Transfer

MISSION KI

By early 2025, artificial intelligence had long since made its way out of the lab and into products, processes and entire value chains. Over 40 percent of German businesses* are already using AI in their production processes, and decision-makers cite it as their number one investment priority. This dynamic growth makes AI a strategic enabler of competitiveness and value creation. The EU’s AI Act came into force on 1 August 2024. For the first time, there are now binding rules ensuring transparency, data protection and security throughout Europe. This presents companies with a huge opportunity to gain a competitive edge from using trusted AI. The conditions for doing so are good, thanks to the combination of a strong AI research landscape and industrial base, an innovative SME sector and a highly-skilled workforce.

Exploiting the wealth of untapped data

MISSION KI – National Initiative for Artificial Intelligence and Data Economy is a project that aims to pave the way for “AI made in Germany”. It seeks to promote responsible AI solutions by introducing uniform quality standards, enhance access to data across all sectors and improve the transfer of AI innovations into commercial applications, with the ultimate goal of securing Germany’s digital competitiveness. MISSION KI  is one of the key enabling projects in the German government’s digital strategy and is also an integral part of its AI strategy. acatech is responsible for various aspects of the programme, with the primary goal of optimising the availability and findability of data in order to strengthen Europe’s position vis-à-vis large non-European corporations.

But why is it actually necessary to make data easier to find? While more and more data is being generated, much of it vanishes into “data silos” in small and large enterprises and public agencies. Even within companies, it can often be difficult to make data collected in one place usable across all the different departments and divisions, either because the information is stored in different formats or because the necessary interfaces are lacking. MISSION KI aims to deliver an overview of existing data and to analyse and provide automated descriptions of data sets. This will make it possible to find and evaluate the wealth of untapped data currently languishing almost unused in silos.

Trustworthy AI “made in Germany”

The first steps towards trustworthy artificial intelligence in – and made in – Germany have already been taken. April 2024 saw the launch of a matchmaking programme that brought together small and medium-sized enterprises and innovative AI start-ups. What specific needs do SMEs have? And how can they become more innovative?

In this programme, established SMEs and AI start-ups from all over Germany engage in a close dialogue and implement joint pilot projects, further strengthening MISSION KI’s role as a key platform for the transfer of AI into commercial applications.

In order to simplify cross-sectoral and cross-border data exchange, in March 2024 a solution was presented that allows FAIR Digital Objects to be created and used in data spaces. The prototype developed by MISSION KI means that, for the first time, there is a standardised framework for the secure, widespread use of data in research and industry.

Operated in partnership with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, the first of two planned innovation and quality centres (IQZs) opened in Kaiserslautern in July 2024. As well as offering tailored advice on the development and use of artificial intelligence, the centre* will also develop new standards and testing methods designed to ensure the long-term quality and security of AI applications, especially in the field of medicine.

Standardisation is key to the safe and secure use of AI. At the end of the day, trustworthy AI is based on values like transparency and reliability, with humans retaining ultimate control at all times. But which criteria should be used to quantify and measure these values? Together with leading organisations such as PricewaterhouseCoopers International PwC and Fraunhofer IAIS, acatech developed practical test criteria that provide clear guidance for companies of all sizes. The criteria were published in a voluntary quality standard for low-risk AI applications* that was launched by MISSION KI in October 2024.

The AI quality standard is compatible with the EU AI Act and fosters innovation without losing sight of the need to use AI technology responsibly.

For all Germany’s strength in research, it lags behind other countries when it comes to translating this research into economic output. The “AI Founder Fellowship” programme was launched in November 2024 in order to encourage PhD students to turn their research findings into commercial products or services. As well as providing funding, the programme also offers participants extensive support in the shape of workshops, access to computing power and databases, and one-to-one guidance from experienced mentors. Its aim is to create a dynamic AI start-up culture and accelerate the transfer of first-class research into practice.

Measures are also being taken to facilitate access to high-quality data. MISSION KI presented a novel data set search engine at the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) data market conference in December. The landing page service allows users to carry out cross-sectoral data set searches while simultaneously analysing the quality of the data. acatech worked with partners including beebucket and deltaDAO to create a solution that helps data providers to catalogue and curate their data sets. As well as improving data transparency and reliability, it lays the foundation for a trustworthy, federated data ecosystem where AI applications can be developed efficiently and securely.

The achievements of 2024 show how MISSION KI is strengthening innovation in Germany and driving the development of trustworthy, future-ready artificial intelligence. The research community, industry and civil society are jointly developing a robust foundation to support the growth of responsible AI solutions that unlock economic potential while at the same time enjoying public acceptance.

Mobility Data Space

One problem frequently encountered by start-ups wishing to develop new, data-based mobility services is how to obtain the relevant data. Conceived by acatech and funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV), the Mobility Data Space (MDS) solves this problem by providing an online marketplace for mobility data that complies with data protection regulations and protects users’ sovereignty. The data stays with its owner, but descriptive metadata stored on the MDS portal ensures that it can be widely used for a variety of different purposes. Users of the portal can see which data is held by different providers and can enter into a contract with the data provider if they wish to use it. Since the data provider sets the terms and conditions, they retain full data sovereignty.

Finding free parking spaces and mapping potholes

The best way to appreciate the benefits of the Mobility Data Space is through concrete examples. Solita uses the data space to support municipalities by visualising information about occupancy, traffic, air quality and parking spaces in towns and cities. This information can be used to make it easier to find somewhere to park. Reducing the time taken to find a parking space by the traffic streaming into the city cuts congestion on the roads and improves air quality. The data for this use case is supplied by MobiData BW, the state of Baden-Württemberg’s cross-modal open data platform for mobility data.

Another example is Bridgestone, who use vehicle data to identify potholes, cracks and patches on the roads and provide municipalities with road condition information. Meanwhile, the City of Hamburg’s PrioBike-HH project and the Initiative for Safe Roads combine data from intersections with vehicle data, data about the city and accident statistics in order to reduce turning accidents. Special LED ground lights make it easier for turning traffic to spot oncoming road users, helping to reduce accidents, especially among cyclists.

What was new in 2024?

Three years on from the launch of the Mobility Data Space, 2024 was another busy twelve months. The tech team launched a new version of the MDS portal that makes the data space even more accessible and user-friendly, as well as making it easier to offer and trade data. It also includes new features such as Data Offer on Request, which allows data providers to just upload metadata and only provide access to the relevant data on request.

The unique selling point of the Mobility Data Space is that it is a fair data marketplace for all players in the mobility domain.

Boris Otto, Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering ISST

The Community Management team recruited new MDS users and worked to strengthen links between the existing participants in order to augment the benefits of the Mobility Data Space such as networking, matchmaking and service offers. From 2025, companies wishing to use the online marketplace will be charged a membership fee based on their turnover. This will ensure the data marketplace’s long-term stability and enable its continued growth. The Mobility Data Space has thus entered the ramp-up and commercialisation stage, raising the bar in the emerging data space sector and serving as a blueprint and model platform for several more recently established data spaces.

In addition, the new MDS Connect after-work event series offers MDS participants and interested members of the data sharing community an opportunity to discuss specific topics in an intimate, creative setting. 2024 also saw a repeat of the Community Event organised in conjunction with the Fraunhofer Transport Alliance and the House of Logistics and Mobility (HOLM). 115 participants and ten speakers shared their insights during three panel discussions. Needless to say, the Mobility Data Space also attended various trade fairs and industry events such as the Smart Country Convention and the German government’s Digital Summit.

European Mobility Data Space

Like the Mobility Data Space, the European Mobility Data Space (EMDS) enables the exchange of mobility data. Managed and coordinated by acatech, it comprises 45 partners from local authorities, the research community and the private sector. Its aim is to use innovative digital infrastructures to strengthen municipalities and regions and bring together public and private actors in order to promote sustainable, efficient mobility. Rather than the conventional centralised approach, it is based on a new data sharing vision using decentralised data storage. Mirroring the Mobility Data Space model, data is not accessed via a central platform. Instead, it is exchanged between the actors in a decentralised manner, via a European Open-Source Data Catalogue. Metadata provides information about where to find the data you are looking for, while data sharing is facilitated by a special infrastructure and automated query tool. Standard contract templates are also planned. The aim is to make it easier to access data, so that cities and municipalities can use the information to build more efficient planning tools and optimise traffic flows.

The transition to more sustainable mobility in Europe

The team investigated how all this could look in theory and which fundamental building blocks needed to be in place in a preparatory project entitled PrepDSpace4Mobility. Now the time has come to put theory into practice by creating a cross-border network of regional platforms without national-level actors. Standardisation will be key to enabling this communication model. Led and coordinated by acatech, this initiative is laying the foundation for connected data spaces that combine European standards with a robust technical infrastructure and common governance structures.

Nine use cases, from Stockholm to Flanders

In addition to the vital role of networking among the municipalities themselves, the close communication between acatech and the participating municipalities and regional actors is particularly crucial to the initiative’s success. The expertise of the acatech network and the Mobility Data Space is of course also invaluable when it comes to the sustainable, practical implementation of the solutions. Specific projects to test the basic infrastructure in real-life settings are being carried out in nine European cities and regions. While the projects address a range of different topics, they can be broadly divided into two main categories: traffic management and multimodal data, e.g. micromobility such as scooters and bicycles. How can coordination between these modes of transport and the public transport system be improved? The stakeholders have the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities, online meetings and multi-day conferences in different countries where they can share their experience and learn from each other.

The project in the Belgian region of Flanders aims to amalgamate and standardise traffic measurements data from several different sources. Data on the number of cars, bicycles and people that pass through certain locations is currently collected by many different sensors and siloed across over 500 entities. As a result, it is only used locally. The intention is to provide cross-border access to this valuable traffic information so that municipalities elsewhere can benefit from it. This will create a more complete picture that will enable more accurate traffic forecasting and, in the long run, better traffic planning.

The Stockholm project has installed multiple sensors in the city’s zero-emission zones. The sensor data is combined with information from other city council departments in order to analyse the improvement in air quality in the zero-emission zones as a result of the new regulations. But what if this data were to be made available to other actors? Sharing mobility and environmental data so it can be used by other organisations can facilitate data-driven decision-making and make for more efficient municipal planning and regulation.

Through the European Mobility Data Space, acatech is making an important contribution to the transition to more sustainable mobility and to the establishment of interoperable data spaces in Europe. In doing so, it is not only helping to introduce technological innovations but is also supporting the European ideal.

In Stockholm, multiple sensors have been installed in the city’s zero-emission zones. © deployEMDS 2024

Culture Data Space

Recent developments in the USA have highlighted the importance of a decentralised model for cultural data, too. The Pentagon has irretrievably deleted archive images honouring the service of black troops, women and other groups, much to the alarm of the European cultural sector. Is European cultural data hosted by US providers safe from assaults like this?

While private data silos controlled by just a handful of actors prevail in the USA and China, Europe is opting for an “Internet of Data” model based on interoperable data spaces.

Protecting, sharing and exploiting cultural data

One of the 18 flagship projects of the German government’s digital strategy, the Culture Data Space aims to strengthen data security and make data storage more democratic and resilient. acatech, the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the Fraunhofer FIT and various use case partners are all working together towards this end. The aim is to create a data space that combines several benefits. It will allow cultural institutions to share their data securely without losing control of it, while authorised interested parties will be able to easily access and view a huge collection of cultural data. At the same time, the project promotes cooperation between various actors from different regions, enabling innovative projects and maximising the data’s value.

Once again, the key is a special data storage infrastructure. The Culture Data Space provides a secure digital infrastructure that enables museums, theatres, etc., to keep hold of their data and retain their data sovereignty, while at the same time allowing culture professionals, creatives, cultural institutions and researchers to share and use data efficiently in a controlled environment. For example, the Culture Data Space provides a data highway that makes it possible to list all the event data for a municipality on a single website without storing the data centrally.

It also enables online exhibitions of digital artworks where the digital content never has to leave the hard drives of the participating museums. For example, it allowed the Hamburger Kunsthalle, the Alte Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden to stage a joint exhibition of the works of Caspar David Friedrich to mark the 250^th anniversary of the birth of Germany’s best-known Romantic painter. The portal offers a variety of multimedia content and formats. Digital histories allow visitors of the digital exhibition to take a deep dive into individual works, while they can also take a 360° tour or follow shortcuts to learn about the issues of the day. The web portal is being continuously developed to support the physical exhibitions in Hamburg, Berlin and Dresden.

In 2024, acatech focused on building a stakeholder network for the initiative. This involved promoting the Culture Data Space, bringing the various institutions and associations on board and engaging them in concrete use cases. It is hoped that the Culture Data Space will be formally established in 2025. The groundwork has already been done, including the drafting of a business plan based on an extensive market analysis

Trusted European Media Data Space

Whether it be news agencies, TV broadcasters or film producers, it is vital for the European media industry to keep pace with the digital revolution. Which news stories are readers interested in? Are the apparent facts at your fingertips actually reliable? Yet smaller editorial offices in particular often lack the resources needed to implement digitalisation. Fortunately, help is on its way from the Trusted European Media Data Space (TEMS), the data space for audiovisual media in Europe. TEMS offers all interested parties access to digital services and secure data sharing. Launched in October 2023, this European consortium comprises 40 organisations from across Europe in the media, culture, technology and creative industries. acatech is leading its governance activities by providing support on legal matters, organising and structuring research, developing business models and bringing the participants together. In its capacity as a consortium partner, the Academy is also involved in several sub-projects.

User behaviour, fact checking, film production and 3D data

The data space’s importance to democracy should not be underestimated – free journalism is, after all, a pillar of democracy, and strengthening data sovereignty is thus absolutely vital. The challenges will be addressed through four use cases. The first focuses on enhanced personalisation so that content reflects users’ interests as closely as possible. This will be achieved through data on user behaviour and data sharing among media companies. The second use case addresses fact checking, another area where a lot of very diverse information is required. The data space provides easy access to this data. The third use case is devoted to film and TV series production. Various questions arise during a film’s production. If German subtitles are required, for instance, can their production be simplified? Have subtitles already been produced in another language that could be used as a starting point for the German ones? The fourth use case looks at 3D data. For example, a media company producing a special report about the Louvre could use data from the Trusted European Media Data Space to project a 3D image of the famous Paris museum in the studio. Rather than having to travel to Paris, the reporter could then be filmed in front of the studio projection. A number of milestones were already achieved in 2024. A blueprint was produced setting out the data space’s commercial, technological and regulatory objectives. acatech carried out a survey of editorial teams, film producers, media companies, independent journalists, and the gaming and advertising industries in order to identify the specific requirements that TEMS needs to fulfil. The first TEMS prototype is planned for April 2025.

Gaia-X: the quality seal for data security

Germany is digitally dependent on the USA, since this is where the major cloud service providers –Microsoft, Google, Amazon et al. – used by most private individuals, government agencies and businesses are headquartered. This market concentration comes with risks – political or regulatory changes in the USA could have a direct impact on Europe’s digital infrastructure and its freedom to act as it sees fit. Moreover, the security of data stored on US servers is by no means guaranteed. As a result, there is growing pressure to strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty and push ahead with independent European alternatives. Genuine data sovereignty is critically important: we need German or European clouds and a choice between different cloud providers. This can hardly be said to exist as things currently stand. Once a company uses the cloud services of providers like Microsoft and Amazon, they encounter various technical barriers designed to stop them leaving the system, which makes switching to another provider extremely technically challenging and costly. This is often referred to as customer lock-in.

Gaia-X is an open, interoperable system that aims to deliver the necessary data security and enable a choice of providers. The goal is to create a trusted data ecosystem comprising different stakeholders and service providers who can provide or use data or data-related services. Cloud services are just one of many services that will be available – the system also encompasses common standards, data spaces and digital applications. The initiative is in no way intended to exclude hyperscalers like Amazon and Microsoft – having a choice means also being able to use the established solutions if you wish. Rather, the key criterion for participating in Gaia-X is compliance with its basic principles of data sovereignty, interoperability, openness and transparency.

The ”Gaia-X Hub Germany” national contact point and accompanying scientific research team

The central contact point in Germany is the Gaia-X Hub Germany, which acts as a kind of national data sovereignty hub. It was established in 2020 to promote the development and use of Gaia-X in Germany. acatech is home to the Hub’s coordination office and the accompanying scientific research team for Gaia-X in Germany. The Gaia-X Hub brings together representatives of science, industry, government and civil society to share experiences and gain insights that they can then put into practice. Communities and sector-specific working groups have already been established for a total of 15 socially important sectors including agriculture, finance, healthcare, mobility, Industrie 4.0 and energy.

At the centre of the [Gaia-X] technology is a kind of online passport for businesses. It provides companies wishing to share data with a form of identification and allows them to ensure that only users with the relevant permissions are able to access this data on request.

Jan Fischer, Head of the Gaia-X Hub Germany at acatech

Since the start of 2022, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) has supported eleven consortia under the Gaia-X funding competition. Comprising members from science, industry and civil society, the consortia are developing innovative solutions and business models for different areas of application. The accompanying scientific research team has continuously supported and documented this process, publishing a total of 25 white papers, position papers and blog posts. At the end of the project in November 2024, the eleven consortia presented their experiences and the results of their work at the Gaia-X Expo in Berlin, which was also organised by the accompanying scientific research team. The results can be used as a blueprint for future innovative data spaces and pioneering data-driven business models.

In May 2024, the Gaia-X-Hub embarked on a roadshow across Germany to raise awareness about the initiative among small and medium-sized enterprises. What is Gaia-X? And what opportunities does data space technology have to offer? In conclusion, in 2024 the Gaia-X team was able to spark several companies’ interest in innovative, data-driven business models through various discussion formats and workshops, through its presence at over 12 trade fairs and conferences and through nine roadshow events.

The Gaia-X Hub published a position paper and two white papers in 2024:

• Gaia-X und Geschäftsmodelle: EuProGigant als Fallbeispiel für Industrie 4.0*
• Governance von Datenräumen*
• Setting the Course: Gaia-X and the Future of data-centric Government

* Content only available in German