The German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI) and NAMUR have jointly announced the launch of Process-X. This initiative aims to promote solutions that support the sustainable use of data rooms in the process industry. The focus is on secure and efficient data rooms that facilitate the exchange of information between companies. The vision behind it: more transparency, increased efficiency and innovative business models along the entire value chain.
Process-X: A data room for the process industry
Process-X is the data room for the process industry. Here, familiar mechanisms from other data rooms are developed and tested on the basis of practical, relevant use cases to ensure that the solutions meet the needs of chemical production. A total of three initial use cases have already been defined, which will be used to test the data room for the process industry.
Predictive steam production’ use case:
- Saving CO2 through less steam that has to be produced first
- Saving energy costs through data-driven prediction of steam production
Use case ‘Waste Heat Marketplace’:
- CO2 savings through waste heat that can be reused by other companies and does not have to be cooled down
- Generate additional revenue through the sale of waste heat
- Compliance with upcoming EU regulations
Use case ‘Automated as Built’:
- Reduce manual data entry by automatically updating plant data in connected systems (CAE, ERP, etc.) and additional services such as automatic SIL loop calculation or process carbon footprint calculation.
- Fewer unplanned shutdowns due to the deep insight into the plant status and the automatic exchange of plant fault data with the manufacturer.
Separate working group for Process-X
A Joint Working Group has been set up specifically for Process-X, which will focus on the development of a data room for the process industry in the future. The working group consists of members from the following companies and organisations:
- Chair of Information and Automation Systems for Process and Materials Engineering at RWTH Aachen University
- Interessengemeinschaft Regelwerke Technik e.V. (IGR)
What is a data space?
A data space is a digital, secure area in which companies and organisations can exchange and share data without losing control of their own data. As a rule, these data spaces are provided with strict access rights and rules to ensure data protection and data security. The aim is to create a trustworthy, interoperable framework for data exchange that enables the secure and collaborative use of data.
The characteristics of a data room:
- Data sovereignty: data owners retain control over their data and determine who can access their data, when and how.
- Interoperability: Data rooms enable the exchange of data between different systems and platforms in a standardised way.
- Trustworthiness: Security mechanisms such as encryption and identity management ensure a high level of data protection and data security.
- Use cases: Data rooms can be used for many applications, e.g. for sharing sensor data, production information or for cooperative business models, such as in predictive steam production.
Further information is available at www.namur.net, www.zvei.org or www.vci.de.