IPA exhibits at HANNOVER MESSE 2026

The updates on Open Data Spaces, the architectural paradigm for decentralized data management

Activities

At HANNOVER MESSE 2026, IPA showcases its initiatives under the banner "Open Data Spaces Explore" within the Japan Industrial Park. Through a series of presentations and exhibitions, IPA aims to promote the international adoption of the Open Data Spaces (ODS) and advance global interoperability.
These activities are designed to deepen and expand collaboration with industrial and technology communities in Japan and overseas by sharing the ODS design philosophy, core concepts, technical specifications, and real-world use cases of commercial services.

Background

In a world being transformed by the AI revolution, data has become a critical asset, as it directly determines the competitiveness of software that creates value in services.
In industries such as automotive and robotics, a fundamental reversal in the roles of software and hardware has been observed. Consequently, software-driven strategic data sharing has become a key executive challenge that defines a company′s competitive advantage. To address social issues exemplified by carbon neutrality and the circular economy, as well as economic challenges such as supply chain disruptions, it is essential to build a framework for the secure sharing and distribution of data across companies, industries, and borders.

International Activities on Data Spaces

To address these market challenges, Japan is taking a leading role internationally in the technical design of a digital infrastructure known as data spaces, working in close coordination with initiatives in other countries and regions. Key organizations—including IPA, Data Society Alliance (DSA), RRI, and The University of Tokyo (Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies)—are driving these efforts.

Together, we have positioned the ODS as the common concept for data space initiatives, covering both the core architectural paradigm and the underlying technical specifications. The ODS is being jointly and continuously improved and promoted as a national and international framework. IPA Digital Architecture Design Center (DADC) supervises the overall design of the ODS and operates as the secretariat to support coordinated promotion, communication, and collaboration with related organizations.

From the perspective of real-world deployment, the ODS is already being put into practice in Japan under the Ouranos Ecosystem (Note 2), an industrial initiative. Within this framework, the Automotive and Battery Traceability Center (ABtC) has developed a battery traceability platform—a data space for battery carbon footprint (CFP) information—and has already begun offering commercial services.

In addition, under the Project for the Development and Pilot of a Data Sharing System to Realize the Ouranos Ecosystem by NEDO (Note 3), research and development is underway on a data-sharing system that connects upstream and downstream actors for chemical substance data and resource circulation data, known as the Chemical & Circular Management Platform (CMP). In parallel, a CMP consortium has been established in the private sector, further advancing the practical adoption of the ODS in the resource circulation domain.
Beyond these areas, a growing number of use cases are emerging across various fields, including the UAS Lines and other applications that leverage the ODS in the aviation and air mobility sectors.

In Europe, where data spaces are being actively pursued, many projects are at the stage of pilot-based experimentation, but some use cases are beginning to take shape as commercial services. A notable example is the launch of the automotive industry data space operated by Catena-X Automotive Network e.V., where the Catena-X data space has entered into operation and is gradually forming a market.

• Note1
  • October 15, 2025, Press Release: Agreement to Jointly Promote the Dataspace Technical Concept As "Open Data Spaces"
  • Open Data Spaces official website
• Note2
  • Ouranos Ecosystem (from the METI website)
• Note3
  • The Project for the Development and Pilot of a Data Sharing System to Realize the Ouranos Ecosystem (from the NEDO website; only JP available)