Imagine every department in your company — and every supplier you work with — speaks a different language when describing the same materials and products. One calls it "tensile strength," another logs it as "pull resistance," a third just puts a number in a spreadsheet with no label. OntoCommons built a shared dictionary and set of rules so that industrial data actually means the same thing everywhere. Think of it like creating a universal translator for factory and lab data across Europe, so companies can finally share, find, and reuse information without months of manual cleanup.
By the numbers
22
consortium partners across Europe
10
countries represented in the consortium
7
industry partners involved in development
6
SMEs participating in the project
49
total deliverables produced
32%
industry ratio in the consortium
The business problem
What needed solving
Companies in manufacturing and materials industries waste enormous time and money because their data systems cannot talk to each other. Materials testing results, production data, quality reports, and supplier specifications all use different formats and terminology — making it nearly impossible to share, search, or reuse data across departments, sites, or supply chain partners. This blocks digital transformation and data-driven decision making.
The solution
What was built
An Ontology Commons EcoSystem (OCES) — a coordinated set of ontologies, standardization rules, and tools for harmonized data documentation across materials and manufacturing domains. The project delivered 49 outputs including software demonstrators validated with industrial cases, and built consensus with standards organizations for long-term adoption.
Audience
Who needs this
Manufacturing companies with data silos between production, R&D, and quality departmentsMaterials science companies needing to share test data with customers and regulatorsEnterprise software vendors building data integration platforms for industryDigital twin developers requiring standardized industrial data inputsSupply chain managers trying to exchange product data with multiple partners
Business applications
Who can put this to work
Automotive Manufacturing
enterprise
Target: Mid-to-large automotive parts manufacturers with multiple production sites
If you are an automotive manufacturer dealing with data silos between your materials testing lab, production floor, and quality assurance teams — this project developed a standardized ontology ecosystem that makes your materials data interoperable across systems. With 22 partners across 10 countries validating this approach, the tools let your different software systems understand each other's data without custom integration for every connection.
Chemical & Materials Industry
mid-size
Target: Chemical companies managing large materials databases
If you are a chemical company dealing with thousands of material specifications documented in incompatible formats across R&D, regulatory, and production — this project developed shared ontologies specifically for materials and manufacturing data. The industrial demonstrators proved these work in real NMBP application domains, meaning your data becomes findable, accessible, and reusable across your entire organization without rebuilding your databases.
Enterprise Software & PLM
any
Target: Software vendors building data platforms for manufacturing
If you are a software vendor building product lifecycle management or data integration tools for industry — this project created an open Ontology Commons EcoSystem with standardization rules your platform can adopt. With 7 industry partners and 6 SMEs in the consortium already using these standards, adopting them positions your product as interoperable with a growing European ecosystem of data-driven manufacturing tools.
Frequently asked
Quick answers
What would this cost us to implement?+
OntoCommons produced open ontologies and tools — the standards themselves are freely available. Your costs would come from integrating these ontology standards into your existing data systems, which depends on how many data sources you need to connect. As a Coordination and Support Action, the project focused on creating shared resources, not commercial products.
Can this work at industrial scale across our operations?+
The project validated its approach through industrial demonstrators covering a wide range of materials and manufacturing application domains, with 7 industry partners and 6 SMEs involved. The final deliverable includes validation results from these industrial cases. Scaling depends on your IT infrastructure's ability to adopt the ontology standards.
What about intellectual property and licensing?+
As a CSA (Coordination and Support Action), OntoCommons focused on open standards and coordination rather than proprietary technology. The ontologies and tools in the ecosystem were designed for broad adoption across European industry. Specific licensing terms should be verified through the project website at ontocommons.eu.
How does this connect with existing data management systems?+
The Ontology Commons EcoSystem was designed with cross-domain interoperability as a core goal, specifically for materials and manufacturing sectors. The project coordinated with standards organizations and existing EU initiatives to ensure compatibility. The demonstrators showed how these ontologies connect with real industrial data workflows.
Is this aligned with regulatory requirements for data sharing?+
OntoCommons explicitly implements FAIR data principles — Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable — which are increasingly required by EU regulations and funding programs. The project worked with standards organizations to align with European Digital Single Market requirements for data documentation.
What is the timeline to see results if we adopt this?+
The project ran from November 2020 to October 2023 and produced 49 deliverables including validated industrial demonstrators. The standards and tools are ready for adoption now. Implementation timeline in your organization depends on the complexity of your current data landscape and the number of systems that need to be connected.
Consortium
Who built it
The OntoCommons consortium brings together 22 partners from 10 countries with a balanced mix: 7 industry players, 7 universities, and 8 research organizations. The 32% industry ratio and 6 SMEs show genuine business involvement, not just an academic exercise. Led by Technische Universität Wien (Austria), the partnership spans major European manufacturing economies including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the Nordics. This geographic spread matters because data interoperability standards only work if they're adopted widely — and having partners from AT, BE, DE, ES, FR, IE, IT, NO, SE, and UK gives the resulting standards real cross-border credibility.
Want to know if OntoCommons standards fit your data integration challenge? SciTransfer can assess your situation, connect you with the right consortium partner, and help you build an adoption roadmap.
