Steering Automotive’s Digital Future with Catena-X
 

The “car of the future” isn’t just able to take flight—it’s also connected, sustainable, and meticulously tracked from raw material to end of life. But how do you calculate the carbon footprint of a vehicle made up of thousands of parts, sourced from a web of suppliers spanning the globe?

BASF has chosen to turn to Catena-X, a groundbreaking initiative poised to reshape the automotive industry’s approach to sustainability and supply chain management.

Transforming Automotive Supply Chains with Connected Data Solutions

Catena-X aims to create a connected ecosystem for the companies involved along the automotive supply chain. The collaborative project focuses on sharing data and information across different touchpoints, including manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers. The goal is to improve efficiency, transparency, and innovation throughout the entire value chain, from production to sales and after-sales services.

By enabling its member companies to share important data securely, the Catena-X ecosystem aims to help them make better decisions, reduce costs, and develop new technologies more quickly. This initiative is particularly relevant as the automotive industry continues to ambitiously tackle its challenges in highly dynamic environment.

Driving Decarbonization and Circular Economies

However, Catena-X is more than just a technological platform— it’s a step toward addressing the automotive industry’s most pressing challenges. From decarbonization to creating circular economies, the initiative’s standardized data approach is key to achieving these goals.

“To attack the big challenges of decarbonization, trustworthy collaboration, and closing the loops, we need that standardization of data,” says Dr. Andreas Wollny, Senior Manager Digitalization and a Catena-X Project Lead at BASF. “And I think that’s a big benefit for everybody joining the network.”

The initiative also sets the stage for future innovations like the battery passport, a regulatory tool to track and optimize battery lifecycle management at the end of life. By enabling traceability, Catena-X allows manufacturers to plan for recycling and resource recovery long before vehicles reach the end of their lifecycle.

“In the past, all information was very private, confidential, and inaccessible,” Wollny reflects. “But some years down the road, we need that information again to close loops and recycle. If we think in a circular way, that end-of-life vehicle in ten years might be your source of raw materials again.”

What BASF Brings to the Table

BASF’s position within the automotive value chain is unique and unprecedented for a supplier of chemistry-driven solutions. The company supplies a diverse range of materials and solutions, spanning all steps of the supply chain. This broad footprint makes Catena-X a perfectly suited tool for simplifying processes and enhancing efficiency.

“For BASF, it’s very interesting to use an approach like Catena-X because we are not only a Tier 1 or Tier 3 supplier,” explains Wollny. “We cover all steps of the value chain, with very different materials, different solutions, and different customer structures and requirements. That’s why Catena-X is a huge efficiency driver for us.”

Through Catena-X, BASF can benefit from a standardized data model that simplifies data sharing and ensures interoperability. This standardization helps address the complexity of regulatory demands and reduces inefficiencies across the industry. At the same time, the peer-to-peer network ensures trust and data confidentiality by sharing data one up and one down in the value chain.

“The modern car has an unbelievable number of components,” Wollny notes. “If you want to collect all the data by email exchanges and PDFs, that’s a huge amount of work. We cannot achieve regulation requirements without scalable solutions.”

Looking ahead and leveraging the full potential of the Catena-X ecosystem, BASF envisions a future wherein calculating the carbon footprint of a vehicle with 45,000 components is as simple as pressing a button.

PACIFIC App Empowers Carbon Management

BASF has already significantly contributed to the Catena-X ecosystem by developing the PACIFIC app, which simplifies the exchange and management of product carbon footprints. Leveraging the standards set by Catena-X, the app is a scalable solution for businesses of all sizes, providing automated updates and secure data handling.

“PACIFIC app builds on the Catena-X standards, and we used all the experience and knowledge we gained from the project,” explains Thomas Kiciak, Business Owner PACIFIC and Senior Manager Digitalization at BASF. “The next step will go beyond BASF customers to include input from other market players to take this collaborative approach to the next level.”

By adhering to privacy protocols, the PACIFIC app ensures that data remains trustworthy and secure. It enables companies to meet sustainability targets while maintaining confidentiality.

“This is about creating one app for all,” Kiciak adds. “It’s built to bring maximum value to the customer while ensuring no one can see sensitive data from other companies.”

From Germany to Globally

Although Catena-X was developed in Germany by a consortium of leading German companies, its ambitions are global. BASF’s and other members’ international presence provide the ideal framework to help scale the initiative beyond Europe. With operations already underway in Sweden, France, Spain, and the Americas— and discussions expanding to Japan and China— the initiative is gaining momentum worldwide.

“Taking something that was created in Germany, with a German focus, and making it applicable globally was our biggest challenge,” says Wollny. “At BASF, we can support this with our global presence, with local management and experts all over the world. We can explain the concept and share the vision with our customers on a global basis.”

While adoption will take time, the potential for widespread use is significant. BASF anticipates that the coming year will see a surge in original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) integrating Catena-X into their operations, with plans to eventually extend the network to include first and second tiers, then small and medium-sized enterprises.

A Simplified Future for Sustainability

As Catena-X moves toward widespread implementation globally, BASF is primed to continue lending a hand to its success. With innovations like the PACIFIC app, the first step has already been made. This, however, is just the beginning— Catena-X promises to redefine how businesses collaborate and operate for decades to come. “Next year we expect to see more and more OEMs joining the Catena-X network,” predicts Wollny. “We are ready to welcome and support everybody in this exciting joint journey in establishing true circular economies, driving sustainability within the industry and potentially through the power of the network, discovering completely new potentials and modes of operation. This fully aligns with our BASF Automotive Solutions’ vision of Driving Forward. Together.”

Click here to learn more about how BASF and Catena-X are shaping the future of the automotive industry.