Episode 46 of the Data Navigator podcast focuses on data rooms, digital sovereignty and the question of how Europe can create trustworthy data infrastructures.
The guest is Ulrich Ahle, CEO of Gaia-X and previously long-standing CEO of the FIWARE Foundation. He has more than thirty years’ experience in the IT sector – including stints at Nixdorf Computer, Siemens and Atos – and was also mayor of Etteln, ‘Germany’s most digital village’.
In the interview, Ulrich Ahle explains why Gaia-X does not want to be a European hyperscaler. Rather, the aim is to establish a set of rules and an open-source infrastructure that enables decentralised, trustworthy data spaces based on European values.
Key components of Gaia-X are digital identities and a compliance framework with various levels of sovereignty. At the highest level, only European providers are to be able to meet the requirements – in particular to prevent access via extraterritorial regulations such as the US Cloud Act.
A practical example is Catena-X, the automotive industry’s data space. Of particular relevance here is the digital battery passport, which will become mandatory from 18 February 2027. It is intended to provide a wide range of information covering the entire life cycle of a battery – from raw materials and the carbon footprint to residual capacity. Data rooms can help to make complex supply chains more transparent and significantly simplify data exchange compared with bilateral solutions.
Ulrich Ahle will also discuss Gaia-X’s role in implementing the Data Act. The combination of data room technology and statutory data access rights could help to increase the willingness to share data. This is because, in trusted data rooms, it is technically possible to specify who is permitted to use data, what it may be used for, and for how long.
Another key focus is the international development of data rooms. As the Data Act applies only in Europe, but global supply chains require cross-border data flows, Gaia-X is working on a geographical expansion of the Trust Framework – for example, with a view to Japan, Korea, Canada or Brazil. China and various African countries are also exploring similar concepts.
Ulrich Ahle’s key message is that the technology for data rooms is now largely in place. What matters now is practical application, operational implementation and viable business models. Only if data rooms are brought to market on a permanent basis can they realise their full potential for digital sovereignty, data usage and European competitiveness.
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