What is Catena-X?
Catena-X is pioneering the first open and collaborative data ecosystem in the automotive industry.
Catena-X is at the forefront of creating the first open and collaborative data ecosystem specifically for the automotive sector. This initiative is crucial as the industry faces significant challenges that demand extensive cooperation among all partners in the value chain.
To tackle these challenges, Catena-X provides an open data space that enhances business processes through data-driven value chains. With a comprehensive understanding of the industry's key issues and solutions, Catena-X offers standardized and legally-secure operational frameworks.
The integrated solution approach of Catena-X focuses on essential industry elements such as digital identities, unique parts relationships, and trusted business partners. This approach is underpinned by global collaboration among all partners in the automotive value chain, ensuring data sovereignty, reliable services, secure identities, and efficient operations. Additionally, Catena-X leverages open-source collaboration and software development to achieve its goals.
SIEMENS & Catena-X
Catena-X and Siemens: Driving Sustainability in the Automotive Industry
The automotive industry is committed to reducing emissions, with low Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs) recognized as a crucial performance indicator and a significant competitive edge. Regulations like the Digital Battery Passport also require the declaration of PCFs. However, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the automotive supply chain are just beginning their digital transformation. To support this, the industry has developed the Catena-X Open Data Ecosystem, which facilitates the sharing of PCF data across the supply chain.
Founding Member and Pioneer: Siemens has been a founding member and a reliable pioneer in the Catena-X data space from the very beginning.
Certified Applications: We offer certified, ready-to-use applications that enhance sustainability, traceability and resilience in the value chain. SiGREEN is Catena-X certified solution, managing product carbon footprints along the supply chain using primary data that complies with various standards.
Industry-Specific Technology: Leveraging its expertise in Catena-X and extensive knowledge in automotive and IT/OT, we develop technology tailored to the industry's needs.
Partnership and Leadership: we maintain a close partnership with Cofinity-X within the Catena-X operating model and lead the consortium for the upcoming Factory-X dataspace.
Open Technology: We provide open technology for a connected and circular value chain, ensuring interoperability with other applications.
How does Catena-X work on SiGREEN?
SiGREEN Catena-X EDC Connector enables the PCF exchange between two companies using third party applications.
Whenever there is a PCF data exchange, there is a legal framework ensuring that the data are used just for a defined use case. This limits the usage of the PCF. This is important because when we have a PCF exchange within SiGREEN, every user of SiGREEN is following the same Siemens Terms and Conditions and there are rules on how this PCF can be used, but now we are exchanging data with a third party solution, and that's why there has to be security on exchanging the data whenever the exchange is done via Catena-X. The PCF data exchange is secured with a legal framework specifically for the defined purpose of the PCF use case.
Let's take a look at the steps:
The first thing when you join Catena-X, is the identity verification. The identity of your company is verified.
This verification is a proof that you really are the company you claim to be. This also means that now your company accepted the rules of the Catena-X ecosystem.
On Catena-X, there is interoperability, the standards are defined, it is open and everybody must be certified. If a company wants to participate in the ecosystem, they have to be certified.
We, as SiGREEN are Catena-X certified and certification makes the solutions interoperable. This is the very high value of data sovereignty.
You can subscribe to SiGREEN on the Cofinity-X Marketplace, to start exchanging data peer-to-peer within the Catena-X ecosystem.
How does EDC Connector work?
When two companies want to exchange data for whatever use case, every data exchange is standardized by a software component which is called Eclipse Dataspace Connector (EDC). It is the gateway.
When the company sharing data, puts it in a standardized data format, which is defined by Catena-X, this EDC will communicate it to another EDC and the information will be standardized. In the back end of the EDC, this goes to any business application that's behind. It can be a commercial solution, or it can be SiGREEN or any other solution.
As EDC is standardized, you don't see what is behind, if it's not a certified solution then it's no longer standardized.
This EDC reaches out to this operating company to find the Business Partner Number (BPNL) of the company you would like to exchange data with.
Catena-X is using the same technology with verifiable credentials that we are using for SiGREEN to create the trust. Catena-X is using verifiable credentials, and with a central wallet service, which is provided by Cofinity-X.
During the onboarding Cofinity-X verifies your identity, and issues your verifiable credential, puts it in a wallet, and whenever you want to exchange data, you get a verifiable proof that you share to the other company.