We focus on key areas like project management, digital process architecture, and data exchange. By developing digital material passports, promoting interoperability, and enabling circular economies, Chem-X is creating smarter, more resilient supply chains. We help stakeholders navigate change while fostering innovation and sustainability.
Project Management, strategy and communication has the task of ensuring that the project objectives are achieved through the integration of the individual components. These are set out in the overall project description and in the sub-project descriptions of the project partners. This includes the implementation and quality assurance of the individual results at various levels and phases of the project duration as well as the overall results of Chem-X.
Foundation lays the foundation by advancing the professional and technical architecture of the primary business processes and information exchange along the value chains. This development is intended not only to meet the increasing demands of reporting but also to enhance the competitiveness of the process industry and its customer industries through automated information exchange and verification. Data continuity and traceability provide value chain actors with data sovereignty and control over their intellectual property, enabling them to participate in data ecosystems. These ecosystems are a prerequisite for transforming linear supply chains into material cycles, supporting and enabling the transition to a sustainable, circular, resilient, and future-proof economy.
Digital material passports will serve as the data foundation for the chemical industry, enabling transparency and compliance for the industry and downstream value chain partners. By requiring digital “product passports” with accurate and current information, consumers will be empowered to make informed purchasing decisions. Increasingly, EU policies such es the ESPR, the Battery Regulation and the Critical Raw Materials Act rely on digital product passports.
As the digital Twin of the material, the digital material passport establishes the framework for scalable and efficient implementation of digital product passports in downstream industries.
This subproject ensures that the outcomes—the “WHAT”—from Subproject 2 (“Foundations”) and Subproject 3 (“Digital Material Passports”) are translated into an interoperable technical requirements profile—the “HOW.” Interoperability with the EU DPP system and compatible platforms, such as Catena-X, is essential for the widespread adoption of digital material passports in supply chains across various industries, enabling economies of scale and efficiency gains through automated and trusted data exchange.
We view interoperability as critical for seamless data exchange across domains and organizations, involving harmonized material descriptions, semantics (what we communicate), syntax (how we communicate), and context. The harmonization of semantics and syntax is a core element of Chem-X and will be addressed in a dedicated subproject on interoperability.
The following work package aims to support the integration of startups and SMEs offering innovative services for digital product passports (DPP). Within this subproject, Plug and Play will operate an accelerator and venture-client program designed to involve startups/SMEs in the standardization, development, and application of the DPP. The objectives of the work package are:
- Providing access to German and international technology
partners to support the design and development of the
DPP (both enablers and stakeholders). - Acting as a catalyst for collaborations between startups
and companies in the DPP domain and beyond, following
the venture-client approach. - Building a lead-user ecosystem within the startup
community to accelerate the dissemination and adoption
of DPP outcomes. - Showcasing and validating solutions developed by startups through demos, trade fairs, and other events and activities to enhance visibility and acceptance of DPP technologies.
The overarching goal is to ensure that innovative startups effectively contribute to the Chem-X vision while driving broad market adoption and the successful scaling of DPP solutions.