Five Years of Catena-X: An Industrial Revolution or a Well-Intentioned Data Initiative?

Five years ago, Catena-X Automotive Network e.V. was founded, laying the foundation for a data ecosystem and shared standards for secure data exchange in the automotive industry. A good time to take stock. In this interview with Rebecca Vlassakidis, Spokesperson at MHP, Benedikt Altrichter, Senior Manager Technology Strategy and Industrial Data Ecosystems at MHP, explains which potential benefits can already be realized today and what is crucial for a successful entry into the ecosystem.

Rebecca Vlassakidis: Benedikt, thank you for this interview. Let's be honest: How would you describe the current status quo of Catena-X?

Benedikt Altrichter: I would compare Catena-X to the construction of a railway network – if I may use that analogy. The tracks have largely been laid, the stations are in place, the technical standards have been defined, and the first trains are already running successfully. That is tremendous progress. Just a few years ago, many people were still debating whether a cross-company data ecosystem of this scale was even possible.

Rebecca Vlassakidis: What is needed to achieve a breakthrough?

Benedikt Altrichter: The real breakthrough is happening now, when companies stop viewing Catena-X as a technology project and begin seeing it as a natural part of their daily collaboration. That is exactly where we are today. The foundations have been established, initial use cases are delivering measurable value – now the focus is on driving adoption at scale. The data ecosystem fundamentally thrives on network effects: the value increases with every new participant. That is why we are currently in a decisive phase. The goal is to turn successful pilot projects into a critical mass of productive use cases that create genuine momentum.

To achieve this, three things are particularly important: a clear business value for all participants, especially small and medium-sized suppliers; simple and standardized access; and more end-to-end use cases that make the benefits visible across the entire value chain. Once this step has been achieved, OEMs and suppliers alike will benefit: information will be available more quickly and in a standardized format, coordination efforts will decrease, and new data-driven use cases – for example in sustainability, quality, or traceability – can be implemented much more easily.

Rebecca Vlassakidis: What specific benefits do suppliers gain from Catena-X? Or put differently, what risks do they face if they do not participate?

Benedikt Altrichter: Put simply – those who ignore Catena-X may save on project costs today, but they will pay for it later through higher operating costs. Without shared standards, every data request has to be answered individually. That takes time, ties up resources, and makes collaboration with customers and partners more difficult. At the same time, requirements for transparency, sustainability, and traceability are increasing. Companies that continue to compile this data separately for each OEM face a significant administrative burden.

Catena-X provides a common standard and a key advantage: data is structured once and can then be used by multiple business partners. This saves time, reduces duplication of effort, and accelerates collaboration. Companies that stay out will not be excluded from supply chains overnight. However, the effort required to meet customer requirements will increase – and so will the risk of falling behind better-connected competitors.

Rebecca Vlassakidis: Many critics say that Catena-X is complicated and complex. What do the OEMs that have been involved for a longer period – and the first connected suppliers – say about it?

Benedikt Altrichter: The OEMs that have been involved from the beginning mainly confirm one thing: the real value only emerges when suppliers are connected. That is why the focus is currently shifting from their own connection to scaling the supply chain. The criticism that Catena-X is complicated was certainly justified a few years ago. Companies joining at that time had to undertake a complex IT project. Today, the situation is different. Companies no longer have to start from scratch. With standardized solutions and proven onboarding approaches, integration has become significantly easier while existing systems can continue to be used. The real success factor lies in the business, where challenges are identified and high-value use cases are defined. IT provides the technical foundation, but the business defines the value. We are currently seeing this in practice with a medium-sized supplier in Germany. As an initial use case, we are implementing certificate management. This means certificates no longer have to be maintained individually across numerous customer portals. The first live data exchange took place within just a few days. Certificate data could not only be provided more quickly, but administrative effort was also reduced. At the same time, the company can be confident that up-to-date and valid certificate data is always available. In parallel, we are developing a roadmap to identify which additional use cases offer the greatest value. This allows us to implement the Catena-X strategy step by step.

Rebecca Vlassakidis: When people think about cross-company data exchange with other OEMs and suppliers, concerns about security and control quickly arise. What is your perspective on data sovereignty, security, and compliance?

Benedikt Altrichter: Catena-X follows a clear principle: every company retains control of its data at all times. There is no central data repository in which all information is combined. Instead, data is exchanged directly between partners through standardized connectors. Participants themselves decide which data they share with which partners and for what purpose it may be used. Examples of exchanged information include certificates, master data, quality data, CO₂ footprints, and capacity data. The technical foundation consists of shared standards along with a comprehensive identity and authorization concept featuring machine-readable usage policies. From an organizational perspective, a binding, antitrust-compliant governance framework with certified participants ensures a secure environment for exchanging sensitive data.

Rebecca Vlassakidis: Where do you currently see the biggest obstacles to widespread adoption?

Benedikt Altrichter: In our view, one of the biggest obstacles is no longer the technology – the foundations and standards are already in place. The real challenge lies in communicating the value of Catena-X quickly and transparently across the market. Many companies, especially SMEs, are asking: What concrete benefit do I gain from participating, and how quickly will my investment pay off? As long as Catena-X is perceived primarily as an IT or compliance project, scaling will remain limited. The focus must therefore be even more strongly directed toward measurable business outcomes. Another obstacle is the heterogeneity of the value chain. OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers often already possess the necessary resources and data structures. Smaller companies, by contrast, frequently face organizational, technical, and staffing challenges when getting started.

Rebecca Vlassakidis: How can these challenges be overcome?

Benedikt Altrichter: The key is to create access routes that are as simple as possible and to provide standardized solutions. There is currently even a program from the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Data Space Accelerator, which facilitate participation in Catena-X and financially rewards participants for successful productive data exchange. Companies that launch their first productive Catena-X use case in 2026 with a small and straightforward application such as certificate management receive a lump-sum payment of 15,000 €. A second use case doubles the amount to 30,000 €. What is rewarded is the result in the form of verified data exchange.

Rebecca Vlassakidis: Volkswagen, for example, relies on Data Core X from MHP when connecting selected suppliers. What role do standardized connectivity solutions play in the success of Catena-X?

Benedikt Altrichter: Standardized connectivity solutions are a decisive success factor because they significantly reduce the complexity of integration. Companies need simple and reliable access to the data space without having to deal with every technical requirement in detail. With Data Core X, we provide a cost-effective standardized interface covering core functions such as identity management, secure data transmission, and the integration of selected use cases. As a result, companies can join Catena-X more quickly and focus more strongly on business value. The setup for the first productive data exchange can therefore be completed in less than a day while simultaneously meeting the security and quality requirements of OEMs.

Rebecca Vlassakidis: How will Catena-X develop over the coming years, and what role will initiatives such as Factory-X, Chem-X, and Aerospace-X play?

Benedikt Altrichter: Catena-X has the potential to serve as a blueprint for other industrial data ecosystems. Initiatives such as Chem-X are currently creating a broader framework for transferring the principles of data sovereignty, interoperability, and standardized data exchange to additional industries and application areas. In the long term, we will see stronger interconnection among different data spaces. This will create new opportunities for cross-company collaboration, resilient supply chains, and data-driven innovation. Catena-X plays an important pioneering role here and provides valuable experience for the development of future ecosystems. In short: for us, Catena-X is the first major main line. Factory-X, Chem-X, and Aerospace-X are gradually expanding it into a European industrial network. Long-term success does not lie in individual data spaces, but in their seamless integration.

Rebecca Vlassakidis: How will we know in five years whether Catena-X has truly been successful?

Benedikt Altrichter: If we stay with the railway network metaphor, we will recognize the success of Catena-X in five years when nobody talks about the tracks anymore. Today, we are still discussing standards, data spaces, and connectors. In five years, data exchange should be so natural that companies only talk about the results. Catena-X will be successful when data flows securely and in a standardized manner across the entire value chain and generates measurable value: resilient supply chains, rapid response times, efficient processes, reliable sustainability reporting, and new data-driven business models. At that point, Catena-X will no longer be an initiative – it will simply be part of the way industry operates.