The Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation SPRIND has announced the participants of the SPRIND Funke EUDI Wallet Prototypes. For the first stage of this 13-month innovation competition, six teams were selected to develop prototypes for European Digital Identity (EUDI) wallets. With the EUDI wallet, citizens will be able to identify themselves digitally. In addition, they will be able to store, manage, and present their identity data and official documents in electronic form in these digital wallets. The current eIDAS Regulation 2.0 regulates the basis for the increasing use of electronic means of identification and digital verification in Europe and defines the framework conditions necessary for this. Germany now needs a path toward eIDAS-compliant infrastructure. That is why the Architecture and Consultation Process for EUDI Wallets project was started. It aims to develop a concept for a personal digital wallet that citizens and organizations can use to securely identify themselves digitally in the future. The Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation SPRIND is carrying out this project on behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI). To date, various architectural proposals have been developed for the implementation of EUDI wallets in Germany based on the existing infrastructure of the online ID function of the state-issued ID card.

SPRIND INNOVATION COMPETITION IN THREE STAGES

In the SPRIND Funke, six teams will now receive funding to implement and prototype their innovative ideas based on the architecture concepts for a wallet app. Each team will develop at least one wallet app for Android or iOS and make it available for testing together with the necessary background systems. In particular, the SPRIND innovation competition is intended to address critical challenges in designing an EUDI wallet for users in Germany.

The SPRIND Funke EUDI Wallet Prototype will last 13 months and have 3 stages. SPRIND will support six teams in stage 1, up to four teams in stage 2, and up to two teams in stage 3. In stage 1, the selected teams receive up to 300,000 EUR from SPRIND. For stage 2, the teams each receive up to 300,000 EUR. Up to 350,000 EUR per team are planned for funding in stage 3.

The decision on participation was made by a jury of experts following a presentation that took place in Leipzig on May 16, 2024. Stage 1 started immediately afterwards and lasts three months. Stage 2 begins in August 2024 and also lasts three months. Stage 3 begins in November 2024 and ends in May 2025.

In addition to the six teams that receive funding, a further five teams that are not receiving funding from SPRIND will take part in the first stage of this innovation competition. All teams benefit from the jury’s feedback, the discussions with the other teams, and the SPRIND network.

For more informationen about this SPRIND Funke EUDI Wallet Prototype and the participating teams.