diff --git a/ansible/roles/assets/tasks/containerimages.yml b/ansible/roles/assets/tasks/containerimages.yml
index 02b912c..fac5068 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/assets/tasks/containerimages.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/assets/tasks/containerimages.yml
@@ -46,4 +46,4 @@
         docker://{{ item }} \
         docker-archive:./{{ ( item | regex_findall('[^/:]+'))[-2] }}_{{ lookup('ansible.builtin.password', '/dev/null length=5 chars=ascii_lowercase,digits seed={{ item }}') }}.tar:{{ item }}
     chdir: /opt/metacluster/container-images
-  loop: "{{ (containerimages_charts + containerimages_manifests + containerimages_kubeadm + dependencies.container_images) | flatten | unique | sort }}"
+  loop: "{{ (containerimages_charts + containerimages_kubeadm + containerimages_manifests + dependencies.container_images) | flatten | unique | sort }}"
diff --git a/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/roles/workloadcluster/tasks/.note b/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/roles/workloadcluster/tasks/.note
deleted file mode 100644
index dfaa60a..0000000
--- a/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/roles/workloadcluster/tasks/.note
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-    clusterConfiguration:
-      imageRepository: registry.<fqdn>/kubeadm
-
-    files:
-    - [...]
-    - encoding: base64
-      content: |
-        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
-      owner: root:root
-      path: /root/network.sh
-      permissions: '0744'
-    - content: |
-        network: {config: disabled}
-      owner: root:root
-      path: /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg.d/99-disable-network-config.cfg
-    - content: |
-        -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
-        [...]
-        -----END CERTIFICATE-----
-      owner: root:root
-      path: /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/root_ca.crt
-
-    preKubeadmCommands:
-    - [...]
-    - update-ca-certificates
-    - bash /root/network.sh
diff --git a/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/roles/workloadcluster/tasks/clusterapi.yml b/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/roles/workloadcluster/tasks/clusterapi.yml
index 1cfb7ae..6b21509 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/roles/workloadcluster/tasks/clusterapi.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/roles/workloadcluster/tasks/clusterapi.yml
@@ -40,6 +40,14 @@
     - item.path is search('.yaml')
     - item.path is not search("clusterctl.yaml|metadata.yaml")
 
+- name: Generate kustomization template
+  ansible.builtin.template:
+    src: kustomization.cluster-template.j2
+    dest: /opt/metacluster/cluster-api/infrastructure-vsphere/{{ components.clusterapi.management.version.infrastructure_vsphere }}/kustomization.yaml
+  vars:
+    _template:
+      rootca: "{{ stepca_cm_certs.resources[0].data['root_ca.crt'] }}"
+
 - name: Initialize Cluster API management cluster
   ansible.builtin.shell:
     cmd: >-
diff --git a/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/roles/workloadcluster/tasks/registry.yml b/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/roles/workloadcluster/tasks/registry.yml
index fade1d0..15a4800 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/roles/workloadcluster/tasks/registry.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/roles/workloadcluster/tasks/registry.yml
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
     ansible.builtin.set_fact:
       kubeadm_images: "{{ lookup('ansible.builtin.file', '/opt/metacluster/cluster-api/imagelist').splitlines() }}"
 
-  - name: Copy all stored rancher container images to dedicated project
+  - name: Copy kubeadm container images to dedicated project
     ansible.builtin.uri:
       url: https://registry.{{ vapp['metacluster.fqdn'] }}/api/v2.0/projects/kubeadm/repositories/{{ ( item | regex_findall('([^:/]+)') )[-2] }}/artifacts?from=library/{{ item | replace('/', '%2F') | replace(':', '%3A') }}
       method: POST
diff --git a/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/templates/kustomization.cluster-template.j2 b/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/templates/kustomization.cluster-template.j2
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ae8a6cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/roles/firstboot/files/ansible_payload/templates/kustomization.cluster-template.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
+kind: Kustomization
+resources:
+- cluster-template.yaml
+patchesStrategicMerge:
+  - |-
+    apiVersion: controlplane.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
+    kind: KubeadmControlPlane
+    metadata:
+      name: '${CLUSTER_NAME}'
+      namespace: '${NAMESPACE}'
+    spec:
+      kubeadmConfigSpec:
+        clusterConfiguration:
+          imageRepository: registry.<fqdn>/kubeadm
+  - |-
+    apiVersion: bootstrap.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
+    kind: KubeadmConfigTemplate
+    metadata:
+      name: '${CLUSTER_NAME}-md-0'
+      namespace: '${NAMESPACE}'
+    spec:
+      template:
+        spec:
+          clusterConfiguration:
+            imageRepository: registry.<fqdn>/kubeadm
+  - |-
+    apiVersion: bootstrap.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
+    kind: KubeadmConfigTemplate
+    metadata:
+      name: '${CLUSTER_NAME}-md-0'
+      namespace: '${NAMESPACE}'
+    spec:
+      template:
+        spec:
+          files:
+          - encoding: base64
+            content: |
+              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
+            permissions: '0744'
+          - content: |
+              network: {config: disabled}
+            owner: root:root
+            path: /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg.d/99-disable-network-config.cfg
+          - content: |
+              {{ _template.rootca | indent(width=6, first=True) }}
+            owner: root:root
+            path: /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/root_ca.crt
+
+patchesJson6902:
+  - target:
+      group: controlplane.cluster.x-k8s.io
+      version: v1beta1
+      kind: KubeadmControlPlane
+      name: .*
+    patch: |-
+      - op: add
+        path: /spec/kubeadmConfigSpec/files/-
+        value:
+          encoding: base64
+          content: |
+            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
+          permissions: '0744'
+      - op: add
+        path: /spec/kubeadmConfigSpec/files/-
+        value:
+          content: |
+            network: {config: disabled}
+          owner: root:root
+          path: /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg.d/99-disable-network-config.cfg
+      - op: add
+        path: /spec/kubeadmConfigSpec/files/-
+        value:
+          content: |
+            {{ _template.rootca | indent(width=8, first=True) }}
+          owner: root:root
+          path: /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/root_ca.crt
+  - target:
+      group: bootstrap.cluster.x-k8s.io
+      version: v1beta1
+      kind: KubeadmConfigTemplate
+      name: .*
+    patch: |-
+      - op: add
+        path: /spec/template/spec/preKubeadmCommands/-
+        value: update-ca-certificates
+      - op: add
+        path: /spec/template/spec/preKubeadmCommands/-
+        value: bash /root/network.sh
+  - target:
+      group: controlplane.cluster.x-k8s.io
+      version: v1beta1
+      kind: KubeadmControlPlane
+      name: .*
+    patch: |-
+      - op: add
+        path: /spec/kubeadmConfigSpec/preKubeadmCommands/-
+        value: update-ca-certificates
+      - op: add
+        path: /spec/kubeadmConfigSpec/preKubeadmCommands/-
+        value: bash /root/network.sh
diff --git a/ansible/vars/metacluster.yml b/ansible/vars/metacluster.yml
index 81adc9a..95584b3 100644
--- a/ansible/vars/metacluster.yml
+++ b/ansible/vars/metacluster.yml
@@ -220,8 +220,6 @@ dependencies:
     - quay.io/k8scsi/csi-node-driver-registrar:v2.0.1
     - quay.io/k8scsi/csi-provisioner:v2.0.0
     - quay.io/k8scsi/livenessprobe:v2.1.0
-    # This seems to be a hardcoded containerd dependency (see '/etc/containerd/config.toml' on a provisioned node)
-    - k8s.gcr.io/pause:3.6
 
   static_binaries:
     - filename: clusterctl