Executive summary
In November 2025, the first peer-to-peer data transaction between a company in Korea and a company in Europe was carried out using distributed dataspace technology for secure and sovereign data exchange, based on the Tractus-X open-source code base used by Catena-X, the first open data ecosystem in the automotive industry. The data exchange was initiated and organized by Prof. Chaisung Lim, School of Business, Konkuk University, in alignment with his Industry 4.0 activities in Korea. In the spirit of Peter Drucker’s insistence that innovation should start with customers and be judged by concrete results (Drucker 1954; 1963), Prof. Lim orchestrated a setup in which L&F in Korea and the automotive division of a major Tier 1 in Europe exchanged product carbon footprint (PCF) data over a sovereign dataspace built on the Eclipse Tractus-X stack with the IDSA dataspace protocol and Gaia-X trust framework (Guggenberger et al. 2025). Prof. Lim and his team decided to engage T-Systems, both to use its software-as-a-service offerings and to leverage T-Systems’ global experience with dataspace pilots—for example, T-Systems premiered the first peer-to-peer data exchange based on Catena-X standards with Catena-X-certified products between Ford Motor Company and a major tier 1 for PCF data on a telematics ECU on a stage hosted by IBM at CES 2024 in Las Vegas (Schlueter Langdon 2024). Strategically, this first Korea–Europe transaction aligns with earlier work on dataspace interoperability and a federated trust-anchor solution developed with NTT and Fujitsu in neighboring Japan (Mertens 2025), demonstrating that data transactions based on Tractus-X dataspace technology can now travel the globe. For top management, this is not just about better, cheaper file transfer but, because it protects IP while sharing data, it enables entirely new value-creation scenarios, such as collaborating with competitors in ecosystem constellations (Adner 2017).
Data transaction scenario
A dataspace is a distributed, peer-to-peer data network that lets organizations share and use data across company and country boundaries without moving everything into a central platform. Each party keeps data in its own systems, connects via a “dataphone” (a device or service that contains a connector), and agrees on common rules for access, use, and compliance. For top management this turns cross-company data flows such as PCF, quality, or digital-twin data into a repeatable, governed capability rather than one-off integrations (Schlueter Langdon 2025; Guggenberger et al. 2025). In this case, L&F, a leading supplier of cathode active materials for EV batteries, provided PCF data for selected products. The EU tier 1, a global manufacturing partner and early Catena-X adopter, consumed this data to enrich its own product-level carbon accounting and customer reporting. Both companies face rising regulatory pressure and OEM expectations to disclose trustworthy Scope-3 emissions at component level across global supply chains.
The data transaction involved three main roles:
- Data provider – L&F: converting an internal data asset into a data offer, with access and usage policies attached, using its “dataphone.”
- Data consumer – EU tier 1: requesting L&F’s data offer and ingesting it after accepting and signing L&F’s usage policy, also via its dataphone.
- Dataspace provider (on behalf of Prof. Lim) – T-Systems: providing a Dataspace-as-a-Service layer powered by its Build & Operate product, and equipping both L&F and EU tier 1 with a dataphone connected into the DaaS based on T-Systems’ Connect & Integrate Premium, all built on Eclipse Tractus-X software. Both the DaaS offering powered by B&O and the C&I product are Catena-X-certified, as CX-Sandbox and CX Enablement Service Provider, respectively.
Implications
The first Korea–Europe data exchange between L&F and major EU tier 1 shows that Tractus-X–based dataspace technology is no longer a lab concept but an operational reality: two independent companies, in different regions and regulatory environments, can share sensitive business data peer-to-peer, under clear usage policies, without giving up sovereignty. The implications are numerous:
- Dataspace tech is building on well-established mechanisms through which IT creates value in inter-firm partnerships (Saraf et al. 2007. 2023). By turning cross-company data flows into a repeatable, governed capability via “dataphones” and Dataspace-as-a-Service, this pattern can now be reused for additional partners, use cases, and regions.
- For top management, the message is simple: now that decentralized Web3-dataspace technology has proven itself as “better file transfer” (more secure and trusted), it can also become a key instrument as a response to “ Is your company’s data ready for AI” (Davenport & Tiwri 2024), in particular differentiated GenAI results. Looking further ahead, it can evolve into a strategic foundation for new value-creation scenarios – including controlled collaboration with partners and even competitors in ecosystem constellations.
What may sound far-fetched at first has a precedent: in Web1, the Internet initially looked like “just better email,” yet over time it reshaped entire industries, with streaming players like Netflix ultimately trying to disrupt incumbents in the traditional Hollywood and broadcast ecosystem.
Appendix — Company Profiles
L&F Corp. (Korea)
L&F is a South-Korean battery-materials company specializing in cathode active materials for lithium-ion batteries, including high-nickel NCM and LFP chemistries. It supplies leading global battery manufacturers and EV producers and is expanding production capacity to support the fast-growing e-mobility market.
EU tier 1 – Automotive Division (Europe/Global)
The EU tier 1 is a global electronics manufacturing services and design company with major operations across the Americas, Europe and Asia. Its automotive division provides design, engineering, manufacturing, and supply-chain services for next-generation mobility solutions, acting as a strategic partner to OEMs for connected, software-defined components and systems.
Prof. Chaisung Lim & Korea Industry 4.0 Association
The Korea Industry 4.0 Association is an Industry Digital Transformation (IDX) organization focused on new manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and data-driven innovation. Prof. Lim has served as its founding chairman and plays a leading role in promoting dataspace-based digital transformation in Korea and internationally.
T-Systems (Deutsche Telekom Group)
T-Systems International operates the Data Intelligence Hub and offers Dataspace-as-a-Service products such as Connect & Integrate and Build & Operate, built on Eclipse Tractus-X and IDSA / Gaia-X standards. It has delivered multiple dataspace pilots and live use cases in mobility, automotive, sustainability, and robotics.
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