Advancing from design time engineering to run-time and life-time engineering of hardware and software.
European Engineering Toolchain Initiative
The European Engineering Toolchain Initiative (EETI) is a collaborative effort to create a unified, open, and future‑ready ecosystem of engineering tools that serves the diverse needs of Europe’s hardware and embedded‑systems community.
Why a European Toolchain?
By bringing together vendors, research institutions, and end‑users, EETI aims to foster interoperability, innovation, and competitiveness across the entire product development lifecycle—from electronic design automation (EDA) and hardware description to firmware compilation, verification, and deployment. Advancing from design time engineering to run-time and life-time engineering of hardware and software.
Why European Toolchain?
Strategic Autonomy
Reducing reliance on external ecosystems strengthens Europe’s technological sovereignty and safeguards critical supply chains, ensuring resilience and long-term independence in key industrial sectors.
Interoperability
Standardized interfaces and data formats enable seamless hand-off between design, simulation, testing, and production tools, significantly reducing complexity and accelerating time-to-market.
Innovation Hub
A shared European platform fosters joint R&D, accelerates adoption of emerging technologies such as AI-assisted design and secure-by-design firmware, and supports startups within the embedded ecosystem.
Engineering Automation
Enabled through interoperable toolchains featuring both AI-driven and formal technologies, engineering automation enhances efficiency, improves reliability, and reduces development cycles.
Economic Growth
A vibrant, Europe-centric tool ecosystem creates high-value jobs, attracts investment, and strengthens the continent’s competitive hardware manufacturing and semiconductor sectors.
Core Pillars of EETI
Open Standards
Objective: Define and promote common data models, APIs, and exchange formats.
Example Activities: Working groups, reference implementations, certification programs.
Modular Architecture
Objective: Encourage plug-and-play components so users can assemble bespoke toolchains from best-of-breed modules.
Example Activities: Marketplace for validated plugins, container-based distribution (Docker, OCI).
Security & Trust
Objective: Embed security guarantees throughout the flow—secure boot, provenance tracking, and supply-chain attestation.
Example Activities: Secure metadata schemas, audit trails, compliance testing.
Education & Community
Objective: Provide training, documentation, and open-source reference projects to lower entry barriers.
Example Activities: Workshops, MOOCs, hackathons, mentorship networks.
Sustainability
Objective: Optimize toolchains for energy efficiency and circular-economy practices.
Example Activities: Green-compute guidelines, lifecycle assessment tools.
Invitation to Vendors
We invite all vendors developing engineering tools—including EDA suites, compiler and linker families, simulation environments, verification frameworks, debugging and tracing solutions, firmware update mechanisms, and related middleware—to become founding members of EETI.
Benefits of Joining EETI
Visibility
Showcase your solutions to a pan-European audience of designers, OEMs, and integrators.
Co-Creation
Influence the definition of standards shaping the next generation of engineering workflows.
Market Access
Tap into new customer segments prioritizing interoperable, standards-compliant toolchains.
Collaboration
Participate in joint R&D projects, pilot programs, and EU-funded initiatives.
Certification
Earn EETI compliance badges that signal trustworthiness and compatibility.
How to Get Involved
1. Register Interest
Fill out the short expression-of-interest form on the EETI portal (link forthcoming).
2. Join a Working Group
Select the technical area(s) aligning with your portfolio (e.g., Design Capture, Firmware Build, Secure Deployment).
3. Contribute
Share specifications, reference implementations, or test suites; collaborate on open-source repositories hosted under EETI.
4. Validate
Participate in interoperability testing events and obtain EETI certification for your products.
5. Promote
Leverage the EETI brand in marketing materials, webinars, and trade-show presentations.
Looking Ahead
EETI envisions a Europe where engineers can freely combine best-in-class tools from any vendor, confident that workflows are secure, compliant, and future-proof. By uniting the community now, we lay the groundwork for a resilient, innovative, and globally competitive engineering landscape.
Join us today and help shape the European Engineering Toolchain of tomorrow.