diff --git a/polkadot/.gitlab-ci.yml b/polkadot/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 77b4603209..31bea94204 100644
--- a/polkadot/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/polkadot/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -1,18 +1,32 @@
+# .gitlab-ci.yml
+#
+# pipelines can be triggered manually in the web
+# setting POLKADOT_BRANCH to v0.2 will result in a poc2 build
+# setting DEPLOY_TAG will only deploy the tagged image
+
+
 stages:
   - test
   - build
+  - publish
+  - deploy
 
+
+
+
+# default release in rust:nightly image is stable
 image:                             parity/rust:nightly
 
 variables:
   CI_SERVER_NAME:                  "GitLab CI"
   CARGO_HOME:                      "${CI_PROJECT_DIR}/.cargo"
+  SUBSTRATE_REPO:                  "https://github.com/paritytech/substrate.git"
+
 
 
 cache:
   key:                             "${CI_JOB_NAME}"
   paths:
-    - ./target/
     - ./.cargo/
 
 
@@ -22,43 +36,156 @@ cache:
     when:                          on_success
     expire_in:                     7 days
     paths:
-    - target/release/polkadot
-
-.determine_version: &determine_version |
-  export VERSION="$(sed -r -n '1,/^version/s/^version = "([^"]+)".*$/\1/p' Cargo.toml)"
-  echo "Version" $VERSION
+    - target/release/
 
 
-before_script:
-  - ./scripts/build.sh
+
+# disabled as there are bugs
+# before_script:
+#   - ./scripts/build.sh
 
 
-#### stage:                        test
 
-test:rust:stable:
+# test will be run for ci on the current repo
+# for version v0.2 branch tests are located in substrate repository and 
+# therefore not generically testable
+test:rust:release:
   stage:                           test
-  script:
-    - time cargo test --all --release
   only:
     - triggers
     - tags
     - master
     - schedules
     - web
+    - /^[0-9]+$/
+  except:
+    variables:
+      - $POLKADOT_BRANCH == "v0.2"
+      - $DEPLOY_TAG
   tags:
-    - rust-stable 
-
-
-#### stage:                        build
-
-build:linux:ubuntu:amd64:
-  stage:                           build
+    - rust
   script:
-    - cargo build --release
+    - time cargo test --all --release --verbose
+
+
+
+build:rust:linux:release:
+  stage:                           build
   <<:                              *collect_artifacts
   only:
     - master
     - tags
+    - web
+  except:
+    variables:
+      - $DEPLOY_TAG
   tags:
-    - rust-stable
+    - rust
+  script:
+    - >
+      set -x;
+      if [ "${POLKADOT_BRANCH}" = "v0.2" ]; then
+        if [ -z "${TAG}" ]; then
+          time cargo install --verbose --root ./target/release/ --git "${SUBSTRATE_REPO}" --branch "${POLKADOT_BRANCH}" polkadot;
+        else
+          time cargo install --verbose --root ./target/release/ --git "${SUBSTRATE_REPO}" --tag "${TAG}" polkadot;
+        fi;
+        mv ./target/release/bin/polkadot ./target/release/polkadot;
+        rm -d ./target/release/bin;
+      else
+        time cargo build --release --verbose;
+      fi;
+      set +x
+    - ./target/release/polkadot --version
+
+
+
+dockerize:release:
+  stage:                           publish
+  dependencies:
+    - build:rust:linux:release
+  cache: {}
+  only:
+    - master
+    - tags
+    - web
+  except:
+    variables:
+      - $DEPLOY_TAG
+  tags:
+    - shell
+  variables:
+    DOCKERFILE: scripts/docker/Dockerfile
+    CONTAINER_IMAGE: parity/polkadot
+  before_script:
+    - test "$Docker_Hub_User_Parity" -a "$Docker_Hub_Pass_Parity"
+        || ( echo "no docker credentials provided"; exit 1 )
+    - docker login -u "$Docker_Hub_User_Parity" -p "$Docker_Hub_Pass_Parity"
+    - docker info
+    - VERSION="$(./target/release/polkadot --version | sed -n -r 's/^polkadot ([0-9.]+-[0-9a-f]+)-.*$/\1/p')"
+    - export VERSION
+    - echo "Polkadot version = ${VERSION}"
+  script:
+    - test -z "${VERSION}" && exit 1
+    - docker build --tag $CONTAINER_IMAGE:$VERSION --tag $CONTAINER_IMAGE:latest -f $DOCKERFILE ./target/release/
+    - docker push $CONTAINER_IMAGE:$VERSION
+    - docker push $CONTAINER_IMAGE:latest
+    - rm -f ./target/release/polkadot
+    - echo "${VERSION}" > ./target/release/VERSION
+  after_script:
+    - docker logout
+  # use artifacts here to transport the version to the next stage
+  <<:                              *collect_artifacts
+
+
+
+
+
+.deploy:template:                  &deploy
+  stage:                           deploy
+  when:                            manual
+  cache:                           {}
+  retry:                           1
+  image: dtzar/helm-kubectl:$HELM_VERSION
+  only:
+    - master
+    - tags
+    - web
+  tags:
+    - kubernetes
+  before_script:
+    - test -z "${DEPLOY_TAG}" && 
+      test -f ./target/release/VERSION && 
+      DEPLOY_TAG="$(cat ./target/release/VERSION)"
+    - test "${DEPLOY_TAG}" || ( echo "Neither DEPLOY_TAG nor VERSION information available"; exit 1 )
+  script:
+    - echo "Polkadot version = ${DEPLOY_TAG}"
+    # or use helm to render the template
+    - helm template 
+      --values ./scripts/kubernetes/values.yaml 
+      --set image.tag=${DEPLOY_TAG}
+      ./scripts/kubernetes | kubectl apply -f - --dry-run=true
+    - echo "# polkadot namespace"
+    - kubectl -n polkadot get all
+    - echo "# polkadot's nodes' external ip addresses:"
+    - kubectl get nodes -l node=polkadot
+      -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}{.metadata.name}{"\t"}{range @.status.addresses[?(@.type=="ExternalIP")]}{.address}{"\n"}{end}'
+    - echo "# polkadots' nodes"
+    - kubectl -n polkadot get pods 
+      -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}{.metadata.name}{"\t"}{.spec.nodeName}{"\n"}{end}'
+
+
+
+# have environment:url eventually point to the logs
+
+deploy:ew3:
+  <<:                              *deploy
+  environment:
+    name: gke-beta-ew3
+
+deploy:ue1:
+  <<:                              *deploy
+  environment:
+    name: gke-beta-ue1
+
 
diff --git a/polkadot/scripts/docker/Dockerfile b/polkadot/scripts/docker/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8d4e21788f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/polkadot/scripts/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+FROM ubuntu:xenial
+LABEL maintainer "devops-team@parity.io"
+LABEL description="Paritytech Polkadot Node Implementation"
+
+RUN apt-get update && \
+    apt-get upgrade -y && \
+    DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y \
+        libssl1.0.0 \
+        ca-certificates \
+        curl && \
+    apt-get autoremove -y && \
+    apt-get clean
+    
+RUN find /var/lib/apt/lists/ -type f -not -name lock -delete
+
+COPY ./polkadot /usr/local/bin
+
+
+
+RUN useradd -m -u 1000 -U -s /bin/sh -d /polkadot polkadot
+USER polkadot
+
+ENV RUST_BACKTRACE 1
+
+EXPOSE 30333 9933 9944
+VOLUME ["/polkadot"]
+
+ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/local/bin/polkadot"]
+
diff --git a/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/Chart.yaml b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/Chart.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..885cec5799
--- /dev/null
+++ b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/Chart.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+name: polkadot
+version: 0.1
+appVersion: 0.2.0
+description: Polkadot Node Implementation
+home: https://polkadot.network/
+icon: https://polkadot.network/favicon.ico
+sources:
+  - https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot/
+maintainers:
+  - name: Paritytech Devops Team
+    email: devops-team@parity.io
+tillerVersion: ">=2.8.0"
diff --git a/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/README.md b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1ae9ff79c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+
+
+# Polkadot Kubernetes Helm Chart
+
+This [Helm Chart](https://helm.sh/) can be used for deploying containerized 
+**Polkadot** to a [Kubernetes](https://kubernetes.io/) cluster.
+
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- Tested on Kubernetes 1.10.7-gke.6
+
+## Installation
+
+To install the chart with the release name `my-release` into namespace 
+`my-namespace` from within this directory:
+
+```console
+$ helm install --namespace my-namespace --name my-release --values values.yaml ./
+```
+
+The command deploys Polkadot on the Kubernetes cluster in the configuration 
+given in `values.yaml`. When the namespace is omitted it'll be installed in 
+the default one.
+
+
+## Removal of the Chart
+
+To uninstall/delete the `my-release` deployment:
+
+```console
+$ helm delete --namespace my-namespace my-release
+```
+
+The command removes all the Kubernetes components associated with the chart and deletes the release.
+
+
+## Upgrading
+
+Once the chart is installed and a new version should be deployed helm takes 
+care of this by
+
+```console
+$ helm upgrade --namespace my-namespace --values values.yaml my-release ./
+```
+
+
diff --git a/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/templates/poddisruptionbudget.yaml b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/templates/poddisruptionbudget.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e19eae5f5d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/templates/poddisruptionbudget.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+apiVersion: policy/v1beta1
+kind: PodDisruptionBudget
+metadata:
+  name: polkadot
+spec:
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app: polkadot
+  maxUnavailable: 1
+
diff --git a/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/templates/service.yaml b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/templates/service.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f64f4ac1bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/templates/service.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+# see:
+# https://kubernetes.io/docs/tutorials/services/
+# https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/services-networking/service/
+# headless service for rpc
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Service
+metadata:
+  name: polkadot-rpc
+  labels:
+    app: polkadot
+spec:
+  ports:
+  - port: 9933
+    name: http-rpc
+  - port: 9944
+    name: websocket-rpc
+  selector:
+    app: polkadot
+  sessionAffinity: None
+  type: ClusterIP
+  clusterIP: None
+---
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Service
+metadata:
+  name: polkadot
+spec:
+  ports:
+  - port: 30333
+    name: p2p
+    nodePort: 30333
+    protocol: TCP
+  selector:
+    app: polkadot
+  sessionAffinity: None
+  type: NodePort
+  # don't route exteral traffic to non-local pods
+  externalTrafficPolicy: Local
+
diff --git a/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/templates/serviceaccount.yaml b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/templates/serviceaccount.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..207cea964a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/templates/serviceaccount.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+{{- if .Values.rbac.enable }}
+# service account for polkadot pods themselves
+# no permissions for the api are required
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ServiceAccount
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    app: polkadot
+    chart: {{ .Chart.Name }}-{{ .Chart.Version }}
+    release: {{ .Release.Name }}
+  name: {{ .Values.rbac.name }}
+{{- end }}
diff --git a/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/templates/statefulset.yaml b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/templates/statefulset.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cb741d7c9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/templates/statefulset.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+# https://kubernetes.io/docs/tutorials/stateful-application/basic-stateful-set/
+# https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/statefulset
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: StatefulSet
+metadata:
+  name: polkadot
+spec:
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app: polkadot
+  serviceName: polkadot
+  replicas: {{ .Values.nodes.replicas }}
+  updateStrategy:
+    type: RollingUpdate
+  podManagementPolicy: Parallel
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        app: polkadot
+    spec:
+      {{- if .Values.rbac.enable }}
+      serviceAccountName: {{ .Values.rbac.name }}
+      {{- else }}
+      serviceAccountName: default
+      {{- end }}
+      affinity:
+        nodeAffinity:
+          requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution:
+            nodeSelectorTerms:
+            - matchExpressions:
+                - key: node
+                  operator: In
+                  values:
+                  - polkadot
+        podAntiAffinity:
+          requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution:
+            - labelSelector:
+                matchExpressions:
+                  - key: "app"
+                    operator: In
+                    values:
+                    - polkadot
+              topologyKey: "kubernetes.io/hostname"
+      terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 300
+      containers:
+      - name: polkapod
+        imagePullPolicy: "{{ .Values.image.pullPolicy }}"
+        image: "{{ .Values.image.repository }}:{{ .Values.image.tag }}"
+        {{- if .Values.resources }}
+        resources:
+          requests:
+            memory: {{ .Values.resources.memory }}
+            cpu: {{ .Values.resources.cpu }}
+        {{- end }}
+        ports:
+        - containerPort: 30333
+          name: p2p
+        - containerPort: 9933
+          name: http-rpc
+        - containerPort: 9944
+          name: websocket-rpc
+        args:
+          - --base-path
+          - {{ .Values.image.basepath }}
+          - --name
+          - $(MY_POD_NAME)
+        {{- range .Values.nodes.args }}
+          - {{ . }}
+        {{- end }}
+        env:
+          # from (workaround for hostname)
+          # https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/inject-data-application/environment-variable-expose-pod-information/
+          - name: MY_POD_NAME
+            valueFrom:
+              fieldRef:
+                fieldPath: metadata.name
+        volumeMounts:
+        - name: polkadir
+          mountPath: {{ .Values.image.basepath }}
+        readinessProbe:
+          tcpSocket:
+            port: http-rpc
+          initialDelaySeconds: 30
+          periodSeconds: 30
+        livenessProbe:
+          tcpSocket:
+            port: http-rpc
+          initialDelaySeconds: 30
+          periodSeconds: 30
+      securityContext:
+        runAsUser: 1000
+        fsGroup: 1000
+  volumeClaimTemplates:
+  - metadata:
+      name: polkadir
+    spec:
+      accessModes: [ "ReadWriteOnce" ]
+      storageClassName: ssd
+      resources:
+        requests:
+          storage: 32Gi
+
diff --git a/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/values.yaml b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/values.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b32e6126b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/polkadot/scripts/kubernetes/values.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# set tag manually --set image.tag=latest
+image:
+  repository: parity/polkadot
+  tag: latest
+  pullPolicy: Always
+  basepath: /polkadot
+
+
+# if set to true a service account for polkadot will be created
+rbac:
+  enable: true
+  name: polkadot
+
+
+nodes:
+  replicas: 2
+  args:
+    - --chain
+    - krummelanke
+    # serve rpc within the local network
+    # - fenced off the world via firewall
+    # - used for health checks
+    - --rpc-external
+    - --ws-external
+    # - --log
+    # - sub-libp2p=trace
+    # - --validator
+    # - --key
+    # - key_name
+
+
+
+# maybe adopt resource limits here to the nodes of the pool
+# resources:
+#   memory: "5Gi"
+#   cpu: "1.5"
+