The deployEMDS project participated in the OpenTwin International Ideathon 2026, contributing to discussions on how trusted mobility data spaces can support the next generation of cross-border Digital Twins.
The event brought together researchers, public authorities, industry representatives, and Digital Twin experts to explore the technologies, governance models, and collaborative approaches needed to advance interoperable digital infrastructures across Europe.
The Ideathon opened with an address by Christian Schlosser, Ph.D (Head of Unit, Digital Transformation of the Infrastructure Sector, Federal Ministry of Transport, Germany (BMV)), who highlighted the growing importance of Digital Twins in infrastructure management. He emphasised how Building Information Modelling (BIM), integrated data, and real-time information are transforming the planning, operation, maintenance, and monitoring of infrastructure assets throughout their lifecycle. He also underlined how the OpenTwin initiative builds on previous Digital Twin research by extending collaboration to the European level.
deployEMDS, represented by the project coordinator, Philippe Calvez, Ph.D. (acatech), participated in the OpenTwin International Ideathon 2026 as a speaker in the workshop Mobility Data Spaces and Standards, which explored how mobility data spaces can make data more findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) to support scalable and cross-border Digital Twin applications. The opening presentation by Sophie Meszaros from Open & Agile Smart Cities & Communities introduced the European Data Space for Smart Communities as a federated ecosystem connecting cities, sectors, data, and services across Europe. While demonstrating the potential of federated catalogues, shared access management, and service reuse, the presentation also highlighted ongoing challenges, including fragmented connector ecosystems and the need for stronger semantic interoperability across sectors.
During his presentation, Philippe Calvez outlined deployEMDS’s approach to making mobility data easier to discover, access, share, and reuse within a trusted European environment. He explained that mobility Digital Twins depend on live, reliable data from a wide range of stakeholders, including transport operators, cities, mobility platforms, and national authorities, but that this information often remains fragmented across organisations and national borders.
He identified two fundamental capabilities required to enable transnational Digital Twins: trusted access and interoperability. Trusted access ensures that data providers retain control over who can access their data, for what purpose, and under which agreed conditions. Interoperability ensures that data exchanged between different systems and countries follows shared standards, allowing it to be consistently understood and reused.
To address these challenges, deployEMDS builds on existing European standards and reusable components that support trusted data exchange through federated identity management, data discovery, metadata catalogues, and controlled access mechanisms. By combining these building blocks, the project contributes to creating an environment where mobility data can be securely exchanged and reused across borders while maintaining trust between all participating actors.
The subsequent discussion reinforced many of the themes presented by deployEMDS. Participants agreed that long-term sustainability remains one of the main challenges for both Digital Twin and data space initiatives. While many projects have successfully demonstrated technical feasibility, long-term deployment requires sustainable governance, institutional ownership, stable funding models, and clear value propositions.
Trust also emerged as a central prerequisite for successful data sharing. Participants emphasised that organisations must know who is accessing their data, for which purposes, and under what conditions. Building this trust requires not only technical solutions such as federated identities, verifiable credentials, and secure access management, but also transparent governance and clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
Another key discussion point focused on connecting data spaces across sectors and national borders. While participants agreed that federation significantly increases the value of data spaces, they also recognised that achieving interoperability requires greater alignment of connectors, standards, identities, access rules, legal frameworks, and governance models. The current lack of standardised and interchangeable connectors remains an important challenge for future implementation.
The workshop concluded with broad agreement that mobility data spaces can become an essential enabling layer for transnational Digital Twins, provided they deliver clear practical value. Their strength lies in enabling trusted, interoperable, and governed data exchange across organisations, sectors, and countries.
The discussions at the OpenTwin International Ideathon confirmed the growing importance of trusted mobility data spaces in Europe’s Digital Twin ecosystem. Through its work on interoperable standards, trusted data exchange, and reusable technical components, deployEMDS continues to contribute to the development of a secure, scalable, and connected European mobility data space.