizations backing the IDEASFORUM association we are now able to further support citizens, students and social entrepreneurs and provide them with the skills they need to thrive in the digital scene, to do their part in creating smart city solutions powered by FIWARE that are user-centric, sustainable and interoperable.”

Any FIWARE Foundation member can become a member of IDEASFORUM. Further FIWARE iHubs are in the final evaluation process across Morocco (Casablanca), Spain (Barcelona and the Balearic Islands) and the US (Atlanta). To learn more, visit the website. 

About FIWARE Foundation

Together with its members and partners, FIWARE Foundation drives the definition — and the Open Source implementation — of key open standards that enable the development of portable and interoperable smart solutions in a faster, easier and affordable way, avoiding vendor lock-in scenarios, whilst also nurturing FIWARE as a sustainable and innovation-driven business ecosystem. 

The foundation achieves this through the support of a fast-growing global community that shares a common vision and combines their efforts toward making FIWARE the Open Source technology of choice for industries, governments, universities and associations to reach their full potential and scale up their activities, thereby, entering new markets and growing their businesses. Founded in 2016, the foundation has Atos, Engineering, Red Hat, NEC, Telefónica and Trigyn Technologies among its 400+ members. For further information, refer to FIWARE’s Press Kit and follow the organization on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. 

Press Contact

Val De Oliveira: valdirene.deoliveira (at) fiware (dot) org