Exploring the Role of Federated Data Spaces in Implementing Twin Transition within Manufacturing Ecosystems

Area of Science:

• Manufacturing Ecosystems
• Digitalization
• Sustainability (ESG)

Background:

• Manufacturing ecosystems face a twin transition: digitalization and sustainability.
• Sustainability encompasses environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts across the product lifecycle.
• Business-to-business data sharing is explored as a key digitalization strategy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the role of digitalization, specifically B2B data sharing, in achieving the twin transition in manufacturing.
• To investigate the federated data space concept and International Data Spaces (IDS) architecture as enablers.
• To report initial findings from an industry-research collaboration in Finland.

Main Methods:

• Design science research methodology.
• Semi-structured interviews and diary-style reporting.
• Analysis of a proof-of-concept (PoC) experiment within an industry-research project.

Main Results:

• Industry recognizes the growing importance of data sharing for sustainability.
• Companies currently struggle to perceive value from open standard architectures beyond their immediate ecosystem.
• Challenges exist in demonstrating the broader value proposition of standardized data sharing.

Conclusions:

• While data sharing is crucial for the twin transition, its value realization is currently limited by ecosystem-specific views.
• Further research is needed to address the challenges in adopting open standard architectures for wider ecosystem benefits.
• The federated data space and IDS architecture show potential but require further development for broader industry adoption.