CLOUD & HEAT TECHNOLOGIES GMBH

Their core work

Cloud & Heat Technologies is a Dresden-based SME that develops secure, energy-efficient cloud infrastructure with a focus on privacy-preserving computing. Their core work centers on making cloud and edge computing architectures resilient and secure — from hardware-level trusted execution environments to distributed AI workloads across the cloud-to-edge continuum. They bring practical cloud infrastructure expertise to EU research consortia tackling data protection and secure computing challenges.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Cloud & Heat's early H2020 work (2015-2018) focused squarely on cloud security fundamentals — secure enclaves and resilient cloud architectures through SERECA and SafeCloud. After a gap of roughly three years, their most recent project AI-SPRINT (2021-2023) marks a clear shift toward the computing continuum: edge/fog computing, AI workload distribution, and data protection across distributed infrastructure. The evolution reflects the broader industry move from centralized cloud security toward securing distributed, AI-driven computing environments.

Cloud & Heat is moving from pure cloud security toward AI-at-the-edge with privacy guarantees — expect future work at the intersection of confidential computing and distributed AI.

How they like to work

Cloud & Heat operates exclusively as a participant, never as coordinator, which suggests they contribute specialized technical capability rather than project leadership. With 25 unique partners across 11 countries from just 3 projects, they work in moderately large consortia and have broad European connections. Their consistent participant role across both RIA and IA projects indicates they are a reliable technical contributor that research-heavy consortia bring in for applied cloud infrastructure expertise.

Despite only three projects, Cloud & Heat has built a network of 25 partners across 11 countries, indicating they join diverse, internationally distributed consortia. Their base in Dresden (Germany) anchors them in a strong European tech ecosystem with broad continental reach.

What sets them apart

Cloud & Heat sits at a rare intersection: they are both a commercial cloud infrastructure provider and an active participant in security-focused EU research. Unlike pure research partners, they bring real-world cloud operations experience to projects dealing with secure enclaves, resilient architectures, and privacy-preserving edge computing. For consortium builders, they offer the credibility of an SME that actually runs cloud infrastructure while contributing to advancing its security and efficiency.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SERECA
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 522,500) and focused on the then-emerging topic of hardware-based secure enclaves for cloud applications.
• AI-SPRINT
  Most recent project marking their strategic pivot to edge AI and privacy-preserving distributed computing — a high-demand area for future EU calls.