Data rooms and asset administration shells (AAS) are being implemented in the Wind-X project: initial data can be exchanged across companies and use cases are emerging. Siemens Energy is bringing logistics and traceability more into focus.
The industry-driven Wind-X project continues to gather pace: The establishment of a federated data room for the wind energy sector is showing its first concrete results. The aim is to make data usable along the value chain in a secure, standardized manner while maintaining data sovereignty. The research project was launched in November 2024 and has a total duration of 3 years.
Key foundations were successfully implemented in the “data room” work area. Cross-company data exchange is now possible via corresponding connectors (a variant of the EDC connector), including authentication of the parties involved. At the same time, an infrastructure based on the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) was set up: An initial AAS server is in operation, submodels are stored in a structured manner and can be addressed via the data room. Web interfaces for access and initial integration approaches, for example via Node-RED, are also available.
Several use cases are currently being concretized and prototypically implemented on this technical basis. In the area of sustainability, the focus is on the automated calculation of the product carbon footprint (PCF) for wind turbine components. These components are identified along the parts list, assigned a PCF value and then retrieved from the data room and aggregated into an overall value. This is intended to enable data-based supplier selection in which PCF data is systematically taken into account alongside technical specifications.
At the same time, the issue of transparency in logistics is becoming increasingly important. Siemens Energy, a strong industrial partner, took over the consortium leadership at the beginning of the year and is contributing new impetus, particularly in the areas of traceability of transport equipment and logistics-related use cases. The aim is to map transport processes, statuses and certifications along the supply chain in a traceable manner in the future.
Other use cases address the operation of wind turbines, for example through AAS-based maintenance requirement specifications or the structured exchange of maintenance and SCADA data via the data room. The Wind-X consortium will meet at Siemens Gamesa in Cuxhaven at the end of April to discuss the implementation and specification of the use cases. This makes it clear that Wind-X is increasingly moving from the concept phase to the concrete implementation of the first industrial applications.