As an open-source blockchain-based technology paving the way to large-scale adoption, the OriginTrail protocol is attracting interest from researchers, public institutions, and government decision-makers on an international level.

This is particularly visible in Europe. Throughout last year, Trace Labs, the core development company of the OriginTrail protocol, was very successful in joining several EU-funded initiatives and becoming a reliable technology partner in the projects. We are currently active in four European consortia and, in this blog post, you will have a complete overview of each one.

As work is already underway, with our team members attending project-related events and workshops all over Europe, we are often seeing that the OriginTrail protocol addresses the exact issues stakeholders from all over the continent are highlighting. These include interoperability of data, trust in data, and visibility of entire supply chains. With its value propositions, OriginTrail is getting a lot of attention from various stakeholders. This gives us additional confidence that we are on the right path with development.

With solutions and services on top of the protocol, such as the Network Operating System (nOS), more ready-made solutions are becoming available to use in various contexts. The projects will leverage the power of the OriginTrail Decentralised Network (ODN) to deliver an unparalleled level of supply chain transparency and more efficient data exchanges amongst farmers and food companies.

The European Union is One of the World’s Largest Supporters of Blockchain Technologies

In recent years, the European Commission has been active in setting up proof of concepts, pilot projects and EU initiatives to explore, test and understand the legal, regulatory, policy, research and funding needs related to blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT). A total EUR 180 million of EU funding has already been devoted to research and innovation in blockchain. You can read more about the EU’s efforts in this overview.

The key financial instrument for backing these open calls is usually Horizon 2020, EU’s flagship research and innovation funding program aimed at securing Europe’s global competitiveness.

Trace Labs is collaborating on two types of projects. In consortium-type projects like SmartAgriHubs and DEMETER), Trace Labs is closely collaborating with other partners on work packages to bring innovations to the market. In the other two cases, the initiative is funding the development of a specific solution as a stand-alone project managed by Trace Labs.

Currently Active EU-Funded Projects

SmartAgriHubs

Short Description: Connecting the dots in the agri-tech sector, the SmartAgriHubs project is financed under the Horizon 2020 instrument with EUR 20 million and brings together a consortium of more than 160 partners in the European agri-food sector. The project aims to realize the digitization of European agriculture by fostering an agricultural innovation ecosystem dedicated to excellence, sustainability and success.

This massive project assembles 140 digital innovation hubs, nine regional clusters and 28 flagship innovation experiments. It aims to bridge public-private funding by mobilizing additional funding (EUR 30 million). The project’s goal is to introduce 80 new digital solutions to the market (more info here). The OriginTrail protocol is part of one of the flagship innovation experiments.

Total Project Funding: EUR 22,423,146 of public funding under the Horizon 2020 instrument.

Number of Partners: 164 partners and growing (could be extended through open calls).

Notable Partners: Wageningen University & Research (managing partner), UK’s Innovation for Agriculture, Schuttelaar & Partners, Austrian Chamber for Agriculture, French region of Loire, and FIWARE.

Project Timeframe: Four years, 2018–2022.

Website: https://www.smartagrihubs.eu

Social Media Presence: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 818182.

DEMETER

Short Description: The DEMETER project is building an interoperable, data-driven, innovative and sustainable European agri-food sector. It is a large-scale deployment of farmer-centric, interoperable, smart farming, IoT-based platforms delivered through a series of 20 pilots across 18 countries. Involving 60 partners, DEMETER adopts a multi-actor approach across the value chain (demand and supply), with 25 deployment sites, 6,000 farmers and over 38,000 devices and sensors being deployed. Participants involved come from different production sectors (dairy, meat, vegetables, fruit and arable crops), production systems (conventional and organic) and different farm sizes and types. Data analysis obtained across multiple farms is optimized. The kick-off event was this month in Waterford, Ireland.

Total Project Funding: EUR 14,998,282.38

Number of Partners: 60

Notable Partners: Waterford Institute of Technology (managing partner), John Deere, and World Farmers’ Organisation.

Project Timeframe: 42 months, 2019–2023.

Website: http://h2020-demeter.eu/

Social Media Presence: Twitter | LinkedIn

Demeter is a Horizon 2020 project (857202) supported by the European Union.

LEDGER

Short Description: LEDGER program is an initiative of the Next Generation Internet (NGI). The Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative, launched by the European Commission in the autumn of 2016, aims to shape the future internet as an interoperable platform ecosystem that embodies the values that Europe holds dear, like openness, inclusivity, transparency, privacy, cooperation, and the protection of data. LEDGER promotes alternative models where data is a common good owned by citizens and wealth — created by data-driven platforms — is equally distributed. The project supports research and innovation projects addressing privacy-by-design, reliability, trustworthiness, and openness as core values.

Trace Labs is part of the initiative with the Food Data Market project, an inclusive data marketplace for sustainable food production, equitable distribution of gains, and digital sovereignty of citizens and farmers. Trace Labs is one of the top 5% teams, as almost 300 applicants applied and only 16 were selected for funding in this batch.

Total Project Funding: EUR 5,600,000

Number of Partners: Two batches of 16 teams each.

Notable Partners: Next Generation Internet (NGI), Blumorpho, Dyne, Ethereum Foundation, and IOTA Foundation.

Project Timeframe: 12 months, 2019–2020.

Website: https://ledgerproject.eu

Social Media Presence: Twitter

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme within the framework of the LEDGER Project funded under grant agreement No825268.

Blockchers

Short Description: A total of 12 companies from eight countries have been selected to join one of the most vibrant programs for startups in the blockchain scene. The initiative is supported by funds from the Horizon 2020 program and is focused on the implementation of blockchain technology in concrete small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The program consists of three phases: Immersion, Implementation, and Recognition.

Trace Labs is part of the program with a project for an agricultural cooperative for automating and streamlining core processes and incentivizing sustainable farmers by using a public blockchain with built-in transparency and integrity.

Total Project Funding: More than EUR 300,000.

Number of Partners: 12

Notable Partners: Alastria and Frankfurt School Blockchain Center.

Project Timeframe: 2019–2020.

Website: https://blockchers.eu/

Social Media Presence: Twitter | Telegram | YouTube

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation framework programme through Grant Agreement no.828840.