The project alliance for Software Platform Embedded Systems – or SPES 2020 for short – was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as a strategic development project in the field of embedded systems. Over an initial period of three years total funding of 20 million Euros will be granted. The aim of the innovation alliance is to develop an integrated, highperformance methodology for the development of embedded systems, especially with regard to mastering their steadily increasing complexity independently of their intended application domain. SPES 2020 is structured in six themed packages. The central project will deal with core issues of methodology and development while the part-projects will deal with the five application domains of avionics, automation and production technology, medical technology, automotive technology and energy technology. The major strategic alliance project consists of experts from five universities thus far, three research institutes and 15 industrial companies, including such major players as Siemens AG, Robert Bosch GmbH and the aviation and aerospace corporation EADS. SPES 2020 is managed by the Technical University of Munich. The key areas addressed by SQC are model-based development, modeling of parallel real-time processes, and proofing real-time behavior as well as quality, safety and certification for the subprojects in avionics and medicine.