The Catena-X Automotive Network eV and the OPC Foundation have entered into a strategic collaboration aimed at enabling standardized, cross-company data exchange across manufacturing sectors. This alliance is closely tied to the forthcoming EU requirement for a Digital Product Passport (DPP) by 2027, which calls for transparent, machine-readable product data across entire supply chains.
This collaboration brings together two influential ecosystems to drive digital transformation in the industrial and automotive sectors. Catena-X is the first open and collaborative data space dedicated to the automotive industry, enabling sovereign and standardized data exchange through interoperable infrastructure and semantic templates. On the other hand, the OPC Foundation is the world’s leading organization for industrial interoperability and the creator of OPC UA, a globally recognized standard for secure, structured data communication.
By merging Catena-X’s robust governance and cloud-based architecture with the OPC Foundation’s industrial modeling expertise, the partnership aims to simplify system integration and reduce errors in data reporting. A key goal of the initiative is to help companies comply more effectively with emerging regulatory frameworks, most notably the Digital Product Passport (DPP), which requires transparent and standardized product data across supply chains.
The first area of focus is semantic integration, which will involve aligning OPC UA information models with Catena-X semantic templates. This integration will create a rich library of machine-readable models designed to automate the generation of DPPs, improving efficiency and ensuring consistency in regulatory reporting.
Second, the initiative will support open-source reference implementations to enable seamless integration of OPC UA systems within the Catena-X data space. By making these tools widely available, the partners aim to lower the technical barriers for companies adopting this interoperable framework.
Finally, the cooperation will align the reference architectures of the OPC Foundation’s Cloud Initiative and Catena-X’s dataspace model, ensuring compatibility across manufacturing and supply chain environments. Additionally, the initiative will focus on industrial ecosystem enablement, empowering businesses to leverage their existing OPC UA infrastructure to meet regulatory demands such as the DPP, while also reducing integration costs and accelerating compliance across sectors.
“The OPC Foundation provides secure and standardized data access—an essential enabler for digital transformation. By linking this with Catena-X, we extend standardized information into cross-company value creation,” said Oliver Ganser, Chairman of Catena-X.
Stefan Hoppe, President and Executive Director of OPC Foundation, added, “This collaboration connects two powerful initiatives: OPC UA, as the global standard for industrial interoperability, and Catena-X, as the first automotive data space. Together, we provide companies with a practical bridge from the shopfloor to the cloud, particularly in fulfilling Digital Product Passport requirements.”
Catena-X is the first collaborative, end-to-end data ecosystem for the automotive industry, enabling standardized and interoperable data exchange across the value chain. Acting as a neutral governance body, Catena-X supports efficiency, compliance, and innovation. Founded in 2021, it now operates hubs in the USA, China, Spain, Sweden, and France, with over 300 experts engaged in shaping future standards.
Since 1996, the OPC Foundation has led the development and adoption of OPC standards, fostering interoperability across industrial automation and IT systems. With over 1,000 members worldwide, the organization supports industries ranging from manufacturing and pharmaceuticals to petrochemicals and smart energy, ensuring secure and reliable data exchange from embedded systems to enterprise-level cloud applications.
