We build semantic foundations for dataspaces with a special focus on material data, making it interoperable and unambiguous across systems and organizations.

Material data exists everywhere, but remains difficult to use beyond its original context.

Data sits in different systems and formats. Meaning is often implicit. Integration requires manual effort. As a result, knowledge cannot be reused reliably across organizations or along the value chain.

We work on the semantic layer of dataspaces.

Industrial dataspaces such as Catena-X enable secure data exchange and sovereignty. Semantics ensures a consistent understanding of data across systems and organizations.

We connect both.

While our work is driven by material data, the underlying concepts apply wherever data needs to be consistently understood and reused.

Our focus:

• semantic models and ontologies for clear interpretation
• machine-readable material knowledge
• interoperable structures across tools and domains
• integration into dataspaces and digital ecosystems
• data foundations that enable AI, ML, and chatbot-based applications

The goal is simple: data that can be directly used, not just exchanged.

This work is part of materials informatics activities at Fraunhofer IWM.

More information:
https://www.iwm.fraunhofer.de/en/services/manufacturing-processes/software-solutions-materials-informatics.html

If data is interoperable and unambiguous, it becomes usable for automation.

This enables:

• reliable reuse of knowledge
• faster and better decisions
• less manual integration effort
• scalable use of data in advanced applications

This is an open effort.

If you work with material data, dataspaces, or semantics, have a look at the repositories or get in touch.