i3-MARKET · Project

Open-Source Platform That Lets Companies Securely Trade and Monetize Industrial Data

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Imagine every company sitting on valuable data — production numbers, sensor readings, customer patterns — but there's no trustworthy way to sell or share it. It's like having goods but no marketplace to trade them. i3-MARKET built a kind of "eBay for industrial data" — an open-source backbone that connects different data marketplaces together, so companies can securely buy, sell, and exchange data across borders while staying GDPR-compliant. They tested it with real pilots in automotive, health/wellbeing, and factory settings.

By the numbers

consortium partners across Europe

countries represented in the consortium

industry partners involved in development

industry pilot deployments (automotive, Industry 4.0, wellbeing)

total project deliverables produced

75%

industry ratio in consortium

SMEs in the consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies across Europe are sitting on valuable industrial data — sensor readings, production metrics, logistics patterns — but have no secure, trusted way to sell or exchange it. Existing data marketplaces are isolated silos that don't talk to each other, and concerns about GDPR compliance and data security keep most companies from sharing anything at all. This means billions in potential data value stays locked inside individual organizations.

The solution

What was built

An open-source software backbone (called the i3-MARKET Backplane) that connects separate data marketplaces into one federated network, enabling secure data trading with built-in GDPR compliance, automated contracting, and access control. The team delivered 41 deliverables including 3 working pilot demonstrators in automotive, Industry 4.0, and wellbeing data — each progressing through multiple deployment rounds to final industry deployment.

Audience

Who needs this

Automotive OEMs and suppliers wanting to monetize vehicle and production dataManufacturing companies looking to trade IoT sensor data securelyDigital health platforms needing GDPR-compliant data sharing infrastructureData marketplace operators wanting to interconnect with other platformsIndustrial IoT platform providers seeking a data monetization layer

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Automotive & Mobility

enterprise

Target: Automotive OEMs and tier-1 suppliers with sensor and telematics data

If you are an automotive manufacturer sitting on telematics and production data that could be valuable to insurers, fleet managers, or smart city planners — this project built an open-source data marketplace backbone tested in an automotive pilot. It lets you list, price, and securely trade your data assets while keeping full control over access rights and GDPR compliance. The consortium ran a dedicated Automotive Industry Data Marketplace Demonstrator through pilot and industry deployment.

Manufacturing & Industry 4.0

mid-size

Target: Factory operators and industrial IoT platform providers

If you are a manufacturing company generating machine data, quality metrics, or supply chain information and want to monetize it — this project developed and piloted a secure data trading infrastructure specifically for Industry 4.0. The Industry 4.0 Data Marketplace Demonstrator was tested through pilot deployment and taken to a final industry deployment stage. The platform handles automated contracting and access control so sensitive production data stays protected.

Health & Wellbeing

SME

Target: Digital health companies and wellness data aggregators

If you are a health-tech or wellbeing company that collects personal wellness data and needs a compliant way to share it with researchers or partners — this project built and tested a Human Centric Data for Wellbeing marketplace demonstrator. It went through two versions of pilot deployment plus a final industry deployment, proving that even sensitive personal data can be traded with proper privacy controls and GDPR-compliant automated contracting.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost my company to use this platform?

The i3-MARKET software is open source, meaning the core platform is free to deploy. Your costs would be infrastructure (cloud or on-premise hosting), integration with your existing systems, and any customization. Based on available project data, no licensing fees are specified for the core backplane.

Can this handle industrial-scale data volumes from a large manufacturer?

The platform was designed with decentralised architecture for scalability, and was tested across 3 separate industry pilots (automotive, Industry 4.0, and wellbeing data). With 12 industry partners across 11 countries involved in development and testing, it was built to handle real commercial data loads, not just lab experiments.

Who owns the IP and how is it licensed?

The software is explicitly described as open source. The project involved 16 partners including 12 industry companies, so IP arrangements would be governed by the consortium agreement. Contact the coordinator at University of Galway for specific licensing terms and code repository access.

Is this compliant with European data regulations like GDPR?

GDPR compliance was a core design requirement, not an afterthought. The platform includes automated contracting that follows European regulation, security and access control measures for sensitive data, and built-in support for user-desired privacy and confidentiality controls. The wellbeing data pilot specifically tested handling of personal data.

How long would integration take for our existing systems?

The platform was designed as an interoperable backplane that federates existing data marketplaces rather than replacing them. Based on the project delivering 41 total deliverables including technical documentation and 3 pilot deployment cycles, integration tooling exists. Exact timelines depend on your current data infrastructure.

Does this work with our existing data management tools?

The i3-MARKET backplane was specifically designed to federate and connect existing data spaces and marketplaces through semantic-driven interoperability. Rather than forcing you onto a new system, it acts as a bridge layer that links what you already have into a broader data trading network.

Is the project still active? Who maintains the software?

The project officially closed in April 2023. The open-source codebase remains available. The coordinator (University of Galway) and the 12 industry partners would be the primary contacts for ongoing maintenance, commercial support, or deployment assistance.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a strong, industry-heavy consortium with 12 out of 16 partners coming from industry (75% ratio), which is unusually high for an EU project and signals real commercial intent. The 4 SMEs add agility, while 3 universities (including coordinator University of Galway) provide the research backbone. Spread across 11 countries (Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania), this gives the platform broad European market validation. The fact that industry partners outnumber academics 4-to-1 means the technology was shaped by actual business needs, not just academic curiosity.

UNIVERSITY OF GALWAYCoordinator · IE
IN SMART IDENTITY FRANCEthirdparty · FR
TELESTO TECHNOLOGIES PLIROFORIKIS KAI EPIKOINONION EPEparticipant · EL
UNPARALLEL INNOVATION LDAparticipant · PT
EUROPEAN DIGITAL SME ALLIANCEparticipant · BE
SIEMENS SRLparticipant · RO
IBM RESEARCH GMBHparticipant · CH
IDEMIA FRANCEparticipant · FR
GFT ITALIA SRLparticipant · IT
ATOS SPAIN SAparticipant · ES
UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE CATALUNYAparticipant · ES
GUARDTIME OUparticipant · EE
ATHENS UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS - RESEARCH CENTERparticipant · EL
ATOS IT SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES IBERIA SLthirdparty · ES
SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFTparticipant · DE
LIBELIUM LAB SLparticipant · ES

How to reach the team

University of Galway (Ireland) — reach out to the research office or project coordinator for deployment partnerships and open-source code access

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSITY OF GALWAY profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how i3-MARKET's data marketplace technology could work for your company? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the project team and help assess fit for your specific use case.

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