IOXIO® helps mobile machine industry to boost their green transition with trusted data sharing

Dataspaces can greatly support the industry companies to improve their data based businesses and to meet the regulatory compliance with the digital product passports

IOXIO, May 24th 2023 at 12:00 AM EEST

The industry of mobile machinery used in forestry, construction, mining, and ports is experiencing the biggest technological breakthrough in its history with the rapid electrification of machines. The batteries of modern mobile work machines are smart and contain a lot of data and the value of batteries can be further increased by sharing this data between manufacturers, users and recyclers throughout the life cycle of the batteries.

For battery manufacturers, it is important to gather data on battery operation in different machines and conditions as it enables the development of even more versatile, high-quality, and durable batteries. For manufacturers and users of machine tools, obtaining battery-related data is important to optimize the performance and charging cycles of machine tools and enable battery reuse.

The data obtained from battery manufacturing and the use of work machines is also of primary importance for battery recyclers. The utilization of data enables safe and sustainable recycling. Simultaneously, data opens up new business opportunities when batteries released from use and suitable for secondary life use can be utilized as energy storages for wind turbines.

Easy and reliable data sharing between companies is key to extending the lifecycle of batteries

The SIX Mobile Machines cluster implemented an experiment, financed by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra and in cooperation with VTT, in which it tested how the use of batteries in mobile work machines can be maximized by using battery data. Testing was done at different stages of the batteries' lifecycle, from manufacturing to recycling or possible reuse. The SIX Mobile Machines cluster includes leading construction machine manufacturers and their most important partners.

"Comprehensive data obtained from battery systems at different stages of the lifecycle is important for Valmet Automotive, both in terms of battery design, manufacturing, and the aftermarket. It is essential for us to understand the effects of how batteries are used, and the battery data experiment of the SIX Mobile Machines cluster provides significant additional information that we can use to produce even better products for our customers' needs," says senior manager Juuso Kelkka from Valmet Automotive Oy.

The experiment showed that the lifecycle of work machines and their batteries can be extended with the help of productized and reliably shared data. In this way, the data obtained from the batteries can be used to build even more efficient and ecological work machines and power lines. Lifecycle information can also be used to speed up the reuse of batteries as alternative energy sources and the recycling of the materials they contain.

"This experiment is the first practical solution to respond to the European Commission's battery passport regulation, which requires the availability of battery product information throughout its entire lifecycle. The solution being tested now creates not only battery data but also wider opportunities to exchange data between organizations, and this, in turn, opens up completely new business opportunities for industrial companies," says Harri Nieminen, the head of the SIX Mobile Machines cluster from VTT.

The data exchange experimentation was carried out on the Virtual Finland testbed operated by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland which runs on top of IOXIO Dataspace service.

"The green transition and EU regulation oblige companies to quickly decide how to transfer data to digital product passports. It has been great to develop a solution for battery passports together with the leading industrial companies and to see how our technology can help companies to meet the challenges of data sharing," says Pirkka Frosti, CEO of IOXIO Oy.

The results of the experimentation, as well as the planned next steps, will be presented at the Future Mobile Work Machines event organized by the SIX cluster in Tampere on May 30th, 2023.

Check out the final report of the experimentation here (PDF).

The mobile machinery cluster includes Ponsse, Epec, Sandvik, Valmet Automotive, Valtra, Kalmar, Normet, Tana, Nokia, Danfoss, Junttan, Hevtec, Cargotec, VTT and the University of Tampere.

Read more on the website of our customer consortium (in Finnish).

For more information about the case and the experimentation, please contact

Pirkka Frosti, CEO

IOXIO

[email protected]

+358 50 524 5730