Highlights

Data space opens at Hannover Messe

BASF, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, ZF and many other companies are kicking things off just in time for Hannover Messe and bringing the first automotive data room to life through their participation.

Berlin, 04.04.2023: Starting April 17th, 2023 in Hall 8 at Stand D26 at the Hannover Messe, Catena-X will launch the beta phase and demonstrate data exchange for the first time with representatives of well-known corporations as well as medium-sized companies in the automotive industry.  

"At Hannover Messe, we are working with pioneers to show how automotive value chains are becoming traceable, sustainable and resilient through radical data collaboration,"
said Oliver Ganser, CEO and consortium leader of the Catena-X Automotive Network.  

BASF, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and ZF introduce four application scenarios, which will be presented at the Hanover Fair. 

Application scenario 1: Shared management of business partner data

Companies invest considerable resources to keep supplier data up-to-date. Within the Catena-X Automotive Network, a unique identifier together with a so-called Golden Report (business partner database) create a collaborative and more efficient solution for supplier management. 

"Volkswagen sees great potential in cross-company data exchange for more resilience, efficiency and sustainability in the supply chain. A central business partner database is the basis for all applications that follow the long data chain approach. It is the "single point of truth" and creates the necessary trust between partners. It also increases data quality and makes processes more efficient,"
says Dr. Sven Lorenz, Head of Group Data, Volkswagen AG. 

Application scenario 2: Continuous and reliable traceability

With the Catena-X Traceability applications, companies can track parts and components across their value chain without losing their data sovereignty: from raw materials to recycled material.  

"In times of supply shortages, traceability applications provide critical insights into the supply chain and help make it more resilient. These functionalities are being developed jointly in the Catena-X consortium. We can identify risks and their impact on production much earlier. At the same time, the mapping of the complete supply chain is an indispensable basis for all other Catena-X applications,"
says Dr Jürgen Sturm, Chief Information Officer, ZF Friedrichshafen AG.  

The Golden Record and the traceability applications are the foundation of the Catena-X data room. all other use cases can be built on this basis in a quick and efficient manner. 

Application scenario 3: Decarbonisation of the automotive value chain  

Catena-X CO2 solutions enable the reporting and management of decarbonisation along the value chain for the first time with dedicated measures based on real CO2 footprints without compromising the individual data sovereignty. 

"In order to realise our ambitious goal of CO2 neutrality across the entire value chain and in order to collect primary PCF data, Catena-X will support us and our suppliers with tools such as the CO2 Rulebook to track standardised, comparable and, most importantly, real CO2 data,"
says Rouven Rüdenauer, Director IT Mercedes-Benz Cars Operations, Mercedes-Benz AG. 

Application scenario 4: Circular economy for environmentally friendly mobility and conservation of all resources

The reuse of materials, especially batteries, is one of the most important issues for the automotive industry. The circular economy can only be enabled in the industry if new collaboration models along the entire value chain and new digital solutions are introduced. 

"Our membership of Catena-X represents a strong commitment to the automotive industry and to driving a completely new way of collaboration. The most important issues in the industry, such as traceability and the circular economy, will not be successful without the kind of collaboration that Catena-X enables - namely the switch from egosystem to ecosystem," Dr Matthias Dohrn, President Global Procurement BASF SE, is certain.  

The central theme of the Catena-X stand will be insights into the top Catena-X use cases and their benefits for companies. Catena-X also offers small and medium-sized companies, as well as developers, targeted and simple entry points to participate in the Catena-X vision.   

With the start of the Hannover Messe, all three relevant building blocks for an industrial and Gaia-X compliant data space are available for the first time: The Catena-X development environment, the Catena-X association as neutral governance and the Catena-X compliant operating environment. This enables the breakthrough for collaborative value creation in the automotive industry. 

About Catena-X Automotive Network e.V.  

Catena-X is the first collaborative and open data ecosystem for the global automotive industry. Using technological foundations, many of which are open-source, as well as numerous standards, Catena-X creates interoperability across all stages of data-based value chains - from OEM to SME. In this way, Catena-X connects automotive industry players and enables more resilient and flexible supply chain management. The founders of Catena-X include BMW AG, Mercedes Benz AG and Volkswagen AG, as well as BASF SE, Deutsche Telekom AG, Henkel AG, Robert Bosch GmbH, SAP SE, Siemens AG and ZF Friedrichshafen AG.  The Catena-X consortium is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). The association Catena-X Automotive Network e.V., based in Berlin, is the supporting organization for standardization and certification. Through the association, nearly 150 other companies have now joined Catena-X, including Stellantis, Ford, Valeo, Renault, Volvo, Continental, Magna and Denso. 

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Media Contact: 

Franziska Grammes, franziska.grammes[@]catena-x[.]net,   

Last updated:: 10/14/2023