ELEKTROBIT AUTOMOTIVE GMBH

Their core work

Elektrobit Automotive is a German private-sector company specialising in embedded software and computing systems for the automotive industry. Based in Erlangen, they contribute deep technical expertise at the intersection of hardware security and automotive-grade computing — helping define how future vehicles process data securely and efficiently. In H2020, they brought automotive use-case requirements into research consortia focused on secure processor architectures and the European Processor Initiative, grounding academic work in industrial-grade automotive constraints. Their role is translating cutting-edge research specifications into automotive-applicable computing frameworks.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 participation (2015–2017), Elektrobit focused on hardware security fundamentals — secure processors, secure-by-design principles, and end-to-end security for mixed-criticality systems covering automotive, medical, and cloud applications. By 2018–2021, their focus shifted toward the higher-level architectural challenge of building a European sovereign processor ecosystem, specifically the automotive computing unit within the European Processor Initiative. This trajectory suggests a move from securing existing computing platforms toward shaping the next generation of automotive-grade processors from the ground up.

Elektrobit is moving from defensive security engineering toward foundational automotive computing infrastructure, suggesting growing interest in future consortia around sovereign European hardware, RISC-V automotive stacks, or safety-critical accelerator platforms.

How they like to work

Elektrobit participates exclusively as a consortium partner — never as coordinator — across both recorded projects, indicating they prefer to contribute domain expertise rather than lead administrative and management functions. With 36 unique partners across 15 countries from only two projects, they operate within large, internationally distributed consortia, which is typical of major European initiatives like EPI. This profile suggests they are most valuable when brought in as an industry anchor that validates research outputs against real automotive requirements.

Elektrobit has built a network of 36 unique consortium partners across 15 countries from just two projects, reflecting their participation in large pan-European initiatives rather than narrow bilateral collaborations. Their network spans the breadth of European research institutions and industrial players active in secure computing and processor development.

What sets them apart

Elektrobit brings rare dual competence: they sit at the junction of automotive software industrialisation and low-level hardware security research — a combination that few strictly academic or purely industrial partners can offer. Their participation in both SHARCS and the European Processor Initiative signals recognition by major EU research consortia as a credible automotive-industry voice on hardware and processor topics. For consortium builders, they offer the industrial validation that turns research prototypes into automotive-applicable specifications.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EPI SGA1
  The largest-funded project for Elektrobit (EUR 684,125) and part of the flagship European Processor Initiative — one of the most strategically significant EU computing projects — where they specifically addressed the automotive computing unit.
• SHARCS
  Demonstrates Elektrobit's breadth: a single project addressing secure hardware-software architectures simultaneously for automotive, medical, cloud, and legacy application domains, signalling cross-sector security reach beyond their automotive core.