Autonomic Communication aims to reduce complexity and management costs of modern communication services and networks. Au- tonomic Communication Elements (ACEs) are seen as the basis of auto- nomic communication systems. A main research task of the CASCADAS project is the definition of a component model for ACEs and the release of an open-source toolkit to simplify creation of autonomic communication systems. This paper presents the current progress of the CASCADAS project in defining the ACE component model. A platform abstraction concept is presented along with the basic structures that will be re- searched within the project. A basic model for ACEs is introduced and exemplified in regard to its properties and requirements. The idea of a Service Execution Environment (SEE) ACE is introduced, which en- ables a homogeneous and self-similar hosting environment. The paper concludes with a discussion of the model and a presentation of open top- ics, giving insight into the current state of discussion.