Chris S. Langdon

At CES 2026, industry leaders demonstrated how data readiness, digital twins, and dataspace ecosystems are turning Industrial and Physical AI from experimentation into production. Through PwC’s West Hall panel, an invitation-only C-suite roundtable, open showfloor engagements, and Catena-X supplier onboarding, executives from automotive, mobility, and technology aligned on a shared message: AI success now depends on “truthful” data and governed cross-company sharing. With Web3-inspired dataspace technology already live in ecosystems like Catena-X, CES underscored a decisive shift—from product innovation to production ecosystems—where interoperable, sovereign data flows enable scalable digital twins, resilient supply chains, and measurable business outcomes.

Flex leverages Catena-X to build a reusable, standards-based automotive data ecosystem. By starting small and scaling through economies of scope, Flex delivers multiregional data solutions for ECU management, certificate compliance, and supply-chain traceability, enabling sovereign data sharing, faster innovation, and cost-efficient reuse across multiple OEMs and use cases.

The Catena-X taskforce, together with CAAM, launched the “China Automotive Industry Trusted Data Space” pilot at IAA Munich, enabling secure, compliant, and scalable local data exchange for Chinese OEMs and suppliers, starting with Certificate Management. Early results show faster, traceable, and machine-readable certificate transactions, laying the foundation for future quality, sustainability, and PCF use cases.

Die Konferenz des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Energie „From Silos to Ecosystems – Creating Europe’s Digital Momentum“ (Berlin, 5.–6. Nov. 2025) hob Europas einzigartige Chance hervor, in industriellen Datenökosystemen, die durch Dataspace-Technologie unterstützt werden, eine Führungsrolle einzunehmen. Während Europa im Bereich großskaliger, allgemeiner Foundation Models möglicherweise nicht konkurrieren kann, verfügt es über einen strategischen Vorteil beim souveränen, branchenübergreifenden Datenaustausch. Keynotes und Panels betonten die Dringlichkeit der Datenbereitschaft, wobei Oliver Ganser (BMW, Catena‑X) zu einer beschleunigten Einführung aufrief, um Europas Vorsprung zu sichern. Praktische Workshops stellten Initiativen wie Manufacturing‑X, Industrial AI und das IPCEI zu Cloud-Infrastruktur und -Diensten vor, während RoX frühe Prototypen für KI-basierte Robotik-Dataspaces demonstrierte. Die Veranstaltung unterstrich, dass Europas digitales Momentum davon abhängen wird, industrielle Ökosysteme zu skalieren, sie in lokalen Clustern zu verankern und entlang der Lieferketten auszuweiten, um neue Wachstumschancen zu erschließen.

In October 2025, AIAG hosted its Detroit Triple—Quality Summit, IMDS & Sustainability Conference, and Catena-X supplier onboarding—highlighting AI-driven quality, sustainable product compliance, and streamlined data exchange via Catena-X to boost supply chain efficiency.

T-Systems and iPoint deliver a joint, production-ready Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) solution that enables end-to-end carbon transparency across the automotive value chain. Combining Catena-X-certified data exchange with decades of compliance and sustainability expertise, the solution empowers suppliers and OEMs to meet regulatory demands, integrate securely with existing systems, and scale digital sustainability — turning compliance into measurable business value.

At IAA Mobility 2025 in Munich, the spotlight was on next-gen EVs and software-defined, data-driven mobility. Catena-X and Cofinity-X demonstrated scalable supplier onboarding, cross-tier data chains, and use cases like Product Carbon Footprint tracking, highlighting the critical role of trusted data for supply chain efficiency, vehicle performance, and sustainability.

AIAG has launched the Catena-X Hub North America, advancing the adoption of trusted dataspace technology for the automotive industry. At its VIP Immersion event in Detroit, industry leaders explored use cases like Product Carbon Footprint tracking, Quality Detection and Prevention, and Demand & Capacity Management. With T-Systems and other partners driving implementation, the hub sets the stage for secure, scalable, and collaborative data sharing to boost efficiency, compliance, and innovation across the automotive value chain.

RoX launched live at Automatica 2025 with three AI-powered robotics demos, a first ecosystem dashboard, and KITs as key enablers. Backed by a €52M consortium of over 20 partners, RoX is accelerating secure, data-driven robotics innovation, proving how collaborative ecosystems can reduce complexity, unlock value, and create new growth opportunities.