News

Luxembourg, July 08, 2021

Following a call for projects by the European Union in 2020, Luxembourg’s Ministry for Digitalisation, Infrachain, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) have partnered to develop the EBSILUX Project.

Co-funded by the European Union, the EBSILUX Project integrates Luxembourg into the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) and implements a European EBSI use case at national level. This improves the internal market’s functions and supports the competitiveness of the European economy.

EBSI uses blockchain to build cross-border services that will allow public administrations and their ecosystems to verify information and make services more trustworthy. EBSI deployed a network of distributed blockchain nodes across Europe, supporting applications focused on selected use cases. The EBSILUX project contributes to the overall robustness and security of the EBSI by hosting one of these nodes.

Luxembourg prioritises student mobility, multilingualism and international cooperation. EBSILUX is implementing the Diplomas use case of EBSI. The use case provides digital academic certificate records in Luxembourg for the sake of transparency and trust between schools/universities, students and employers. It is a fully interoperable and cross-border solution. The use case will leverage digital identity, distributed ledger and mechanism for digital verifiable credentials/presentations.

To support the Diplomas use case, a digital identity based on the European Self-Sovereign Identity (ESSIF) framework will also be implemented. ESSIF will allow citizens to create, control, and use their own digital identity without having to rely on a single, centralised authority. The framework follows the European Commission announcement of a trusted and secure Digital Identity for all Europeans.

EBSILUX will result in improved access to trans-European services. More specifically, citizens, businesses and administrations from Luxembourg and other EU Members States will get access to services based in Luxembourg and other EU Member States that are accessible via EBSI.

A presentation event of the EBSILUX project with special introductory words by Marc Hansen, Luxembourg Minister Delegate for Digitalisation will take place on July 14. “Discover EBSILUX, Integrating Luxembourg into the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI)” will present exclusive insights into the EBSILUX project to ministries, administrations and public institutions.

Fabrice Croiseaux, Chairman of Infrachain said, “Infrachain is delighted to be part of the team of this strategic project. EBSILUX lays the foundation for what will be an important tool for successful interaction of private and public players in the European Blockchain space. With EBSILUX, public and private sector work together as a community to push the adoption curve of blockchain and make blockchain operational in Europe – that’s what Infrachain stands for.”

Prof. Dr. Gilbert Fridgen, Delegate to the European Blockchain Partnership and PayPal-FNR PEARL Chair in Digital Financial Services of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) stated, “At first sight, digital identities and diploma credentials are eGovernment topics, yet they will also have a massive impact on business process, business models, and the ways we handle all kinds of personal data. EBSILUX is a major step forward for Luxembourg.”

Dr. Djamel Khadraoui, Head of the Trusted Service System Research Unit of the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) added: “EBSILUX is an important step for a broader use of Blockchain based cross-border services in Europe. The development of real-life use cases that proof the feasibility of the Blockchain technology in reality will help to investigate into new services and markets. We are happy to support this very important project on every level.”

About the Ministry for Digitalisation
The government program reflects the government’s desire to place digitalisation at the heart of its concerns. It is within this dynamic that the Ministry for Digitalisation was created in 2018, headed by the Prime Minister, Minister for Digitalisation, Xavier Bettel, and the Minister Delegate for Digitalisation, Marc Hansen. The Ministry for Digitalisation has set itself the goal of successfully achieving digital government. The Ministry’s strategic axes are in line with this approach: developing eGovernment, advancing administrative reform, promoting digital inclusion and integrating new technologies such as AI or Blockchain.

About LIST
The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) is a mission-driven Research and Technology Organization that develops technology-intensive solutions for the digital and ecological age. LIST’s mission is to strengthen Luxembourg’s economy and improve its quality of life through technological innovation. To do so, LIST develops competitive and market-oriented product and service prototypes for public and private stakeholders. The “IT for Innovative Services” (ITIS) department focuses on the digital transformation of operations occurring in organizations, in particular, the data management in relation to security and privacy in different domains such as Blockchain Technology and Services, IoT, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics.

About SnT
The Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) is a research centre at the University of Luxembourg. SnT researchers, together with industry and public partners, address present-day challenges in information and communication technologies (ICT). The Partnership Program is a key component in SnT’s strategy – fostering the development of innovative ideas and establishing Luxembourg as a European Centre of Excellence and Innovation in the field of secure, reliable, and trustworthy ICT systems and services. The centre’s demand-driven collaborative work with industry and government presents its 50+ partners with a genuine, long-lasting competitive advantage.