Header Resources

Interoperability review highlights fragmented standards and the need for a connected future

/in , , , , , , /by

A recent review that looks at interoperability within the materials and manufacturing sector has been published in The Journal of Industrial Information Integration. Although several reviews have been published on this topic, this review takes a broad look at the barriers to interoperability with regards to data from a European perspective.

Vast swaths of data are created within materials science and manufacturing. Enabling all this data to be understood and re-used across systems is an enormous barrier to being able to make the most of the knowledge it contains. This review analysed the breadth of work taking place and the differences that exist between everyone’s interpretation of interoperability.

 

A figure showing the current interoperability landscape covered in the review article. Reprinted from the Journal of Industrial Information Integration, Vol 51, Chiacchiera S, et al., “An analysis of interoperability in materials and manufacturing: Definitions, classifications, requirements, and recommendations”, 101116.

 

Defining moment

When the authors looked at how interoperability was expressed across research and industry, they found a surprising variety of definitions. The review compares 18 definitions of interoperability, 22 classification schemes and 15 definitions of semantic interoperability, identifying 65 different interoperability types overall.

To support the transition towards Industry 5.0, interoperability will be crucial for the effective and efficient use of semantic technologies and knowledge representations, so current conflicting terminology and incompatible frameworks are impractical. Future systems will require stronger collaboration to allow people and automated systems to work together more effectively. Therefore, real interoperability, in which information retains the same meaning across platforms, is becoming increasingly important.

Standard issue

The review highlights that even when FAIR guidelines are being implemented, its flexible interpretation results in incompatibility issues. Here, the authors recommend more precise terminology and definitions alongside robust coordination initiatives. For improved data re-use, ontologies and controlled vocabularies will become essential, particularly as emerging technologies and digital twins add additional layers of complexity for standardisation.

Overall, the outlook is optimistic. Interoperability is an evolving and significant challenge. Even so, the considerable human efforts to support standardisation across Europe together with greater use of semantic technologies and shared data will provide support for future digital manufacturing systems.

An analysis of interoperability in materials and manufacturing: Definitions,
classifications, requirements, and recommendations

was written by Silvia Chiacchiera, John Breslin, Ana Teresa Correia, Jesper Friis, Emanuele Ghedini, Gerhard Goldbeck, Martin Thomas Horsch, Mohamed Hedi Karray, Bjørn Tore Løvfall, Jinzhi Lu, Ilaria Maria Paponetti, María Poveda-Villalón, Arkopaul Sarkar, Umutcan Serles, Ilian T. Todorov, Noel Vizcaino, Lan Yang and Francesco Antonio Zaccarini.

An analysis of interoperability in materials and manufacturing_paper

The version of record of this review is available here.

Acknowledgement

This work is a development and extension of a deliverable for the OntoCommons project, D3.8 – Report on the finalized Review of Domain Interoperability. This work has received funding from the European Commission under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme GA No. 958371 (OntoCommons), Horizon 2020 GA No. 953163 (DOME), Horizon Europe GA Nos. 101137725 (BatCAT) and 101091687 (MatCHMaker), Research Council of Norway RCN 309584 (SFI PhysMet), and Research Ireland Grant 12/RC/2289_P2 (Insight).

An photo of Homerton College, Cambridge, UK

Advanced Battery Manufacturing Workshop Success

/in , , , , , , , /by

Last week the much-anticipated Advanced Battery Manufacturing Workshop took place in the beautiful grounds of Homerton College, Cambridge, UK.

This collaborative meeting, hosted by the BatCAT, BATTwin and AM4BAT projects, bought together over 160 delegates to hear 30 speakers showcasing their latest breakthroughs in data systems and digital twins, solid-state lithium-ion batteries, advanced battery manufacturing and innovative cell assembly techniques.

It was a great event and, we hope, a number of new collaborations have been forged as a result. We could not have hosted such a great event without all of our speakers. Our thanks go to:

Fadi Al Manchot (Norwegian University of Life Sciences)

Dimitris Argyropoulos  and Dionysis Zisis (Sunlight)

Ana Bankovic Cassidy (Cambridge Nanomaterials Technology)

Erwan Le Bourhi (N-ABLE)

Elisa Buccafusco (Politecnico di Torino)

Qiong Cai (University of Surrey)

Marcello Colledani (Politecnico di Milano)

Matthew Evans (University of Cambridge and Datalab Industries)

Mona Faraji Niri and Dariusz Ceglarek (University of Warwick)

Timm Fitschen (IndiScale)

Karol Frohlich (Centre for Advanced Materials Application SAS)

David Gonzalez (Universidad Loyola)

Martin Thomas Horsch (Norwegian University of Life Sciences)

Gergely Horváth (HUN-REN Computer Science and Control Research Institute)

Bastien Hualpa de Schuyter (Leitat Technological Center)

Masoud Jabbari (University of Leeds)

Anmol Jnawali (Photocentric)

David Keating (Echion Technologies)

Amirhossein Khezri (LISPEN)

Sudeepika Liyanapathiranage (Norwegian University of Life Sciences)

Donia Marzougui (Upcell Alliance)

Alessia Melechì (Comau)

Robert Mitchell (Centre for Process Innovation)

Andreas Rauh (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg)

Aleksandra Roganović (ElevenEs)

Rachel Smith (University of Sheffield)

Wenxian (Hetty) Sun and Mao (Maggie) Xu (University of Greenwich)

This event was covered by the local press. The screenshot is reproduced from the e-edition April 29–May 5, 2026, Cambridge Independent.

Joint workshop in Cambridge Independent cropped

 

Here are a selection of photos from the event.

Photos credits: Gerhard Goldbeck and Vikki Cantrill, both Goldbeck Consulting.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Acknowledgement

This event has received funding and support from The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency under grant agreement no. 101137954 (BATTwin) and from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee [grant number 10118186 (BATTwin)], the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement nos. 101069756 (AM4BAT), and 101137725 (BatCAT), and from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee [grant number 10091190 (BatCAT)].

 

 

Event announcement: Advanced Battery Manufacturing Workshop

/in , , , , , , , /by

Advanced Battery Manufacturing Workshop

A collaborative meeting of the BatCAT, BATTwin and AM4BAT projects

16–17 April 2026

 Homerton College, Cambridge, UK

Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8PH

This hybrid event will bring together leading experts, researchers, and stakeholders to explore cutting-edge advancements in battery manufacturing technology.

The workshop is being co-organised by the BatCAT, BATTwin and AM4BAT projects to create a unique platform to showcase the latest breakthroughs in data systems and digital twins, solid-state lithium-ion batteries, advanced battery manufacturing and innovative cell assembly techniques.

Attendees will have the opportunity to:

  • gain in-depth insights into the progress, objectives, and results of the partner projects,
  • join expert-led technical sessions that will highlight the emerging trends in battery manufacturing and digital twins,
  • connect with key researchers, engineers, and manufacturers from the battery community,
  • participate in discussions and networking opportunities on the challenges and opportunities for sustainable, high-performance battery cell production.

The event is free to attend and, to make the most of the two-day programme, attendance in-person is highly recommended. All delegates need to register. The full programme, including technical sessions, panels, and networking opportunities, is available here.

Our confirmed speakers are:

Fadi Al Manchot (Norwegian University of Life Sciences)

Dimitris Argyropoulos  and Dionysis Zisis (Sunlight)

Ana Bankovic Cassidy (Cambridge Nanomaterials Technology)

Fabrizio Bernini (Bi-rex)

Erwan Le Bourhi (N-ABLE)

Elisa Buccafusco (Politecnico di Torino)

Qiong Cai (University of Surrey)

Marcello Colledani (Politecnico di Milano)

Matthew Evans (University of Cambridge and Datalab Industries)

Mona Faraji Niri and Dariusz Ceglarek (University of Warwick)

Timm Fitschen (IndiScale)

Karol Frohlich (Centre for Advanced Materials Application SAS)

David Gonzalez (Universidad Loyola)

Martin Thomas Horsch (Norwegian University of Life Sciences)

Gergely Horváth (HUN-REN Computer Science and Control Research Institute)

Bastien Hualpa de Schuyter (Leitat Technological Center)

Masoud Jabbari (University of Leeds)

Anmol Jnawali (Photocentric)

David Keating (Echion Technologies)

Amirhossein Khezri (LISPEN)

Sudeepika Liyanapathiranage (Norwegian University of Life Sciences)

Donia Marzougui (Upcell Alliance)

Alessia Melechì (Comau)

Robert Mitchell (Centre for Process Innovation)

Andreas Rauh (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg)

Aleksandra Roganović (ElevenEs)

Rachel Smith (University of Sheffield)

Wenxian (Hetty) Sun and Mao (Maggie) Xu (University of Greenwich)

Artur Tron (Austrian Institute of Technology)

 

UPDATE: Registration to attend in person has now closed. Online registration is still open.

You can register to attend here.

The venue

Homerton College, Cambridge is located just a short distance from the city’s main train station and the city centre. Click here for directions and information about accommodation, and here for an annotated map of the college grounds. When arriving at the college it is best to enter via the Events Reception entrance on Harrison Drive. Alternatively, participants can enter via the Porters’ Lodge on Hills Road and then make their way across the college to reach the Events Reception.

Acknowledgement

This event has received funding and support from The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency under grant agreement no. 101137954 (BATTwin) and from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee [grant number 10118186 (BATTwin)], the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement nos. 101069756 (AM4BAT), and 101137725 (BatCAT), and from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee [grant number 10091190 (BatCAT)].

 

 

Semantic Data Management Maturity Survey Report

/in , , , , , /by

The first results are in!

In September of 2025, Semantic Materials launched their Semantic Data Management Maturity Assessment Service. Part of this service includes a self-assessment survey that enables materials and manufacturing businesses to investigate strengths and weaknesses and alignment with business goals when it comes to implementing effective semantic data and knowledge management systems.

This initial report appraises the results received so far. The results show that current maturity levels are relatively low, with fragmented data management preventing efficient collaboration. And although staff are often aware of the need for more efficient data integration, a lack of standardised workflows may be hindering progress.

The survey provides insights into the key issues of knowledge management:

  • Data
  • Processes
  • People
  • Tools and technologies

To take the survey for yourself and learn more, the service is free to access here – Semantic Data Management Maturity Assessment Service.

Semantic Data Management Maturity Survey – Initial Results Analysis

was written byVikki Cantrill and Gerhard Goldbeck.

MaturityServiceResults_report_FINAL

A version of record of this report is available here.

Acknowledgement

This study has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no. 862136 (OntoTrans) and the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no. 101137725 (BatCAT), and from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee [grant number 10091190].

 

 

Metadata for cataloguing datasets from materials science and related domains

/in , , , , , , /by

There are vast amounts of data available within materials science and only a fraction of these are published. Such data can come from research and development or manufacturing and span experimental data, simulations and may be from diverse laboratories. Indeed, much data is often lost or inaccessible because the metadata is often lacking and inconsistent, and experimental protocols can vary.

[We have written about the importance data catalogues in materials science previously over on our Semantic Materials site]

To help address these concerns, a considerable body of work has been undertaken by the RDA Working Group “Harmonised terminologies and schemas for FAIR data in materials science and related domains” supported by RDA TIGER and RDA Europe. This work has identified a set of strategies to improve the FAIR maturity of materials data, for example, regarding the need to have “Rich metadata… to allow discovery”.

A primary outcome from this work has been a report that, with a global perspective, reviews the state of the art, with a particular focus on the current two most used frameworks, DCAT and Schema.org, and the use of metadata for materials data cataloguing in general.

The report looks at how scientists organise and describe materials science datasets so they can be easily found, shared, and reused. It provides an overview of international efforts in the US, Europe, Japan, and Korea to create common standards for metadata and outlines some implementation cases. The report also highlights successes, gaps, and recommendations for harmonising metadata and how this could be achieved across countries and disciplines in the future.

Metadata for cataloguing datasets from materials science and related domains

was written by Otello Roscioni and Gerhard Goldbeck.

Metadata for cataloguing datasets from materials science and related domains-1

A version of record of this report is available here.

Acknowledgement

The work described here and the report has received funding from the RDA TIGER and RDA Europe and from European Commission under the European Union’s Horizon Research and Innovation programme, GA No. 101137725 (BatCAT), and by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee, GA no 10091190 (BatCAT).

 

 

An overview of 2025!

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Another busy year at Goldbeck Consulting during 2025, so here we take a moment to reflect on the highlights from the last 12 months. Our sincere thanks go out to our clients, partners and collaborators, and we look forward to what 2026 will bring!

We successfully completed two EU-funded projects early in the year, OpenModel and nanoMECommons, and we are just over half-way through one of our other projects, BatCAT, for which we just completed the alignment of ontologies with the EMMO.

This year also saw the successful launch of Semantic Materials — the semantic technologies branch of Goldbeck Consulting Ltd. Semantic Materials brings together a team of experts and partner organisations in Europe to support clients in chemicals and materials industries in building science-based, data-centric knowledge management systems.

As part of the Semantic Materials initiative, we also announced a new, working collaborative agreement with Semantic Partners, known for their technology stack expertise. We look forward to continuing work with them throughout 2026.

And, we developed our Semantic Data Management Maturity Assessment Service, a self-assessment tool to give you insight into the key issues of knowledge management.

 

Our work has enabled us to take part in several events, like

Cecam’s Workshop on Interfacial Properties: Open Questions

EMMC 2025 International Workshop

PSDI Materials Community Workshop

FEMS EUROMAT 2025

The Harmonised terminologies and schemas for FAIR data in materials science and related domains WG workshop – “Data Cataloguing for Materials Science and related domains”.

RDA 25th Plenary Meeting

Semantic Materials Workshop 2025

 

Alongside the events attended, there have been numerous presentations and posters:

Managing the complexity of multiscale modelling with semantic technologies by Otello Roscioni.

Knowledge representation of battery manufacturing supported by an integrated ontology system by Gerhard Goldbeck, Silvia Chiacchiera, Martin Petit and Martin T. Horsch.

Materials knowledge and data representation with a European ontology ecosystem by Gerhard Goldbeck

EMMO Ontology: enabling AI-based innovative advanced materials development: the CoBRAIN Knowledge Base for hardmetal thermal spraying coatings by Gerhard Goldbeck and Emanuele Ghedini

EMMO: an ontology based on universal materials science concepts by Gerhard Goldbeck

 

Publications have also been key to our work this year:

Application of the CHADA Workflow (CWA 17815:2025) for High-Speed Nanoindentation Mapping on Battery Cathodes by Daniele Duranti et al.

Training for the new CHADA was published.

Published paper Easy-MODA: Simplifying standardised registration of scientific simulation workflows through MODA template guidelines powered by the Enalos Cloud Platform Iseult Lynch, Antreas Afantitis et al. This publication supports the use of Easy-MODA – a free web tool for researchers to document and register complex modelling workflows.

Knowledge organisation and intelligent R&D for chemicals and materials industries – A workshop report by Gerhard Goldbeck, Vikki Cantrill, Ferry Kienberger, and Alexandra Simperler

 

Finally, our semantic technologies work has led to an approved CEN workshop agreement and the release of two ontology versions:

A new CEN Workshop Agreement on Materials characterization – Terminology and structured documentation has been published. This new agreement provides a standardised framework, called the CHAracterisation DAta (CHADA) model that documents materials characterization processes in a structured and consistent manner.

Released Characterisation Methodology Domain Ontology (CHAMEO) v1.0 for characterisation terminology and metadata.

Released the Elementary Multiperspective Material Ontology (EMMO) v1.0 as a standard representational framework for the materials and manufacturing sectors in collaboration by many within the EMMC community.

Overall, a great year and we are looking forward to 2026!

 

OpenModel project logo
EMMC logo

 

RDA 25th Plenary Meeting

/in , , , , , , /by

This morning, Gerhard participated online in a session of the RDA 25th Plenary Meeting, which formed part of International Data Week 2025 (13–16 October) that is running currently in Brisbane, Australia.

This event marked the final meeting of the Harmonised terminologies and schemas for FAIR data in materials science and related domains Working Group that Gerhard has been co-chairing. A number of topics were covered, including a short summary of work made possible by the generous funding from the RDA TIGER support scheme. The Working Group will now work to finalise its report that will include recommendations for field guides for increasing the FAIR maturity of data as well as semantic artefacts in materials science communities.

 

Acknowledgement

This work has received funding from European Commission under the European Union’s Horizon Research and Innovation programme, GA No. 101137725 (BatCAT), and by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee, GA No. 10091190 (BatCAT).

 

EMMC logo

EMMO: A universal materials science ontology

/in , , , , , , /by

Now that the 18th European Congress and Exhibition on Advanced Materials and Processes, FEMS EUROMAT 2025, has drawn to a close in Granada, Spain, we reflect on the second of Gerhard’s talks that he gave on Thursday as part of the “Digital materials: rapid materials, experiments, simulation workflows, ontologies and interoperability” session. The talk was entitled: EMMO: an ontology based on universal materials science concepts.

In his talk, Gerhard highlighted that top level ontologies (TLO) involve a stronger commitment to what things are and how they relate to each other than schema. Gerhard introduced EMMO as a TLO committed to a science-based world view, with added common-sense perspectives that enable the same material thing to be described in different ways. He then went on to explain the TLO ISO standard, which provides a way for TLOs to document their commitments to different concepts, such as space and time.

For those just beginning their journey in semantic technologies, Gerhard also introduced EMMO-LITE, a user-friendly version of EMMO with the most widely used concepts for applications in materials sciences that does not require the user to have specific physics or philosophical expertise. Finally, examples from different projects, like BatCAT, were discussed.

For anyone interested in learning more about the differences between schema and ontologies and how the latter offers a more robust, future-compatible solution, we recommend the newsletter article When Standards Fail by John Bittner as part of his series of newsletter called Semantically Speaking.

 

 

The EMMC works across Europe in the area of development, validation, adoption and industrial exploitation of materials modelling with a strong focus on digital tools and data, fostering interoperability, and standardisation so enterprises can become more sustainable, competitive and innovative.

EMMO — formally the Elementary Multiperspective Material Ontology — is a top-level ontology framework for materials, their properties, structures, and processes.

Here is a copy of Gerhard’s presentation today:

 

Acknowledgement

This work was presented on behalf of the EMMC and has received funding from European Commission under the European Union’s Horizon Research and Innovation programme, GA Nos. 101092211 (CoBRAIN), 101091912 (AID4GREENEST), and  101137725 (BatCAT), and by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee, GA no 10091190 (BatCAT).

 

EMMC logo

EMMO: enabling AI-based advanced materials development

/in , , , , , , /by

The 18th European Congress and Exhibition on Advanced Materials and Processes, FEMS EUROMAT 2025, is now underway in Granada, Spain.

Gerhard spoke to a full conference room with his keynote talk entitled: EMMO Ontology: enabling AI-based innovative advanced materials development: the CoBRAIN Knowledge Base for Hardmetal Thermal Spraying Coatings. This keynote talk formed part of the “Artificial intelligence, modelling and data science in advanced alloy and process design” session with Gerhard presenting the work on behalf of the European Materials Modelling Council (EMMC).

The presentation highlighted the challenges of FAIR data management in materials sciences, experience of an EU project (CoBRAIN) with building a knowledge base from the project data, lessons learnt and ways forward for improving the state of affairs. Much data is lost, so we urgently need to address this issue, otherwise materials science will not be able to maximise the opportunities of AI. A proposed data community effort to develop a ‘data cataloguing standard’ for materials data (a so-called Materials DCAT-AP) was very well received.

A photo of a small busy room of people watching Gerhard Goldbeck present a talk on a screen at the front of the room

Gerhard presenting his talk at the EUROMAT2025 conference

Similar ideas will also be discussed at the forthcoming Research Data Alliance working group meeting on “Harmonised terminologies and schemas for FAIR data in materials science and related domains” on Wednesday 24 September, 11.30am—13.30pm UTC.

The EMMC works across Europe in the area of development, validation, adoption and industrial exploitation of materials modelling with a strong focus on digital tools and data, fostering interoperability, and standardisation so enterprises can become more sustainable, competitive and innovative.

EMMO — formally the Elementary Multiperspective Material Ontology — is a top-level ontology framework for materials, their properties, structures, and processes.

If you are attending the FEMS EUROMAT 2025 meeting this week, Gerhard would be happy to discuss all the projects that we are working on here at Goldbeck Consulting, our European projects, such as BatCAT, and our work at Semantic Materials.

 

Here is a copy of Gerhard’s presentation today:

Goldbeck_EMMC_EUROMAT2025

 

Acknowledgement

This work was presented on behalf of the EMMC and has received funding from European Commission under the European Union’s Horizon Research and Innovation programme, GA Nos. 101092211 (CoBRAIN), 101091912 (AID4GREENEST), and  101137725 (BatCAT), and by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee, GA no 10091190 (BatCAT).

 

EMMC logo

Heading to FEMS EUROMAT 2025

/in , , , , , , /by

Are you going to be at the FEMS EUROMAT 2025 meeting next week?

The 18th European Congress and Exhibition on Advanced Materials and Processes will run from Sunday 14–Thursday 18 September 2025 in Granada, Spain. The meeting and exhibition will cover a whole range of topics, including materials characterisation, testing and mechanical properties, modelling and sustainability.

Gerhard will be attending this meeting, so come along, have a chat and learn more about the work that we do.

He will be representing the European Materials Modelling Council (EMMC), and will be giving the keynote talk as part of the “Artificial intelligence, modelling and data science in advanced alloy and process design” sessions on Monday 15 September at 9.20–10.20am. His talk will be entitled: EMMO Ontology enabling AI-based innovative advanced materials development: the CoBRAIN Knowledge Base for Hardmetal Thermal Spraying Coatings.

A second presentation will also take place on Thursday 18 September at 2.30–4.30pm within the “Digital materials: rapid materials, experiments, simulation workflows, ontologies and interoperability” session. This second talk will be entitled: EMMO: an ontology based on universal materials science concepts.

The EMMC works across Europe in the area of development, validation, adoption and industrial exploitation of materials modelling with a strong focus on digital tools and data, fostering interoperability, and standardisation so enterprises can become more sustainable, competitive and innovative.

EMMO — formally the Elementary Multiperspective Material Ontology — is a top-level ontology framework for materials, their properties, structures, and processes.

In addition, Gerhard is happy to discuss any of the work that we do, like here at Goldbeck Consulting, our European projects, such as BatCAT, and our work at Semantic Materials.

If you are interested in attending FEMS EUROMAT 2025, you can register here.

Acknowledgement

This work that will be presented at this meeting has received funding by the EU Horizon research and innovation programmes under GA Nos. 952869 (nanoMECommons), 862136 (OntoTrans), 953167 (OpenModel) and 101092211 (CoBRAIN).