The key target of Stream D projects will be to qualify, quantify and test advanced 5G/6G technologies enablement effect and impact in and for vertical sectors. Apart from the verticals digitisation, a key focus will be placed on achieving tangible results on sustainability. Sustainability will be addressed from the environmental, societal and economic perspectives, considering specific related use-cases in relevant verticals sectors. The target applications are open to applicants to select from any already advanced 6G use cases that are in line with the 6G vision and ambitions^[1]. The advanced use-cases are targeted to demonstrate high value impact on environment or/and societal or/and economic sustainability perspectives. This phase of pilots is expected to leverage new sets of 6G capabilities and KPI support as they gradually become available over time. For these applications, it is particularly important to demonstrate that the underpinning 6G architecture and technologies can scale up to the new set of requirements, can be implemented across heterogeneous technological and business domains, and can support innovation through openness. These projects should aim to take advantage from developed platforms and/or elements from the SNS Phase 1 Stream C projects, platforms developed in the context of national initiatives or any other solutions that integrate and offer preliminary 6G network solutions. Moreover, Stream D projects need to plan for a strong collaboration link to the HORIZON-JU-SNS-2024-STREAM-B-01-07: Sustainability Lighthouse.

The key expected outcomes are:

• Evaluation, measurement and validation of the sustainability impact of advanced 5G/6G technologies in different or complex ecosystems for environmental^[2], societal and economic aspects and for specific use-cases
• Use case specific reference sustainability models with a description, which sustainability parameters are considered.
• Contribution to the further refinement of sustainable seamless E2E 6G test infrastructures with fine-tuned capability to integrate vertical use cases specific performance/KPI requirements, as applicable also across public and non-public networks and services.
• Validated infrastructure core technologies and architectures across the value chain in the context of vertical large-scale pilot use-case implementations and relevant deployment scenarios targeting tangible sustainability results.
• Viable business models for innovative digital use cases tested that will address clear sustainability targets across various vertical sectors.
• Support to impactful contributions towards standardisation bodies notably for 6G use cases and technologies, including KVIs.
• European 5G Advanced and 6G know-how showcasing. Visible events widely open and inclusively accessible to the public are particularly relevant.
• Stimulation of large industrial stakeholders, SMEs and the European Academic and Research community to engage in experimental activities in a timely fashion, aimed to validate technological trends for sustainability.
• Collection of requirements from verticals for sustainable solutions and collection of “lessons learned” to prepare for subsequent phases of the SNS programme.
• Contribution to a repository of open-source tools and modules that may be openly accessed and used by SNS projects over the programme’s lifetime.
• Contribution to SNS programmatic actions related to sustainability, in connection to 6G-IA and SNS Working Groups and contributions to the HORIZON-JU-SNS-2024-STREAM-B-01-07: Sustainability Lighthouse project is expected so that these projects contribute to the SNS wide vision and solutions on “6G for sustainability”.

Please refer to the "Specific Challenges and Objectives" section for Stream D in the Work Programme, available under ‘Topic Conditions and Documents - Additional Documents’.

The target 6G systems validation work through large-scale trials focusses on use cases related to “sustainable 6G” and “6G for sustainability” targeting environmental, economic and societal sustainability goals. The projects are expected to cover at least :

• Demonstration of clear benefits with stakeholders of the considered 5G advanced/ 6G technologies and architectures in terms of innovative 6G smart networks and services addressing multiple aspects (e.g., scalability, security, and performance improvements) in line with medium to long-term diverse socio-economic scenarios.
• Special focus on targeting and achieving, by the end of the project, tangible results for environmental (e.g., optimize energy consumption, minimize CO₂ emissions, etc.), societal (e.g., inclusiveness, EMF exposure, trustworthiness, privacy, technology acceptance, etc.) and economic aspects (e.g., viability for vendors, network operators and vertical service providers benefits for local economies, potential new business entrants, affordability, etc).

The Large-Scale Pilots should be carried out from an end-to-end perspective, with representative technologies covering the full value chain, including devices, connectivity, and service delivery. They should demonstrate the integration of different IoT/cloud/edge/computing environments (public and/or private) towards a distributed environment and dynamic resource needs with a landscape unified management able to support the emergence of a European offer and capability.

The involvement of SMEs/scaleups/ startups is targeted in the projects. These actors are expected to play a key role in this process with new market-driven applications that can build value on the 5G/6G infrastructure. This support will be a critical enabler of European-led innovation, fast track adoption, and stimulation of private sector investment, across verticals.

The performance and sustainability capabilities are to be assessed against a set of well-defined KVIs and KPIs. The developing set of KPIs in the international context will be taken as a basis, also those of previous projects, notably for KVIs, and potentially further extend them. Proposals should clearly indicate the target set of KPIs and KVIs and how this breaks the state of the art. Performance improvement and sustainability aspects in all domains requires definition of a benchmark against which improvements may be evaluated. Cross project collaboration is needed to define such a benchmark that will be part of the target outcome KPI repository of the SNS Partnership. It is expected that software entities implement the target services in Open-Source Code and with open interfaces for further reutilisation in subsequent phases. Outputs of the work is expected to demonstrate the applicability of 6G KPI/KVI to specific use case requirements, i.e., to map those with higher level requirements at application level.

SNS LST&Ps are expected to attract the participation of vertical industries in view of stimulating a strong European participation in future downstream standardisation phases. Therefore, participation of industrial actors with demonstrated strong standardisation impact is desired.

The Stream D projects should aim to take advantage from developed platforms and/or elements from the SNS Phase 1 Stream C projects, platforms developed in the context of national initiatives or any other solutions that integrate and offer preliminary 6G network solutions. Moreover, Stream D projects need to plan for a strong collaboration link to the HORIZON-JU-SNS-2024-STREAM-B-01-07: Sustainability Lighthouse.

[1] 6G-IA Vision Paper "European Vision for the 6G Network Ecosystem” (https://5g-ppp.eu/european-vision-for-the-6g-network-ecosystem/).

[2] For methodological approaches evaluating environmental (climate) impact proposers may consider the work of the European Green Digital Coalition (greendigitalcoalition.eu).