Frequently asked questions

No. The compute does not appear from outside — it comes from idle capacity contributed by WAYSCloud customers, matched one-to-one by WAYSCloud each month. The program is built on capacity that already exists in the system, not on new infrastructure or added cost.

For every unit of capacity contributed by customers in a given month, WAYSCloud commits an equivalent unit from its own capacity. The match is one-to-one, monthly, and binding. The combined pool is what's available for allocation.

Most contributions are idle capacity in services that WAYSCloud customers are already paying for — capacity that would otherwise sit unused. Customers can also actively dedicate paid capacity to the program if they want to contribute beyond their idle headroom. In either case, the contribution is voluntary, and no customer data, environment, or workload is shared with Impact.

Because the available pool changes month to month. Customer contributions and the matching capacity vary, so reviewing applications continuously against what's actually available works better than committing to a fixed budget up front. Rolling intake also matches the preemptible nature of the workloads — the program adjusts as conditions change.

They run on the same physical platform, but in fully isolated environments — separate runtime, storage, and identity boundaries. There is no access path from Impact workloads to customer environments.

Impact workloads are preempted. Production traffic always has priority. Workload owners are responsible for checkpointing and restart.

Applications are accepted continuously. There are no fixed windows or cohorts. Each application is reviewed individually as it comes in.

Grants are time-bounded. Duration is set per grant during governance review and is renewable through the same process.

Yes. A stated research output plan — published, open, or otherwise verifiable — is part of the application and the grant.

No. Applications must come from an institution registered in the EU or EEA.

Organizations registered in an EU member state, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein. Registration is verified at application time via EUID against the EU Business Register.

A governance committee. Its composition and rotation are documented on the Governance page.

Commercial WAYSCloud at wayscloud.eu is a product. WAYSCloud Impact is a governance program operated over the same infrastructure with strict isolation and approval requirements. Different audience, different rules, different access path.

See Vision for the framing and principles, Governance for the isolation and review model, and Reports for sector-level allocation transparency.