Method for verifying transfer of material between material owner and material recipient in decentralized network

Abstract

A computer-implemented method is disclosed for verifying a transfer of material between a material owner and a material recipient in a decentralized network, the network comprising a distributed ledger comprising a plurality of member nodes and a distributed ledger application. The method includes the step of sending, by a requester, a material transaction request to a distributed ledger application, the material transaction request containing material data associated with the material, and encrypted credentials of a material owner and optionally a material recipient associated with a transfer of the material. The method further includes receiving an acknowledgement or rejection of submitting the material transaction request as a material transaction to the distributed ledger. The distributed ledger application is configured to receive a material transaction request from a requester, validate a transfer of material associated with the request by validating encrypted credentials of a material owner and optionally a material recipient contained in the material transaction request. The distributed ledger application is configured to:-submit the material transaction request as a material transaction to the distributed ledger and send an acknowledgement of submitting the material transaction request if the transfer of the material is validated, or-send a rejection of submitting the material transaction request if the transfer of the material is not validated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a computer-implemented method and apparatus for verifying the transfer of material between a material owner and a material recipient in a decentralized network, uses of verified material transfers, and a computer element. Background Art

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to tracking and recording the transfer of materials (also referred to as material transfer) in a distributed system. Common implementations of distributed systems are either more centralized systems (which typically have a centralized authority responsible for oversight) or decentralized systems.

[0003] Both types of systems present challenges. While centralized systems allow for reliable tracking and recording of material transfers, it may not be suitable for all applications. More decentralized solutions make reliable tracking and recording more difficult to implement, as there is no centralized authority responsible for oversight.

[0004] There is therefore a need to allow improved tracking and recording of the transfer of materials in a decentralized material network, particularly in order to allow system-wide performance assessment and optionally performance adjustment.

[0005] Even more specifically, there is a need to allow such tracking and recording of transfers while also taking into account the privacy concerns of the transfer participants. Summary of the invention

[0006] In one aspect, a computer-implemented method is disclosed for providing a material data set associated with a transfer of a material from a material owner to a material recipient using a decentralized material network. The decentralized network includes a distributed ledger, the distributed ledger includes a plurality of member nodes, the distributed ledger includes material transfer transactions. At least one of the material transfer transactions is associated with a transfer of the material and includes transaction metadata. The transaction metadata includes material production data.

[0007] The transaction metadata further includes a material identifier associated with at least two different material data sets, one of the material data sets being associated with a transfer of the material. The method includes the steps of receiving transaction metadata associated with the transfer of the material from a distributed ledger, and retrieving the material data set associated with the transfer of the material based on the material identifier and material production data included in the transaction metadata.

[0008] In another aspect, an apparatus is disclosed for providing a material data set associated with a transfer of a material from a material owner to a material recipient using a decentralized material network, the decentralized material network comprising a distributed ledger comprising a plurality of member nodes. The distributed ledger comprises material transfer transactions. At least one of the material transfer transactions is associated with a transfer of a material and comprises transaction metadata, the transaction metadata comprising material production data and a material identifier associated with at least two different material data sets, one of the material data sets being associated with the transfer of the material. The apparatus comprises one or more computing nodes and one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, the computer-executable instructions being configured to, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, cause the apparatus to perform steps of a method according to the present disclosure.

[0009] In yet another aspect, disclosed is the use of a material dataset provided according to a method of the present disclosure or provided by an apparatus of the present disclosure for determining the quality of a transferred product associated with the provided material dataset or for further processing the transferred material associated with the provided material dataset.

[0010] On the other hand, a computer-implemented method for verifying the transfer of materials between a material owner and a material recipient in a decentralized network is disclosed, the network including a distributed ledger, the distributed ledger including a plurality of member nodes and a distributed ledger application. The method comprises the following steps: a material transaction request is sent by a requester to a distributed ledger application, the material transaction request comprising material data associated with the material, and (multiple) encrypted credentials of the material owner and optionally the material recipient associated with the transfer of the material. The method further comprises the following steps: receiving a confirmation or rejection of submitting the material transaction request as a material transaction to the distributed ledger. The distributed ledger application is configured to receive the material transaction request from the requester, and to verify the transfer of the material associated with the material transaction request by verifying the (multiple) encrypted credentials of the material owner and optionally the material recipient contained in the material transaction request. The distributed ledger application is configured to: - submit the material transaction request as a material transaction to the distributed ledger and send a confirmation of submitting the material transaction request if the transfer of the material is confirmed, or - send a rejection of submitting the material transaction request if the transfer of the material is not confirmed.

[0011] On the other hand, a device for verifying the transfer of materials between a material owner and a material recipient in a decentralized material network is disclosed, the decentralized material network including a distributed ledger, the distributed ledger including a plurality of member nodes and a distributed ledger application. The device includes one or more computing nodes and one or more computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, the computer-executable instructions being configured to, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, cause the device, in particular the one or more computing nodes, to perform the following steps: a requester sends a material transaction request to the distributed ledger application, the material transaction request including material data associated with the material, and (multiple) encrypted credentials of the material owner and optionally the material recipient associated with the transfer of the material; and receiving a confirmation or rejection of submitting the material transaction request as a material transaction associated with the material transaction request to the distributed ledger. The distributed ledger application is configured to receive the material transaction request from the requester, and verify the transfer of the material associated with the material transaction request by verifying the (multiple) encrypted credentials of the material owner and optionally the material recipient contained in the material transaction request. The distributed ledger application is configured to: - submit the material transaction request as a material transaction to the distributed ledger and send a confirmation of the submission of the material transaction request if the transfer of the material is confirmed, or - send a rejection of the submission of the material transaction request if the transfer of the material is not confirmed.

[0012] On the other hand, a computer-implemented method for verifying the transfer of materials from a material owner to a material recipient in a decentralized material network is provided, the decentralized material network including a distributed ledger, the distributed ledger including a plurality of member nodes. The distributed ledger includes a material transfer transaction, the material transfer transaction containing material data associated with the material, and (multiple) random encrypted credentials of the material owner and / or (multiple) random encrypted credentials of the material recipient associated with the transfer of the material. The method includes: receiving (multiple) random encrypted credentials of the material owner and / or (multiple) random encrypted credentials of the material recipient, and the identity of the material transfer transaction associated with the transfer of the material. The method also includes the following steps: verifying the transfer of the material by verifying (multiple) random encrypted credentials of the material owner and / or (multiple) random encrypted credentials of the material recipient in the material transfer transaction based on the received (multiple) random encrypted credentials and the identity of the received material transfer transaction. As an example, (multiple) random encrypted credentials may include a public key generated and used to sign only one transaction submitted to the distributed ledger, as explained in detail below.

[0013] Even more specifically, as an example, verifiable anonymous authentication can be performed on material transfer transactions. Typically, transactions on a distributed ledger are transparent to all participants. If the user ID associated with the transaction is transparent, this would mean that the transaction could be analyzed (e.g., for temporal patterns, etc.), so that participants could derive sensitive information from the transaction, even though the data associated with the material transfer itself is confidential. The present invention allows the user ID associated with the transaction to remain anonymous, while also keeping the transaction verifiable in all its aspects.

[0014] In particular, by using random cryptographic credentials, and in particular by using cryptographic credentials that are unique to a transaction, transactions can be authenticated while also protecting the identities of the parties involved. It may even allow for third-party audits using the methods of the present disclosure.

[0015] As an example, when a new transaction is created, a random cryptographic credential (e.g., a public / private key pair) may be created, for example, uniquely for this transaction. Both the material owner and the material recipient may create such a random cryptographic credential. The material owner and / or the material recipient may store their respective credentials along with the transaction ID, for example, in a private database. The credential may be used specifically to sign and / or verify this particular transaction. An example for obtaining the random cryptographic credential may be to create a key pair, which may be a key derivation or a random signature. The above may be repeated for multiple transactions. Thus, multiple keys and associated transaction IDs may be stored.

[0016] In yet another aspect, use of material transfer verified according to the methods of the present disclosure for controlling material introduction into a production process is disclosed.

[0017] In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer element having instructions which, when executed on one or more computing nodes, cause the apparatus to perform the steps of the method of the present disclosure, or which are configured to be executed by the apparatus of the present disclosure.

[0018] On the other hand, the present disclosure may also provide a data processing system, in particular a distributed data processing system comprising multiple computing nodes, wherein the data processing system, in particular one or more of the multiple computing nodes, is configured to execute the method of the present disclosure in a distributed manner.

[0019] In yet another aspect, the present disclosure may also provide a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a data processing system, cause the data processing system to perform the method of the present disclosure. The data processing system may be a distributed data processing system comprising a plurality of computing nodes.

[0020] In yet another aspect, the present disclosure may also provide a computer readable medium comprising instructions, which, when executed by a data processing system, cause the data processing system to perform the method of the present disclosure. The data processing system may be a distributed data processing system comprising a plurality of computing nodes.

[0021] The methods and apparatus of the present disclosure allow for improved tracking and / or recording of the transfer of materials in a decentralized material network, and in particular can help overcome challenges posed by decentralization.

[0022] Specifically, the methods and apparatus of the present disclosure utilize cryptographic methods and distributed ledger applications (such as blockchain applications) in a specific manner, namely, representing the actual transfer of materials from a material owner to a material recipient as a transaction stored in a distributed ledger, and allowing such transactions to be submitted and optionally stored only under specific conditions.

[0023] The methods and apparatus of the present disclosure utilize cryptographic methods and distributed ledger applications (such as blockchain applications) in a specific manner, namely, representing the actual transfer of materials as transactions stored in a distributed ledger and allowing multiple levels of access to the data.

[0024] Even more specifically, as an example, a separation can be performed between data that allows the flow of materials (e.g., chemicals) to be identified (e.g., for mass balancing purposes and tracking purposes) while maintaining privacy regarding specific data (e.g., the carbon footprint or sustainability profile or provenance data of a material transferred in a transfer corresponding to a transaction).

[0025] For example, material mass flows can thus be balanced based on material identifiers, while the monitoring and / or balancing of carbon footprints etc. can be implemented in a separate process.

[0026] Many existing systems (e.g., those based on smart contracts) cannot reliably provide such separation.

[0027] Furthermore, the present method allows access to the correct material dataset associated with a transaction in a reliable and uncomplicated manner. That is, if the transaction directly points to the material dataset, this would be error prone, as one must ensure that each single transaction points to or is linked to the correct, possibly unique, material dataset. Alternatively, one correct material dataset can be retrieved among all relevant material datasets based on the production data (e.g., batch ID, etc.) of the specific material.

[0028] The present application allows the use of information stored in the transaction itself for mass balancing purposes. In addition, this permission can be achieved by selectively providing access to metadata to a party that is allowed to obtain additional information.

[0029] A transaction may be associated with exactly one material identifier, and the relationship between material identifiers associated with multiple material datasets and the material dataset associated with a transaction may be resolved using additional transaction metadata (e.g., timestamp, production location, production country, etc.).

[0030] The material data sets may not be stored as part of a distributed ledger, but may be stored, for example, in one or more databases.

[0031] Such material data sets may be retrieved using metadata from the transfer transaction. Such material data sets may be shared between parties in a private channel.

[0032] As an example, the present disclosure may be used in the context of material flows occurring between multiple parties (also referred to as participants) in a decentralized material network, where reliably tracking and / or recording the transfers is challenging without central oversight.

[0033] Common implementations of distributed systems are either hub-and-spoke systems or peer-to-peer systems. The drawback of hub-and-spoke systems is that they are highly centralized, which either gives the hub owner a monopoly over all participating production and consumption nodes, or leads to unwieldy bureaucracy—because all participants share ownership of the hub (“shareholder democracy”).

[0034] As an example, in a distributed system, production and / or consumption nodes need to be predicted, planned, and manipulated to achieve target values ​​of system-wide verifiable key performance indicators (KPIs). System-wide KPIs may include, for example, annual reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, annual increases in recycling quotas, etc.

[0035] These system-wide KPIs are in contrast to local indicators that are valid only for individual pairs of nodes. Local indicators increase the risk of displacement or rebound effects in the face of local success, resulting in improved local performance and worsening overall system performance. Exemplary displacement effects include so-called "carbon leakage", in which GHG emissions increase in other producing countries (i.e., other parts of the network). Exemplary rebound effects include local production increases that are overcompensated by overall consumption increases.

[0036] While prior art decentralized systems (e.g., peer-to-peer (P2P) networks) excel at manipulating such local KPIs, such as between material owners and material recipients, these systems face challenges with system-wide KPIs. For example, P2P networks are generally unable to guarantee a complete, uninterrupted supply chain with no missing links, let alone a verifiable supply chain quality balance.

[0037] Examples of system-wide KPIs to be improved through forecasting, planning, and manipulation may include:

[0038] - the total emissions of the system (including GHG emissions and / or air, water and / or land pollution),

[0039] - the total recycling quota for the system, and

[0040] - Environmental impact profile of the system, e.g. Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) or Polymeric PEF (Product Environmental Impact).

[0041] -

[0042] In view of the foregoing, there exists a need to provide methods that facilitate improved tracking and / or recording of the transfer of materials in a decentralized material network, particularly for allowing system-wide performance assessment and optional performance adjustment.

[0043] Particularly advantageously, the methods and apparatus of the present disclosure allow for verifiable and transparent tracking of material transfers, particularly reducing the risk of fraudulent recycling and sustainability claims or claims regarding material origin.

[0044] When providing reliable and verifiable tracking and / or recording of the transfer of materials, particularly mass flows and / or mass balances, there is a concern that this may lead to completely transparent material flows. However, it may be advantageous to provide information on a need-to-know basis, for example, for reasons such as privacy protection, such as selectively providing information only to selected parties. Typically, data that should be more readily available may be data that allows system-wide KPIs to be verifiably tracked, for example, for obtaining recycling quotas, GHG emissions, throughput or flow rates in material loops, virgin material consumption compared to throughput, and / or irreversible material loss rates. The present method can allow a large degree of anonymization without hindering reliable and verifiable tracking. For example, the use of encrypted credentials (e.g., signatures and public / private keys) is advantageous for this. The credentials can be verified to verify material transfers.

[0045] The methods and apparatus of the present disclosure can be used for these purposes and help overcome the challenges described above.

[0046] The methods and apparatus of the present disclosure can be used for these purposes and help overcome the challenges described above. In particular, the methods and apparatus of the present disclosure can be used in cyclic processes represented in a decentralized material network, in particular closed material loops. Specifically, the methods and apparatus can be used to track mass transfers and perform mass balance. Mass balance may require tracking that the mass of the transferred material is consistent in all successive material transfers. In particular, it can be used to ensure that materials do not simply appear in the production process unless verified and submitted to the distributed ledger as a transaction (e.g., a create transaction). The same applies to the disappearance of materials in the production process.

[0047] Using the cryptographic credentials of a material owner as specified in the present disclosure allows limiting the material owner's eligibility to submit transactions, particularly certain types of transactions, to a distributed ledger.

[0048] For example, a material transfer transaction may be a create transaction. A create transaction may be a type of transaction that represents the introduction of, for example, raw or virgin material into a production process. Through the methods of the present disclosure, restrictions may be implemented regarding which participants are owners of materials eligible to conduct create transactions. Thus, any entry point into the production process may be closely controlled. This may be important because otherwise materials with uncertain properties or origins may be introduced, or the materials associated with the transaction may be completely fictitious. By controlling the entry points, only trusted parties are able to introduce materials. Optionally, additional checks (beyond the owner's qualifications) may be performed to submit a create transaction.

[0049] Another type of transaction may be an ongoing transfer transaction, which may be any transaction that does not introduce material. Such a transaction may also be referred to as an owner-to-recipient transaction. Such a transaction may require a different, possibly lower level of trust than a creation transaction. For example, any material owner may in principle be eligible to submit such a transaction to the distributed ledger, provided that their cryptographic credentials are verified and additional checks are optionally successfully performed. For example, the admissibility of a transfer transaction to be submitted to the ledger may depend on reasonableness checks, such as mass balances, to ensure that no unrecorded material appears or disappears. Some of these additional reasonableness checks may also be applied to creation transactions, but particularly for mass flows, some reasonableness checks may not apply because the creation transaction has no (recorded) previous transactions.

[0050] According to the present disclosure, the material can be a discrete or non-discrete material.

[0051] According to the present disclosure, the material may be a chemical raw material.

[0052] According to the present disclosure, materials can be transferred in a linear production process or a cyclic process. The method can then be used, for example, to track mass transfers, specifically mass balances. As an example, it can be determined whether a material transfer is submitted as a transaction based on boundary conditions related to material owner permissions and / or mass flow.

[0053] According to the present disclosure, material data may include transaction metadata and optionally the amount of material transferred from the material owner to the material recipient. For example, the transaction metadata may be used to retrieve more information about the transaction (specifically, the transferred material associated with the transaction) from a database (e.g., a MongoDB database).

[0054] The amount of material can be used for the purpose of determining mass flows (e.g., performing a mass balance). This information may not be as sensitive as information related to the material being transferred and the identity of the material owner and the material recipient, so for transparency purposes (e.g., mass balance), it may be advantageous to make the amount of material being transferred directly accessible as part of the transaction data. With respect to other information, making it not accessible as part of the transaction, but rather retrieved from a database, for example, may allow improved access control and privacy to be achieved. In particular, this allows sensitive data (e.g., data that is considered reliable and / or may be audited) to be managed by a trusted party, and also ensures reliable and continuous access to the information. Furthermore, this allows the use of a public distributed ledger, as sensitive information (such as material data and the identity of the material owner and the material recipient) cannot be obtained from the transaction data. However, knowing the identity of the material owner and / or the material recipient allows a trusted party to monitor material flows, such as waste flows.

[0055] According to the present disclosure, transaction metadata may include a material identifier, at least one material classification, material production data, or a combination thereof.

[0056] As an example, material production data may include one or more of a timestamp, a production location, a production country, and a batch ID. This allows, for example, efficient information access and retrieval in a database holding information about the transferred material, and may also allow participants in the transfer (but not necessarily any other party) to access more information than is stored in the actual transaction.

[0057] Such metadata allows information associated with the transaction, particularly such information unique to the transfer of material associated with the transaction, to be efficiently retrieved, for example, from a database.

[0058] Thus, precise tracking of a specific unit of material can be maintained over multiple transfer steps, processing steps, etc., without having to pass all previous history with each transaction. Transactions are thus kept manageable in size, do not require specific means to protect sensitive data, and can still provide reliable tracking.

[0059] According to the present disclosure, a material identifier may include a digital representation that points to a material data set (e.g., a material pass or a portion thereof).

[0060] As an example, the digital representation pointing to a material data set may comprise a pointer, in particular a hash pointer, to a material data set (in particular a material pass) associated with the material, in particular identifying properties of the material.

[0061] According to the present disclosure, a material data set can be received from a data providing service. Specifically, the data providing service can ensure that the material data set has a correct configuration and content, and in particular can reliably ensure storage and / or secure access to the material data set.

[0062] According to the present disclosure, the material data set may further include a decentralized identifier and material-related data. The decentralized identifier may be a unique identifier uniquely associated with the data owner and the material data. Via the decentralized identifier, and in particular its unique association with the data owner and the material data, access to the material data may be controlled by the data owner rather than a centralized authority.

[0063] According to the present disclosure, the material data set may further include data related to one or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier. Through the authentication mechanism, data access to the data consumption service can be controlled in a secure manner, and the integrity of the data providing service can be ensured. This makes data exchange or sharing more reliable, controllable and secure, as will also be understood from the terminology section below.

[0064] According to the present disclosure, material data sets may be associated with one or more authorization mechanisms associated with decentralized identifiers. Through the authorization mechanisms, data access and data usage by data consumption services may be controlled in a secure manner, as will also be understood from the terminology section below.

[0065] According to the present disclosure, data related to a material may include one or more digital representations pointing to a material data set (also referred to as material characteristic data or a portion thereof).

[0066] Based on the present disclosure, the material data set (material property data) may include material name, material ID, material composition, chemical and / or physical properties of the material, emission data of the material, recycled content of the material, bio-based content of the material, further material production data, material declaration data, chemical material safety data, certificate of analysis data associated with the material, or a combination thereof.

[0067] In particular, the material data set (material property data) may include data representing the carbon footprint of the material.

[0068] According to the present disclosure, the material owner's encrypted credential(s) may include the material owner's public key, and optionally a private key and / or an encrypted signature.

[0069] As an example, in terms of cryptographic signatures, the material owner can sign the material transaction request using its private key. Then, verification of the signature can be performed, for example, using the URI content.

[0070] According to the present disclosure, the encrypted credentials of the material recipient may include the material recipient's public key, and optionally a private key and / or an encrypted signature. This allows for reliable authentication.

[0071] According to the present disclosure, a requester may receive a confirmation or a denial of a request to submit a material transaction. Alternatively or additionally, a confirmation or a denial of a request to submit a material transaction may be received by a material owner and / or some other predetermined party. This may allow the parties to record independently of a distributed ledger whether a transfer of the material was successfully confirmed and submitted (particularly stored in a distributed ledger).

[0072] According to the present disclosure, verifying the material owner's encrypted credential(s) may include retrieving a list containing the encrypted credential(s) and comparing the material owner's encrypted credential(s) to the encrypted credential(s) contained in the retrieved list.

[0073] For example, the list containing the encryption credential(s) may be a whitelist or a blacklist of public keys.

[0074] As an example, a user who intends to participate in a material transfer may need to store his ID and public key together in a database. The database can then be used to create and / or update a list, such as a blacklist or whitelist of public keys.

[0075] According to the present disclosure, if the encrypted credential(s) included in the material transaction request do not match the encrypted credential(s) included in the retrieved list, then the transfer of the material is confirmed. This may be the case, for example, when the retrieved list is a blacklist.

[0076] For completeness, it should be noted that, in particular, the transfer of material can be confirmed only under the condition that the encrypted credential(s) contained in the material transaction request does not match the encrypted credential(s) contained in the retrieved list. That is, if the encrypted credential(s) contained in the material transaction request matches the encrypted credential(s) contained in the retrieved list, the transfer will not be confirmed.

[0077] The above exemplifies the case where the retrieved list is a blacklist of public keys.

[0078] Alternatively, the encrypted credential(s) may be validated if (and in particular only if) the encrypted credential(s) contained in the material transaction request matches the encrypted credential(s) contained in the retrieved list or another list. This would exemplify the case where the retrieved list or other list is a whitelist of public keys.

[0079] There may be alternative or additional conditions that need to be met in order to validate a material transaction, as described further below.

[0080] According to the present disclosure, a distributed ledger may include material transactions, each material transaction being associated with a transfer of material from a material owner to a material recipient, the material transaction including a transaction identity and material data associated with the material. The material transactions included in the distributed ledger may all be material transactions stored in the distributed ledger in response to submitting the material transaction to the ledger as described above.

[0081] According to the present disclosure, verifying the material owner's (multiple) cryptographic credentials may include: in addition to or as an alternative to retrieving a list containing (multiple) cryptographic credentials, retrieving a list containing transaction identities for material transactions, and comparing the transaction identity associated with the received material transaction request with the transaction identities contained in the retrieved list.

[0082] The list of transaction identities containing material transactions may be, for example, a whitelist or blacklist of transaction identities, similar to, for example, a whitelist or blacklist of encryption credentials.

[0083] The above allows, in particular, retroactive sanctions. For example, in the case where a transaction should not have been submitted to the distributed ledger but was not blocked by protective measures (e.g., the use of (multiple) cryptographic credentials), the transaction can be blocked from being the source of subsequent transfer transactions. Such transactions can be detected by the transaction identity and the above-mentioned transaction material list. Thus, additional protection measures can be provided to prevent attacks and frauds, allowing retroactive measures to be taken.

[0084] According to the present disclosure, if a transaction identity associated with a received material transaction request does not match a transaction identity contained in the retrieved list, the transfer of the material may be confirmed.

[0085] For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that the transfer of material can be confirmed only under the condition that the transaction identity associated with the received material transaction request does not match the transaction identity contained in the retrieved list. That is, if the transaction identity associated with the received material transaction request matches the transaction identity contained in the retrieved list, the material transfer will not be confirmed.

[0086] This illustrates the case where the retrieved list is a blacklist of transaction identities.Alternatively, similar to the whitelist of public keys described above, a whitelist of transaction identities may be used for authentication.

[0087] According to the present disclosure, the encrypted credential(s) of the owner of the verification material may include an encrypted signature of the owner of the verification material. The optional encrypted credential(s) of the recipient of the verification material may include an encrypted signature of the recipient of the verification material.

[0088] That is, in order to be eligible for submission, the material transaction request may be required to include (multiple) encrypted credentials of the material owner and optionally (multiple) encrypted credentials of the material recipient, in particular, the encrypted signature of the material owner and optionally the encrypted signature of the material recipient, and verification of the (multiple) encrypted credentials of the material owner and optionally the (multiple) encrypted credentials of the material recipient may be performed.

[0089] For example, verification of the encrypted credentials may be performed as described above. In particular, both the encrypted credentials, in particular the encrypted signature, of the material owner and the encrypted credentials, in particular the encrypted signature, of the material recipient may be verified.

[0090] According to the present disclosure, a material transfer transaction may contain exactly one material identifier. Thus, each transaction may uniquely relate to only one material and its associated material data set. This makes parsing the information easier and keeps transactions streamlined.

[0091] According to the present disclosure, retrieving a material data set associated with a transfer of a material based on a material identifier and material production data contained in transaction metadata may include: determining a chemical substance associated with the material based on a material identifier contained in the metadata; and retrieving a material data set associated with the transfer of the material based on the determined substance and material production data.

[0092] The chemical substance may be any material having a clear chemical composition and characteristic properties. As an example, the material may be at least one of ethanol, urea, sulfonic acid, hydrogen chloride, nitric acid, styrene, acrylic acid, hydrogen, propanol, butanol, butyl acetate, butyl acrylate, and ethyl acrylate.

[0093] Thus, for example, at least two material data sets may each be data sets containing data for different specific batches of a chemical substance. Based on the material identifier in the transaction, it may be identified that the transfer of a material is associated with a specific chemical substance, but not necessarily which batch of said substance it is associated with. A material data set associated with a transfer of a material (e.g., a specific batch of said substance being transferred) may be retrieved as described above based on material production data, which may, for example, be used to identify a specific batch and / or a material data set associated therewith.

[0094] According to the present disclosure, chemical substances can be associated with materials via chemical registration numbers, particularly CAS numbers.

[0095] A CAS number (also known as a CAS registry number) is a unique identifier assigned by the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) to chemical substances, including organic compounds, inorganic compounds, minerals, isotopes, alloys, mixtures, and unstructured materials.

[0096] According to the present disclosure, a distributed ledger application may be stored on each member node of the distributed ledger.

[0097] According to the present disclosure, a distributed ledger application may be a smart contract.

[0098] According to the present disclosure, a material identifier may include a pointer to a digital representation of a chemical substance.

[0099] The pointer to the digital representation of the chemical substance may be a pointer to an identifier (eg an accession number) of the chemical substance, in particular a hash pointer.

[0100] Any disclosure, embodiment, feature, technical effect and advantage described in the context of the method in the present disclosure also applies to the apparatus, use and computer elements of the present disclosure, and vice versa. The benefits provided by any embodiment and example are also applicable to all other embodiments and examples, and vice versa.

[0101] the term

[0102] In the following, the terms used herein and / or the technical field of the present disclosure will be summarized by way of definitions and / or examples. Where examples are given, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the examples.

[0103] In this disclosure, a material should be broadly understood to refer to one or more physical entities. A material can be discrete or non-discrete, for example, in the case of a non-discrete material, the material can be a continuous volume of solid or liquid material, or in the case of a discrete material, the material can include multiple components, such as parts or components. For example, a chemical material can be a raw chemical material, a chemically processed material, or a recycled material.

[0104] According to the present disclosure, materials can be classified into at least the following material categories.

[0105] In the present disclosure, raw materials may include materials that are educts or starting materials in a production process. Virgin materials may be original materials or recycled materials, for example, materials that have gone through a production and use cycle.

[0106] According to the present disclosure, virgin materials may include newly extracted raw materials, particularly materials that have not undergone a production and use cycle, particularly materials that have not been processed and / or used. For example, virgin materials may not have undergone any of the second to sixth steps of the production process described below.

[0107] According to the present disclosure, a reused material may be a material that has gone through a production and use cycle. For example, a reused material may be a material that has been processed after use to prepare for reuse. This may require processing steps (e.g., recycling) and / or other processing steps (e.g., cleaning, etc.).

[0108] Recycled material is an example of a reused material. A reused material may be a material that has been through one or more processing steps after the material has been used. These processing steps may be steps that enable the material to be used as a raw material.

[0109] This disclosure involves the transfer of materials.

[0110] Materials may be transferred during a production process, which, according to the present disclosure, may include a production phase and a use phase (e.g., use by an end consumer). The production process may include processing the material after use for reuse and entering another processing phase. Alternatively or additionally, the production process may include disposing of the material.

[0111] In more detail, for example, a production process according to the present disclosure may be a process comprising at least a first step, a second step and a third step, wherein the first step is also referred to as a feed step or a material introduction step, in which the material is introduced into the production process, the second step is also referred to as a processing step, in which the material introduced into the production process is processed, for example, to obtain a product, and the third step is also referred to as a use step, for example, including use by an end customer.

[0112] Typically, materials can be transferred in a linear process (eg, a linear production process) or in a cyclic process (which can include a production process).

[0113] According to the present disclosure, a recycling process is a process that includes a reuse phase in addition to a production phase and a use phase. Therefore, it may also include processing materials for reuse. In particular, the recycling process may include one or more of the following steps, in particular all of the following steps: the first step, the second step, the third step (also referred to as the use step) described above, and the fourth step and the fifth step, the fourth step is also referred to as processing for reuse, which may include, for example, a recovery step and / or a cleaning step, and the fifth step is also referred to as a reuse step, which may be another processing step. Optionally, the recycling process may include a sixth step (also referred to as a disposal step). In addition, different cycles of the recycling process may include different subsets of the above steps.

[0114] These steps may optionally be performed in this order.

[0115] Optionally, the fourth step and the fifth step may be repeated before performing the sixth step.

[0116] Each of the first to sixth steps may include a plurality of sub-steps.

[0117] During the cyclic process, one or more materials may be involved, and in particular may undergo one or more, in particular all, of the first to sixth steps.

[0118] During the cycle process, the material can be divided and / or combined with other materials. Combining with other materials can be considered as processing the material and processing the other material.

[0119] Alternatively or additionally, one or more materials may be transferred between parties during the recycling process.

[0120] In particular, the cyclic process may be implemented as a closed material loop. According to the present disclosure, a closed material loop may be a cyclic process, more specifically a cyclic material flow, wherein virgin material is only fed into the cyclic process to replace unusable material, e.g., disposed material and material that is diffused or accidentally lost to the environment (e.g., by wear, abrasion, or irreversible loss). Otherwise, no virgin material is fed / introduced into the closed material loop. The virgin material flow that is fed into the cyclic process to replace disposed material and / or diffused or accidentally lost material may be referred to as a replenishment flow of virgin material.

[0121] A linear process may include only a production phase, a use phase, and a disposal phase. In particular, it may not involve the reuse of materials, and in particular may not involve any recovery steps and / or other processing steps to prepare for the reuse of materials. In other words, the raw materials may not include materials of the process itself, for example, materials that are recycled or otherwise reintroduced. As an example, a linear process may include the first to third steps and the sixth step described above, but may not include the fourth and fifth steps described above.

[0122] In the present disclosure, a transfer of material may refer to a transfer of material between one or more first parties (each first party is also referred to as a material owner) and one or more second parties (each second party is also referred to as a material recipient), in particular, a transfer from one or more first parties to one or more second parties. A transfer of material may refer to an already executed as well as an expected or planned transfer of material from a first party to one or more second parties. In particular, a transfer of material may include a transfer of material between exactly one first party and exactly one second party.

[0123] The one or more first parties and the one or more second parties, in particular, the material owner and the material recipient may each include at least one of a legal person (eg, a company), a natural person, and a collection of legal persons and / or natural persons.

[0124] The material owner may be a party that has material ownership, in particular, a party that has physical control over the material and / or economic ownership of the material. The material owner that is a transferor of the material is also referred to in this disclosure as the material owner associated with the transfer of the material, and vice versa.

[0125] The material recipient may be the party that obtains the material ownership, in particular, the party that obtains the physical control over the material and / or the economic ownership of the material. In this disclosure, the material recipient who is the transferor of the material is also referred to as the material recipient associated with the transfer of the material, and vice versa.

[0126] The transfer of materials may include the transfer of ownership from the material owner to the material recipient, and may include at least one of the transfer of physical control over the materials (also referred to as the physical transfer of materials) and the transfer of economic ownership of the materials. The materials transferred during the transfer of materials are also referred to as materials associated with the transfer of materials, and vice versa.

[0127] The one or more first parties and the one or more second parties are collectively referred to herein as parties involved in the transfer.

[0128] According to the present disclosure, material data (or in short, data) associated with or related to a material may include, for example, transaction metadata and / or the amount of material transferred during the transfer of the material. The material data may optionally include production data, such as a timestamp, a production location, a production country, a serial number (IBC), a QR code, and / or a batch ID. Alternatively or additionally, the material data may optionally include a material data set (also referred to as data representing one or more characteristics of a material), and / or one or more digital representations pointing to a material data set or a portion thereof.

[0129] The material data set may include a material name, a material ID, a material composition, chemical and / or physical properties of a material, emissions data for a material, recycled content of a material, biobased content of a material, further material production data, material declaration data, chemical material safety data, certificate of analysis data associated with a material, or a combination thereof. A material data set associated with a transfer of a material may be a data set that includes material data specifically associated with a material being transferred (e.g., with a particular batch to which a transfer of the material relates).

[0130] In particular, it may not include material data that is not associated with the transferred material, or in other words may only include such material data that is associated with the transferred material.

[0131] The term "material data set" should be understood broadly in the present context and may include data related to the properties of the material and / or data related to the use of the material. Such properties may be static properties or dynamic properties. Static properties may be properties that are constant over time, such as melting point, boiling point, density, hardness, flammability, etc. Dynamic properties may be properties that vary over time, such as shelf life, pH value, color, reactivity. The properties of the material may include performance properties, chemical properties (such as flammability, toxicity, acidity, reactivity, heat of combustion), and / or physical properties (such as density, color, hardness, melting and boiling points, conductivity, etc.). Data related to the use of the material may include data related to the further processing of the material (e.g., the use of the material as a reactant in a further (multiple) chemical reaction) and / or data related to the use of the material (e.g., data related to the use of the material in a processing process and / or in a manufacturing process). The material data set may include chemical data, emission data, recycled content, bio-based content and / or production data.

[0132] Transaction metadata may be considered as data representing the material being transferred. Transaction metadata may include one or more of a material identifier, at least one material classification, and material production data. For example, a material identifier may include a digital representation pointing to a material data set or a portion thereof, and in the present disclosure, to at least two different material data sets. For example, in accordance with the present disclosure, the transaction itself may not include any specific details about the materials associated with the material transfer. For example, this may ensure that the transaction can be made public while keeping details about the transferred materials and the parties involved confidential. As a more specific example, a transaction may include transaction data that includes a digital representation pointing to a material data set or a portion thereof. In addition, the transaction data may include one or more of a transaction type (e.g., a create or transfer transaction), one or more public keys (such as the public keys of a material owner and a material recipient), an ID, and an amount of the material being transferred.

[0133] In the present case, the term "digital representation(s) pointing to material data or a part thereof" should be understood broadly and may include at least one interface to a data providing service.

[0134] It may further include at least one interface to a data consumption service. It may include an endpoint for data exchange or sharing (resource endpoint) or an endpoint for service interaction (service endpoint), which endpoint is uniquely identified via a communication protocol. Thus, (multiple) digital representations pointing to material data or a portion thereof may be uniquely associated with a decentralized identifier.

[0135] According to the present disclosure, a material data set may be received from a data providing service. In the present case, the term "data providing service" should be understood broadly and includes computer executable instructions for providing and / or processing data associated with a data owner (such as material data) for access and / or processing by a data consuming service.

[0136] A material data set according to the present disclosure may include a decentralized identifier and data related to the material. Optionally, the material data set may include data related to an authentication mechanism associated with the decentralized identifier. Alternatively or additionally, the material data set may relate to and / or include data related to one or more authorization mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier.

[0137] In the present case, the term "decentralized identifier" may be understood broadly and may include any unique identifier that is uniquely associated with a data owner and material data. Decentralized identifiers may include universally unique identifiers (UUIDs) or digital identifiers (DIDs). Decentralized identifiers may be issued by centralized or decentralized identity issuing authorities. Decentralized identifiers may include authentication information. Access to material data may be controlled by the data owner via the decentralized identifier and its unique association with the data owner and material data. This is in contrast to a centralized authority approach, in which the identifier is provided by such a centralized authority and access to the data is controlled by such a centralized authority.

[0138] In this context, decentralized may mean that the use of identifiers is controlled by the data owner at the time of implementation.

[0139] In the present disclosure, a material data set may include one or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier and data related to the material data.

[0140] Authentication mechanisms can include tokens (such as private keys and public key infrastructure), certificate mechanisms, or biometric mechanisms (such as fingerprints, facial recognition, or voice recognition, etc.). For example, a common public key certificate is an X.509 certificate. Through the authentication mechanism, data access to data consumption services can be controlled in a secure manner, and the integrity of the data provision service can be ensured. This makes data exchange or sharing more reliable, controllable, and secure.

[0141] One or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier generated by a central node or by one or more decentralized nodes can be provided to the node generating the material data set and at least one decentralized authentication data registry, which nodes are preferably accessible by data provision services and / or data consumption services. The authentication data registry can be a centralized registry, such as a centralized file system, a centrally managed distributed database, and / or a centrally managed peer-to-peer network. A centralized configuration allows for greater control and standardization via a central node. The authentication data registry can be a decentralized registry, such as a distributed ledger, a decentralized file system, a distributed database, and / or a peer-to-peer network. A decentralized configuration allows for more efficient use of computing resources and increased control of the data owner over the material data set.

[0142] In the present disclosure, a material data set may involve or include one or more authorization mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier and data related to the material data. The authorization mechanism may include authorization rules (multiple) including data transaction instructions or data transaction agreements, such as data usage policies, smart data contracts, or more complex data processing instructions associated with data provision and / or data consumption services. Through the authorization mechanism, data access and data usage by data consumption services can be controlled in a secure manner.

[0143] One or more authorization mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier generated by a central node or by one or more decentralized nodes may be provided to a node for generating or processing a material data set or a node for accessing data related to the material data. Additionally or alternatively, one or more authorization mechanisms may be provided to at least one centralized or decentralized authorization data registry, which may preferably be accessed by a data providing service and / or a data consuming service. In one embodiment, one or more authorization mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier generated by one or more decentralized nodes may be provided to a node for generating or processing a material data set and at least one of a centralized file system, a centrally managed distributed database, a centrally managed peer-to-peer network, a distributed ledger, a decentralized file system, a distributed database, and / or a peer-to-peer network, which may preferably be accessed by a data providing service and / or a data consuming service.

[0144] In the present disclosure, a material transfer transaction (also referred to simply as a material transaction) should be understood as a digital representation, in particular a unique digital representation, of a transfer of material from a first party to one or more second parties, in particular from exactly one first party to exactly one second party. A material transfer transaction is also referred to in the present disclosure as a material transfer transaction associated with a transfer of material, and vice versa. Thus, material associated with a transfer of material may also be referred to as material associated with a material transfer transaction, and vice versa. More specifically, a material transfer transaction may be a transaction stored in a distributed ledger.

[0145] According to the present disclosure, a material transfer transaction request (also referred to as a material transaction request for short) may include instructions for submitting the material transfer transaction request as a material transfer transaction to a distributed ledger. In particular, the request may be a request to submit the material transfer request as a material transaction to a distributed ledger and optionally store the material transfer transaction in the distributed ledger. The material transfer transaction is also referred to as being associated with the material transfer transaction request, and vice versa.

[0146] A material transfer transaction request may be created and / or sent by a requesting party (also referred to as a requestor) to, for example, a distributed ledger application.

[0147] In accordance with the present disclosure, a material transfer transaction and / or a material transfer transaction request may be referred to as being associated with a material, and vice versa.

[0148] The material transfer transaction request may include material data. That is, the material data may be stored in the material transfer transaction associated with the material transfer transaction request.

[0149] Alternatively or additionally, the material transfer transaction request may include data indicative of the material transfer transaction. For example, the data indicative of the material transfer transaction may include data representing an identity of the transfer transaction (also referred to as a transaction identity). Such data may be any data (including an identifier, etc.) that uniquely identifies the material transfer transaction in a given context (e.g., in a given distributed network).

[0150] In the present disclosure, submitting a material transfer transaction request as a transaction to a distributed ledger may, for example, include instructions for storing the transaction in a distributed ledger. For example, a material transfer transaction is received and verified at a member node (also referred to as a receiving node of a distributed ledger). The receiving node may store the request verified as valid in a database and may assign the request verified as valid to one or more other nodes running a consensus algorithm (such as a BTF (Byzantine Fault Tolerant) consensus protocol). The one or more other nodes may process the assigned request by creating an ordered list of transactions according to the assigned request, create blocks for the transaction, and store the blocks in a database. Each created block has a reference to a parent block, thereby generating a blockchain. Other member nodes running a consensus algorithm vote to determine whether they consider the block to be valid or invalid by checking the validity of each transaction in the block. If such a node finds an invalid transaction, it votes to consider the block to be invalid, otherwise it votes to consider the block to be valid. Once the majority of votes for a block are positive (valid), voting for the block is stopped and the block is submitted to the blockchain. Otherwise, the block is rejected and will not be submitted to the blockchain.

[0151] In the present disclosure, the storage of the transfer transaction may, for example, include storing the transfer transaction in a distributed ledger, for example, adding it to the distributed ledger as a block. In one example, the decision to add the transfer transaction to the distributed ledger is made by consensus, i.e., a majority of the member nodes of the distributed ledger must agree that the transaction is valid (as described above).

[0152] Storing a transaction in a distributed ledger may be triggered by submitting a transfer transaction request as a transaction to the distributed ledger. Thus, storing the transaction may be performed in response to the submission, unless an error occurs.

[0153] The confirmation of submitting a request (eg, a material transaction request) may include an indication that the submitting is authorized, which may imply that the submitting has been or will be performed. In particular, the confirmation of submitting may include an indication that the submitting has been successfully performed.

[0154] Sending or receiving confirmation that the request has been submitted as a transaction to the distributed ledger may require sending or receiving information (particularly included in the message) indicating that the request has been and / or will be submitted as a transaction to the distributed ledger.

[0155] Sending or receiving a refusal to submit the request to the distributed ledger, e.g. as a transaction, may require sending or receiving information (particularly included in the message) indicating that the request has not been and will not be submitted to the distributed ledger, e.g. as a transaction.

[0156] Verifying the transfer of material may include determining whether a transfer of material to be registered in the distributed ledger is about to occur or has occurred between the parties based on data associated with the transfer of material (e.g., data associated with the material, the material owner, and / or the material recipient) and / or data associated with the material transaction request, and based on a predetermined rule or set of rules.

[0157] Verifying the transfer of the material may include verifying the encrypted credentials of the material owner associated with the transfer of the material and / or the encrypted credentials of the material recipient associated with the transfer of the material. For example, the encrypted credentials may be included in the material transaction request associated with the transfer of the material.

[0158] The cryptographic credential may include data that establishes the identity of a party to a communication. The cryptographic credential may take the form of a machine-readable cryptographic key (e.g., a public key and / or a private key and / or a cryptographic signature and / or a password and / or a passphrase). The cryptographic credential may be self-published or published by a trusted third party. The cryptographic credential may be configured to establish a clear association of the cryptographic credential with a specific, real individual or other entity. The cryptographic credential may optionally be configured to expire after a period of time, although this is not mandatory. An X.509 public key certificate is an example of a cryptographic credential.

[0159] Verifying the encrypted credentials may include matching the encrypted credentials to a list of credentials, particularly a managed list. Such a list may include a blacklist and / or a whitelist of credentials. Verification of the encrypted credentials may be successful when the encrypted credentials match or do not match a credential on the credential list, for example, when the encrypted credentials match a credential on the whitelist or when the encrypted credentials do not match a credential on the blacklist.

[0160] In the context of the present disclosure, for example, in addition to or as an alternative to matching the cryptographic credential with a credential list, verifying the cryptographic credential may also include matching a transaction identity for a material transfer transaction including the cryptographic credential or associated with the cryptographic credential with a transaction identity list. Validation of the cryptographic credential may be successful when the transaction identity matches or does not match a transaction identity on the transaction identity list, for example, when the transaction identity matches a transaction identity on a whitelist or when the transaction identity does not match a transaction identity on a blacklist.

[0161] For example, the computer-implemented method may involve a decentralized material network including a distributed ledger, as in the case of the present application. A distributed ledger can be viewed as a shared, replicated, and synchronized database between member nodes of a decentralized network (such as a P2P network). In general, a distributed ledger can record transactions between participants of the network and can therefore provide an immutable transaction history.

[0162] Updates to the distributed ledger can be performed based on a consensus algorithm. When an update occurs, all nodes update themselves with the correct updated copy of the ledger.

[0163] Blockchain applications are specific examples of distributed ledger applications. The nature of distributed ledgers is that there is no centralized authority, such as a clearing house.

[0164] The distributed ledger (more specifically, its transactions) may represent a material flow in a material network (such as a production chain or a supply chain), for example, an introduction of a material into a material network or a transfer of a material within a material network. In this case, the distributed ledger may allow for searching transactions, which in turn may enable searching across multiple intermediate steps in a material network (e.g., a supply chain), thereby ensuring traceability of the material flow and accountability of each material owner and recipient.

[0165] A distributed ledger may include a distributed ledger application, as in the context of the present disclosure. The distributed ledger application performs computational steps associated with the distributed ledger.

[0166] Distributed ledger applications can be stored on each member node of the distributed ledger.

[0167] As an example, a distributed ledger application may be a smart contract. A smart contract may be a computer program or transaction protocol that automatically executes and / or controls and / or records events and / or actions according to an agreement (e.g., a contract).

[0168] For example, a computer program or transaction protocol may automatically perform steps in response to predetermined conditions derived from and / or specified in the satisfied agreement.

[0169] As used herein, "determining" also includes "initiating or causing determination", "generating" also includes "initiating and / or causing generation", and "providing" also includes "initiating or causing determination, generation, selecting, sending and / or receiving". "Initiating or causing performance of an action" includes any processing signal that triggers a computing node or device to perform a corresponding action.

[0170] In the claims and the description, "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several entities or items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to an advantageous embodiment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0171] The present disclosure will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0172] FIG. 1 a illustrates an example embodiment of a centralized computing environment having computing nodes.

[0173] FIG. 1 b illustrates an example embodiment of a distributed computing environment having computing nodes.

[0174] FIG. 1c illustrates an example embodiment of a distributed computing environment.

[0175] Figure 2 An example of a distributed ledger is shown.

[0176] Figure 3A , Figure 3B Example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0177] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a method according to the present disclosure.

[0178] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5E Potential applications of the methods of the present disclosure are demonstrated.

[0179] Figure 6 An example of a material data set including DID owner data, DID document data, and a decentralized identity infrastructure is shown.

[0180] Figure 7 Examples of material data sets including ID-based data, material data sets, and a decentralized identity infrastructure are shown.

[0181] Figure 8 An example of a production facility producing a chemical product associated with a materials dataset is shown.

[0182] Fig. 9Another example of a production facility producing a chemical product associated with a material data set is shown.

[0183] Fig.10 An example of a production system for producing a chemical product associated with one or more material data sets is presented.

[0184] Fig.11 Example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0185] FIG. 12A to FIG. 12B is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a method according to the present disclosure.

[0186] Fig.13 Example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0187] FIG. 14A to FIG. 14D is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a method according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0188] The following embodiments are merely examples for implementing the methods, systems, or application devices disclosed herein and should not be considered limiting.

[0189] To provide context for methods and apparatus according to the present disclosure, different computing environments (centralized, decentralized, and distributed) are illustrated in FIGS. 1a to 1c and described below.

[0190] The methods, apparatus, and computer elements of the present disclosure are implemented in a distributed or at least partially distributed computing environment, specifically a distributed network, which can reflect the distributed nature of material transfer between independent parties.

[0191] FIG. 1 a shows an example embodiment of a centralized computing system 100 , which includes a central computing node 101 (the solid circle in the middle) and a number of peripheral computing nodes 101 . 1 to 101 . n (represented as the solid circles on the periphery).

[0192] The term "computing system" is broadly defined herein to include one or more computing nodes, node systems, or combinations thereof. The term "computing node" is broadly defined herein and may refer to any device or system including at least one physical tangible processor and a physical tangible memory capable of having computer executable instructions executed by the processor thereon. The form of computing nodes is now increasingly diverse. Computing nodes may be, for example, handheld devices, production facilities, sensors, monitoring systems, control systems, electrical appliances, laptop computers, desktop computers, mainframes, data centers, or even devices that are not traditionally considered to be computing nodes, such as wearable devices (e.g., glasses, watches, etc.). Memory may take any form and depend on the nature and form of the computing node.

[0193] In this example, the peripheral computing nodes 101.1 to 101.n may be connected to a central computing system (or server). In another example, the peripheral computing nodes 101.1 to 101.n may be attached to a central computing node via, for example, a terminal server (not shown). Most functions may be performed by or obtained from a central computing node (also referred to as a remote centralized location). One peripheral computing node 101.n has been expanded to provide an overview of the components present in a peripheral computing node.

[0194] The central computing node 101 may include the same components as described with respect to the peripheral computing nodes 101 . n.

[0195] Each computing node 101, 101.1 to 101.n may include at least one hardware processor 102 and memory 104. The term "processor" may refer to any logic circuit configured to perform the basic operations of a computer or system, and / or generally refers to a device configured to perform calculations or logical operations. In particular, a processor or computer processor may be configured to process basic instructions that drive a computer or system. The processor may be a semiconductor-based processor, a quantum processor, or any other type of processor configured to process instructions. As an example, the processor may include at least one arithmetic logic unit ("ALU"), at least one floating point unit ("FPU") (such as a math coprocessor or a digital coprocessor), a plurality of registers (specifically registers configured to provide operands to the ALU and store operation results), and memory (such as L1 and L2 cache memory). In particular, the processor may be a multi-core processor. In particular, the processor may be or may include a central processing unit ("CPU"). The processor may be a ("GPU") graphics processing unit, a ("TPU") tensor processing unit, a ("CISC") complex instruction set computing microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing ("RISC") microprocessor, a very long instruction word ("VLIW") microprocessor, or a processor that implements other instruction sets or multiple processors that implement a combination of instruction sets. The processing device may also be one or more special processing devices, such as an application specific integrated circuit ("ASIC"), a field programmable gate array ("FPGA"), a complex programmable logic device ("CPLD"), a digital signal processor ("DSP"), a network processor, etc. The methods, systems, and devices described herein may be implemented as software in a DSP, a microcontroller, or any other auxiliary processor, or as hardware circuits within an ASIC, CPLD, or FPGA. It should be understood that the term processor may also refer to one or more processing devices, such as a distributed processing device system located on multiple computer systems (e.g., cloud computing), and is not limited to a single device unless otherwise specified.

[0196] Memory 104 may refer to physical system memory, which may be volatile, nonvolatile, or a combination thereof. Memory may include nonvolatile mass storage, such as physical storage media. Memory may be a computer-readable storage medium (such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, disk storage, or other magnetic storage device, or any other physical tangible storage medium, which may be used to store desired program code devices in the form of computer executable instructions or data structures and may be accessed by a computing system. In addition, memory may be a computer-readable medium (also referred to as a transmission medium) that carries computer executable instructions. Further, after reaching various computing system components, program code devices in the form of computer executable instructions or data structures may be automatically transferred from a transmission medium to a storage medium (and vice versa). For example, a computer executable instruction or data structure received via a network or data link may be buffered in a RAM within a network interface module (e.g., "NIC"), and then ultimately transferred to a computing system RAM and / or a storage medium with lower volatility at a computing system. Therefore, it should be understood that a storage medium may be included in a computing component that also (or even primarily) utilizes a transmission medium.

[0197] Computing nodes 101, 101.1 ... 101.n may include a plurality of structures 106, which are generally referred to as "executable components or computer executable instructions." For example, memory 104 of computing nodes 101, 101.1 ... 101.n may be illustrated as including executable components 106. The term "executable component" may be a name for a structure known to one of ordinary skill in the computing arts, which structure may be software, hardware, or a combination thereof, or may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For example, when implemented in software, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the structure of the executable component includes a software object, routine, method, etc., that is executed on computing nodes 101, 101.1 ... 101.n, regardless of whether such executable component is present in a heap of computing nodes 101, 101.1 ... 101.n or the executable component is present on a computer-readable storage medium. In this case, a person skilled in the art will recognize that the structure of the executable component exists on a computer-readable medium so that when interpreted by one or more processors (e.g., by a processor thread) of the computing nodes 101, 101.1 ... 101.n, the computing nodes 101, 101.1 ... 101n will perform functions. Such a structure can be directly computer-readable by the processor (such as the case where the executable component is binary). Alternatively, the structure can be constructed to be interpretable and / or compiled (whether in a single stage or in multiple stages) to generate such binary that can be directly interpreted by the processor. When the term "executable component" is used, this understanding of the example structure of the executable component is completely within the scope of understanding of a person skilled in the art of computing. Examples of executable components implemented in hardware include hard-coded or hard-wired logic gates that are implemented exclusively or almost exclusively in hardware, such as in a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any other dedicated circuit. In this specification, the terms "component", "agent", "manager", "service", "engine", "module", "virtual machine", etc. are used synonymously with the term "executable component".

[0198] The processor 102 of each computing node 101, 101.1 ... 101.n directs the operation of each computing node 101, 101.1 ... 101.n in response to executing computer executable instructions constituting executable components. For example, such computer executable instructions may be embodied on one or more computer readable media forming a computer program product. The computer executable instructions may be stored in a memory 104 of each computing node 101, 101.1 ... 101.n. The computer executable instructions include, for example, instructions and data that, when executed at the processor 101, cause the general computing node 101, 101.1 ... 101.n, the special computing node 101, 101.1 ... 101.n, or the special processing device to perform a specific function or group of functions. Alternatively or in addition, the computer executable instructions may configure the computing node 101, 101.1 ... 101.n to perform a specific function or group of functions. Computer executable instructions may be, for example, binary or even instructions that undergo some conversion (such as compilation) before being directly executed by a processor, such as intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, or even source code.

[0199] Each computing node 101, 101.1 ... 101.n may include a communication channel 108, e.g., a network (depicted as a solid line between a peripheral computing node and a central computing node in FIG. 1a) that allows each computing node 101.1 ... 101.n to communicate with the central computing node 101. A "network" may be defined as one or more data links capable of transporting electronic data between computing nodes 101, 101.1 ... 101.n and / or modules and / or other electronic devices. When information is transmitted or provided to computing nodes 101, 101.1 ... 101.n via a network or another communication connection (hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless), computing nodes 101, 101.1 ... 101.n correctly regard the connection as a transmission medium. The transmission medium may include a network and / or a data link that may be used to carry a desired program code device in the form of a computer executable instruction or data structure and may be accessed by a general or special computing node 101, 101.1 ... 101.n. Combinations of the above may also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0200] The computing nodes 101, 101.1 to 101.n may further include a user interface system 110 for interfacing with a user. The user interface system 110 may include an output mechanism 110A and an input mechanism 110B. The principles described herein are not limited to the exact output mechanism 110A or input mechanism 110B, as this will depend on the nature of the device. However, the output mechanism 110A may include, for example, a display, a speaker, a display, a tactile output, a hologram, etc. Examples of the input mechanism 110B may include, for example, a microphone, a touch screen, a hologram, a camera, a keyboard, a mouse or other pointer input, any type of sensor, etc.

[0201] FIG. 1b shows an example embodiment of a distributed computing environment 100', in which several computing nodes 101.1' to 101.n' are represented as solid circles. Compared with the centralized computing environment 100 shown in FIG. 1a, the computing nodes 101.1' to 101.n' in the distributed computing environment are not connected to the central computing node 101 and are therefore not under the control of the central computing node. On the contrary, both hardware resources and software resources can be allocated to each individual computing node 101.1' ... 101.n' (local or remote computing system), and data can be distributed between each computing node 101.1' ... 101.n' to perform tasks. Therefore, in a distributed system environment, program modules can be located in local and remote memory storage devices. A computing node 101' has been expanded to provide an overview of the components present in the computing node 101'. In this example, the computing node 101' includes the same components as described with respect to FIG. 1a.

[0202] FIG1c illustrates an example embodiment of a distributed computing environment 103. In this specification, "distributed computing" may refer to any computing that utilizes multiple computing resources. Such utilization may be achieved through virtualization of physical computing resources.

[0203] An example of distributed computing is cloud computing. "Cloud computing" may refer to a model for implementing on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services). When a cloud computing environment is distributed, the cloud computing environment may be distributed internationally within an organization and / or across multiple organizations. In this example, a distributed cloud computing environment 103 may include the following computing resources: (multiple) mobile devices 114, applications 116, databases 118, data storage 120, and (multiple) servers 122. Cloud computing environment 103 may be deployed as a public cloud 124, a private cloud 126, or a hybrid cloud 128. Private cloud 124 may be owned by an organization, and only members of the organization with appropriate access rights may use private cloud 126, so that the data in the private cloud is at least confidential. In contrast, data stored in public cloud 126 may be open to anyone via the Internet. Hybrid cloud 128 may be a combination of private cloud 124 and public cloud 126, and may make some of the data confidential while other data may be publicly available.

[0204] As explained in detail above, the methods and apparatus of the present disclosure may utilize a distributed ledger. Figure 2 An exemplary distributed ledger 200 is shown in FIG.

[0205] A distributed ledger 200 is a shared, replicated, and synchronized database between member nodes 202 of a decentralized network, such as a P2P network. A distributed ledger application performs computational steps associated with a distributed ledger. Typically, a distributed ledger can record transactions between participants of a network, and thus can provide an immutable transaction history. Updates to a distributed ledger are performed based on a consensus algorithm. When an update occurs, all nodes update themselves with a correctly updated copy of the ledger. Blockchain applications are specific examples of distributed ledger applications. The nature of a distributed ledger is that there is no centralized institution, such as a clearing house.

[0206] A distributed ledger (more specifically, its transactions) may represent a material flow in a material network (such as a supply chain), for example, an introduction of a material into a material network or a transfer of a material within a material network. In this case, the distributed ledger may allow for searching transactions, which in turn may enable lookups across multiple intermediate steps in a material network (such as a supply chain), thereby ensuring traceability of the material flow and accountability of each material owner and recipient.

[0207] exist Figure 2In the example, each node is shown as having a database layer 204a (also referred to as a database API) and a distributed ledger control layer 204b, which includes a distributed consensus algorithm and serves as a distributed ledger anchor (e.g., a blockchain anchor). Providing different layers may be advantageous because database functions are suitable for high throughput, for example, for data loading and retrieval, access and query, while distributed ledger functions generally provide lower throughput but ensure data immutability, tamper resistance, evidence, decentralized consensus of state, and state replication across different nodes. However, separation into different layers is optional.

[0208] like Figure 2 The distributed ledger presented in can be configured so that database access and query commands on each node are implemented as part of the database layer, and only a few necessary database commands are implemented by the control layer.

[0209] As an example, when it comes to material flows represented by a distributed ledger, the control layer can implement create transactions and transfer transactions, where create transactions represent the feeding or introduction of materials into the material network, while transfer transactions represent the transfer of materials from a material owner to a material recipient within the material network.

[0210] A create transaction may, for example, write an asset object to the ledger and add a pointer to the corresponding metadata, while a transfer transaction may, for example, perform an "append-only" write operation on the ledger that must reference one or more input transactions (create transactions or transfer transactions) and one or more outputs (destination addresses).

[0211] Thus, with only two transaction types, even distributed tracking and recording of material flows in a material network (in particular, mass balances of materials) can be performed in distributed consensus.

[0212] Figure 3A and Figure 3B A block diagram showing a method for verifying the transfer of materials between a material owner and a material recipient in a decentralized network including a distributed ledger 302 according to the present disclosure is shown, the distributed ledger including a plurality of member nodes 304 and a distributed ledger application 306. For simplicity, only one of the member nodes is shown in detail. The member node communicates with a requester computer device 308 (also referred to as a requester), for example, via a data connection.

[0213] The requester computer device communicates, for example via another data connection, with the storage device 310a on which the material owner's encrypted credential(s) 312a are stored. The requester device is configured to retrieve the material owner's encrypted credential(s) from the storage device.

[0214] Optionally, the requester device may also be configured to retrieve the encrypted credential(s) 312b of the material recipient from the storage device 310a or from a different storage device 310b in communication therewith. The requester computer device is configured to send a material transaction request 314 to a member node, specifically to a distributed ledger application.

[0215] The material transaction request contains material data 318 associated with the material transfer to be verified. In addition, the material transaction request includes at least the encrypted credentials of the material owner. Optionally, the material transaction request may also include the encrypted credentials of the material recipient.

[0216] The distributed ledger application is configured to receive a material transaction request from a requestor computer device and verify the transfer of the material.

[0217] Verifying the transfer of the material is performed by verifying the cryptographic credentials of at least the material owner and optionally the material recipient contained in the material transaction request.

[0218] FIG. 3a illustrates a situation where the transfer of the material is successfully confirmed. If this is the case, the material transaction 318 is submitted to the distributed ledger and optionally stored in the distributed ledger. In addition, the member node (specifically the distributed ledger application) sends a confirmation 320 of submitting the transaction request as a transaction to the requestor computer device. In addition, in the same or different steps, the success of storing the transaction in the distributed ledger can also be sent to the requestor computer device.

[0219] FIG3b shows the same system as FIG3a. In FIG3b, a situation is shown where the transfer of the material is not confirmed. In this case, a rejection 322 of submitting the transaction request as a transaction is sent to the requestor computer device by the member node (specifically the distributed ledger application). In addition, since the transfer of the material is not confirmed, the material transaction request is not submitted to the distributed ledger as a transaction or stored in the distributed ledger. In FIG3a and FIG3b, the decentralized network is represented by reference numeral 324.

[0220] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating the computer-implemented method of the present application.

[0221] In step S21, the requester sends a material transaction request. The material transaction request includes material data associated with the material and encrypted credentials of the material owner and optionally the material recipient.

[0222] In step S22, a material transaction request is received by the distributed ledger application from a requester.

[0223] In step S23, the distributed ledger application verifies the transfer of the material by verifying the cryptographic credentials of the material owner and optional material recipient.

[0224] If the credentials are successfully verified, then in step S24, the material transaction request is submitted to the distributed ledger as a material transaction, and a confirmation of submitting the material transaction request is sent by the distributed ledger application.

[0225] If the credentials are not successfully verified, then in step S25 a rejection to submit the material transaction request as a material transaction is sent by the distributed ledger application.

[0226] In step S26, a confirmation of the submittal material transaction request is received, for example, by the requester.

[0227] In step S27, a rejection of the submission material transaction request is received, for example, by the requester.

[0228] According to the present disclosure, material transactions can include different types of transactions. For example, a material transfer transaction can be a creation transaction. A creation transaction can be a transaction type that represents the introduction of, for example, raw or virgin materials into a production process. Through the methods of the present disclosure, restrictions can be implemented as to which participant is the material owner eligible to conduct a creation transaction. Thus, any entry point into the production process can be closely controlled.

[0229] For example, there may be a whitelist or blacklist of parties that are eligible to submit a create transaction to the distributed ledger. It should be noted that a create transaction has no previous transactions within a transaction chain. Therefore, some checks that can be applied within a transaction chain (e.g., mass balance, etc.) cannot be applied to a create transaction, which makes it even more important to only allow trustworthy parties to create transactions.

[0230] Another type of transaction may be an ongoing transfer transaction, which may be any transaction that does not introduce or dispose of material. These transactions will have a previous transaction. This may allow, for example, mass balancing to be done and ensure that material does not simply appear or disappear.

[0231] exist FIG. 5A to FIG. 5E , different examples are shown demonstrating potential applications of the methods of the present disclosure in material networks (eg, supply chains).

[0232] Participants in the example may include one or more of: a material provider 502 , one or more product producers 504 (eg, a part producer 504a , a component producer 504b , a module producer 504c , or an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) 504d ), and one or more recyclers 508 .

[0233] Figure 5AThe general flow of information, such as data labeled "material data" and data labeled "product data," is shown, where product data is a specific type of material data related to a product that includes the material (e.g., a material in processed or unprocessed form). Specifically, a material provider can provide material data to a distributed ledger, and each product producer can provide product data to a distributed ledger 302. In addition, each participant can retrieve information from the distributed ledger, and / or information can be exchanged between different participants.

[0234] Figure 5B Similar to Figure 5A , and illustrates the specific case where information exchanged between participants may include the transfer of material data sets.

[0235] Figure 5C Also similar to Figure 5A In this particular case, the participants include material providers, parts manufacturers, component manufacturers, module manufacturers and OEMs. Figure 5C Also shown are material flows of material 506, parts 506a, components 506b, modules 506c, and original equipment 506d. It should be understood that at least a portion of material 506 may be found in parts, components, modules, and original equipment.

[0236] exist Figure 5D In the example shown, for example, the participants include a material provider (specifically a pigment provider) and two product producers (ie, a pigment paste producer and a coating producer).

[0237] exist Figure 5E In the example shown, for example, the participants include a material provider (specifically a cathode material provider), two product producers (specifically a battery cell producer and a lithium-ion module producer), an OEM, and a recycler.

[0238] Despite FIG. 5A to FIG. 5E In the example, each participant is shown as being able to perform a two-way data exchange with the distributed ledger and another participant, but it should be understood that this may not necessarily be the case. For example, data exchange may not be implemented for all possible data exchange routes, or data exchange routes may be selectively closed for some participants through access control, etc.

[0239] Figure 6 Examples of ID-based owner data, ID-based data (which may be at least partially included in a material data set such as a material pass), and a decentralized identity manager are shown.

[0240] The ID may be a decentralized ID (DID). The ID-based material data set may be a DID document associated with the DID. ID-based owner data may include an ID associated with a subject such as product data or chemical product data, and may include an authentication mechanism. ID-based owner data may include owner data electronically owned and controlled by the DID owner. In this context, electronically owned may refer to data stored in an owner repository or wallet. Such data may be securely stored and / or managed on an organizational server or client device. ID-based owner data may include a DID, a private key, and a public key. An ID-based owner may own and control a DID representing an identity associated with a DID subject, a private key associated with the DID, and a public key pair. A DID may be understood as an identifier and authentication information associated or uniquely linked to the identifier.

[0241] The DID subject may be a raw material, a basic substance, a chemical product, an intermediate product, a component, an assembly of components, or a final product. The DID subject may be a machine, system, or device used to produce a raw material, a basic substance, a chemical product, an intermediate product, a component, an assembly of components, or a final product, or a collection of such (multiple) machines, (multiple) devices, and / or (multiple) systems. The DID owner may be a supply chain participant or manufacturer, such as a chemical manufacturer that produces chemicals. The DID owner may be an upstream participant in the supply chain of a chemical manufacturer, such as a supplier of raw chemical products or precursors for producing chemicals. The DID owner may be a downstream participant in the supply chain of a chemical manufacturer, such as a customer who consumes chemicals to produce intermediate products, components, assemblies of components, or final products. The DID owner may be any participant in the supply chain, including a supplier of raw chemical products, an intermediate chemical product manufacturer, an intermediate parts manufacturer, a component manufacturer, a component assembly manufacturer, or a final product manufacturer.

[0242] A DID can be any identifier associated with a DID subject and / or a DID owner. Preferably, the identifier is unique to the DID subject and / or the DID owner. The identifier can be unique at least within the scope of the intended use of the DID. The identifier can be a local or global unique identifier for each of the following: a raw material, a precursor, a basic substance, a chemical product, an intermediate product, a component, a component assembly, a final product, or a collection thereof; a machine, system or device for producing raw materials, basic substances, chemical products, intermediate products, components, component assemblies or final products, or such (multiple) machines, (multiple) devices and / or (multiple) systems; a chemical manufacturer producing chemicals, an upstream participant in the supply chain of a chemical manufacturer, a downstream participant in the supply chain of a chemical manufacturer, or a collection thereof; any participant in the supply chain including a raw chemical product supplier, an intermediate chemical product manufacturer, an intermediate parts manufacturer, a component manufacturer, a component assembly manufacturer or a final product manufacturer, or a collection thereof.

[0243] A DID can be a uniform resource identifier (URI), such as a uniform resource locator (URL). A DID can be an internationalized resource identifier (IRI). A DID can be a random string of numbers and letters to improve security. In one embodiment, a DID can be a string of 128 letters and numbers, for example: following this paradigm: did:method name:method-specific did, such as did:instance:ebfeb1f712ebc6f1c276e12ec21. A DID can be decentralized, independent of a centralized third-party management system, and controlled by the DID owner.

[0244] A material data set as a DID document can be associated with a DID. Therefore, a material data set can include a reference to a DID, which is associated with the DID subject described by the DID document. A DID document can also include authentication information such as a public key. The public key can be used by a third-party entity that is granted access permission to the information and data owned by the DID owner / subject by the DID owner / subject. The public key can also be used to verify whether the DID owner actually owns or controls the DID. A DID document can include authentication information, authorization information, for example, for authorizing a third-party entity to read a DID document or certain parts of a DID document, without, for example, giving the third party the right to prove ownership of the DID.

[0245] The material data set may include one or more representations that are digitally linked to product data or chemical product data, for example, via a service endpoint. A service endpoint may include a network address that runs a service on behalf of a DID owner. In particular, a service endpoint may refer to a service that a DID owner grants access rights to product data or chemical product data. Such a service may include a service that reads or analyzes product data or chemical product data. Chemical product data may include chemical product declaration data, chemical product safety data, certificate of analysis data, emissions data, product carbon footprint data, product environmental footprint data, chemical product specification data, product information, technical application data, production data, or a combination thereof.

[0246] The material dataset may include various other information, such as metadata specifying when the material dataset was created, when it was last modified, and / or when it expires.

[0247] The DID and material data set can be associated with a data registration node such as a centralized data service system or a decentralized data service system (e.g., a distributed ledger or blockchain). Possible blockchain systems include Quorum, Hyperledger Fabric. A distributed ledger or blockchain can be used to store a representation of a DID pointing to a material data set. The representation of the DID can be stored on a distributed computing node of a distributed ledger or blockchain. For example, a DID hash can be stored on multiple computing nodes of a distributed ledger and point to the location of a material data set. In some embodiments, the material data set can be stored on a distributed ledger. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the DID document can be stored in a data storage (not shown) associated with a distributed ledger or blockchain.

[0248] A distributed ledger or blockchain may be any decentralized distributed network that includes various computing nodes that communicate with each other. For example, a distributed ledger may include a first distributed computing node, a second distributed computing node, a third distributed computing node, and any number of additional distributed computing nodes. A distributed ledger or blockchain may operate according to any known standard or method for distributed ledgers. Examples of traditional distributed ledgers corresponding to distributed ledgers or blockchains include, but are not limited to, Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum, and Litecoin.

[0249] Figure 7 Examples of ID-based credential data, ID-based material data sets, and identity managers are shown.

[0250] and Figure 6 Compared to the example, Figure 7An example of an ID is certificate-based. The ID-based certificate data may include authentication data of the certificate owner and the certificate issuing authority. For example, a cryptographic signature from the issuing authority may bind the data owner's public key to the ID. The ID may be, for example, Figure 6 The unique ID (such as UID) described by the DID. The certificate can be an X.509 certificate, such as X509v3. The ID-based material data set can be associated with the data source of the data owner. The ID-based material data set can include an ID, authentication data, and an endpoint associated with product data or chemical product data. Such an endpoint can include any digital representation connected to a data source. The data source can provide product data and / or chemical product data.

[0251] In this certificate-based example, the ID-based material data set includes one or more certificates associated with the data owner. These certificates can be associated with an identity manager, which includes, for example, a certificate issuance service and / or a dynamic provisioning service that provides dynamic attribute tokens (e.g., OAuth access tokens). The information required to verify the certificate is provided via an authentication registry associated with the certificate issuance service and / or the dynamic provisioning service. For example, in the IDSA reference architecture model version 3.0 in April 2019, connectors associated with the data owner, the certificate authority (CA), the dynamic attribute provisioning service (DAPS), and the connector associated with the data consumer service are used to verify the identity (not shown) before performing data exchange. For this purpose, such a connector includes one or more certificates, such as (multiple) X.509 certificates. In this way, the connector has a unique identifier embedded in the X.509 certificate, thereby identifying the connector instance.

[0252] Figure 8 An example of a production facility producing a chemical product associated with a materials dataset is shown.

[0253] Figure 8 The production facilities shown in can produce chemical products. The production facilities can produce organic chemical products obtained, for example, by reacting organic chemical reactants. The production facilities can include one or more production plants. For example, the production facilities for producing chemical products can include at least one precursor / intermediate production plant.

[0254] The physical inputs to a production facility may include materials such as raw materials, intermediate materials, or components to be assembled. Raw materials may be virgin or recycled.

[0255] The physical input may be associated with a decentralized identifier as described above. The physical input(s) may be registered at a production facility. Registration may include providing a decentralized identifier associated with the physical input. Providing a decentralized identifier may include reading a physical identifier element physically connected to the physical input as described above. Providing a decentralized identifier may include accessing a database with decentralized identifiers and obtaining a decentralized identifier associated with the physical input.

[0256] Based on the provided decentralized identifier, the chemical product data associated with this decentralized identifier can be accessed.Access can be granted by authentication and authorization based on the authentication and authorization information associated with the decentralized identifier.Based on the decentralized identifier, chemical product data, such as chemical product declaration data, chemical product safety data, analysis certificate data, emission data, product carbon footprint data, product environmental footprint data, chemical product specification data, product information, technical application data, production data, performance data, quality data, material configuration data, recycled content data or a combination thereof can be accessed.Chemical product data can be accessed by requesting access to the data service of the chemical product data associated with each decentralized identifier, and controlled by the data owner of the physical input.The data owner can be the producer of the physical input.Data services can include computer executable instructions operating in at least partially decentralized computing environments.Such computer executable instructions can be based on Json Web Token (JWT), including authentication information, authorization information, and / or digital representations pointing to chemical product data or a portion thereof.The digital representation can include an endpoint (resource endpoint) for data exchange or sharing or an endpoint (service endpoint) for service interaction, which can be uniquely identified via a communication protocol. Digital representation(s) pointing to the chemical product data or a portion thereof may be uniquely associated with the decentralized identifier.The chemical product data may be used in a manufacturing process of a production facility.

[0257] A production facility may produce a physical output based on one or more physical inputs. The physical output of the production facility may be associated with a physical identifier. As described above, the physical output of the production facility may be physically connected to a physical identifier element. The physical identifier may be assigned to identifier information associated with a decentralized identifier. For such assignment, the physical identifier element may be read, or a database with physical identifiers may be accessed. A request for providing a decentralized identifier may be triggered to assign the physical identifier to the decentralized identifier.

[0258] In this way, a decentralized identifier can be assigned to a physical output. Providing a decentralized identifier can include accessing a database with decentralized identifiers and associated information such as authentication information. Providing a decentralized identifier can include accessing a decentralized service to provide decentralized identifiers and associated information such as authentication information. In response to the request, a material data set including decentralized identifiers and data related to chemical product data of a chemical product can be generated. Data related to chemical product data can include representations such as pointers or links to chemical product data. Decentralized identifiers can be associated with data related to chemical product data of a physical output. Decentralized identifiers can be further associated with decentralized identifiers of physical inputs or assigned or linked to decentralized identifiers of physical inputs. Material data sets can be provided to a decentralized network for access by other participants or producers of the network. In this way, the chain of input to output materials can be traced and used in further manufacturing steps without exposing chemical product data in an uncontrolled manner.

[0259] The above process steps can be performed via the operating system of the production facility. In this embodiment, the operating system includes a collector configured to collect chemical product data and / or physical identifiers, as described above. The collector can be configured to collect chemical product data associated with the chemical product or chemical product data associated with the production of the chemical product, wherein the chemical product is connected to or includes a physical identifier. In particular, the operating system may include an ID reader configured to provide the physical identity of (multiple) physical inputs or outputs, as described above. The system may further include a designator configured to assign decentralized identifiers and associated information to physical outputs, as described above. In addition, the operating system may include an ID provider configured to provide decentralized identifiers and associated information, as described above.

[0260] Fig. 9 Another example of a production facility producing a chemical product associated with a material data set is shown.

[0261] exist Figure 8 The process steps described in the context of can be performed via interaction of an operating system of a production facility with a designator, collector or reader or ID provider. In this embodiment, the operating system can be communicatively connected to the production facility and the designator, collector, ID reader or ID provider. The operating system can be configured to provide chemical product data from the production facility. The operating system may include a collector configured to provide chemical product data from the production facility. The operating system may include an ID reader configured to read a physical identifier element physically connected to a physical input or output. The designator can be configured to assign a decentralized identifier and associated information to a physical identifier of a physical output, as described above in Figure 8The ID provider may be configured to provide a decentralized identifier and associated information, as described above in Figure 8 The ID reader may be configured to provide the physical identity and associated information of (multiple) physical inputs or outputs, as described above in Figure 8 The designator, collector, ID reader and / or ID provider may be configured as a decentralized service or application executed via a decentralized network.

[0262] Figure 8 and Fig. 9 Only two example embodiments are shown, and Figure 8 and Fig. 9 Any combination of the system components shown in may be possible. For example, the ID reader may be configured as part of the operating system, while the ID provider and the assignor may not be configured as part of the operating system.

[0263] Fig.10 An example of material tracking from raw materials to final product in the production of chemical products is shown. Fig.10 An example of material tracking in the production of chemical products is specifically shown.

[0264] To produce a chemical product, raw materials may be provided as physical input. Raw materials may include precursor materials. Raw materials may include virgin or recycled materials. Raw materials may be associated with a decentralized identifier. The decentralized identifier may be associated with a digital twin of the raw material. The decentralized identifier may be associated with raw material data, such as a label of virgin or recycled material, material properties related to its environmental impact, or material properties associated with its origin.

[0265] The production of chemical products can include a two-step process: 1) the production of precursor materials, 2) the production of chemical products. In order to produce precursor materials, raw materials can be used as physical input. The operating system of the precursor production can access data related to the raw materials based on, for example, a decentralized identifier from a raw material provider. Such data can be used to operate the production. For example, if the raw material is a recycled material, a production step of purifying the recycled material can be included. For example, if the raw material is a virgin material, the purification step can be omitted. The precursor material can be formed by co-precipitating the raw materials. The production data from the precursor production can be stored and / or associated with a decentralized identifier.

[0266] In a second step, a precursor material may be provided to produce a chemical product. The precursor material may include a precursor produced by a precursor production. The precursor material may include a recycled precursor material or a precursor material produced by a different entity. Such a precursor material may be associated with a decentralized identifier, via which data related to the precursor material may be accessed.

[0267] The chemical product produced and packaged can be assigned to the decentralized identifier and the associated information as listed above. The electrode active material packaged can for example include a physical identifier element physically attached to the packaging, such as a QR code. Such a physical identifier element can be assigned to the decentralized identifier. The assignment of the physical identifier element and the decentralized identifier can be performed by the ID generator / assigner locally running in a decentralized system and / or a distributed system.

[0268] For example, a packaging line may include a detector that detects a physical identifier on each package. Based on such identification, an operating system for chemical product production may request a decentralized identifier and may assign the provided decentralized identifier to the physical identifier. In response to the request, a material data set may be generated that includes the decentralized identifier and data related to the chemical product.

[0269] For such generation, data related to the chemical product recorded before and / or during the production of the chemical product may be collected or accessed. Such data may be provided by an operating system for the production of the chemical product, or by a storage environment connected to an operating system for the production of the chemical product. This may include data collected and stored during the production of precursor materials.

[0270] The data related to the chemical product may include an identifier of a raw material used to produce the chemical product.The data related to the chemical product may include data related to the raw material accessible, for example, via a decentralized identifier of the raw material.

[0271] The data related to the chemical product may include data related to the material configuration of the chemical product. The material configuration data may be related to the chemical composition of the chemical product. The material configuration data may specify at least one component of the chemical composition of the chemical product.

[0272] The data associated with a chemical product may include data associated with characteristics related to environmental impact, such as CO2 footprint or recycled content. For example, the data associated with a chemical product may specify the recycled content of a component or raw material.

[0273] The data related to chemical products may include data related to the production conditions provided by the operating system produced by the chemical products. The data related to chemical products may include data related to the operating conditions provided by the operating system produced by the chemical products. The data related to chemical products may include data related to the producer, such as producer name, producer brand or producer identifier. The data related to chemical products may include data related to the product, such as product name, product brand or product identifier.

[0274] Figures 8 to 10 Examples of providing access to data via one or more material data sets are shown.

[0275] Through the above-mentioned decentralized arrangement, different supply chain participants or producers and even final consumers can access data from supply chain participants or producers. Access to such data may include transmitting the data to the requester or processing the data and transmitting the processed results to the requester.

[0276] Fig.11 A block diagram illustrating a method for verifying a transfer of a material from a material owner to a material recipient in a decentralized network including a distributed ledger 1102 comprising a plurality of member nodes 1104 is shown in detail for simplicity. For simplicity, only one of the member nodes is shown in detail.

[0277] like Fig.11 As shown, transactions 1106a are stored on each member node of the distributed ledger. A transaction is shown in detail. The transaction includes a transaction ID 1106b and transaction metadata 1106c. In this example, the transaction metadata includes a decentralized (material) identifier. The material identifier is associated with one or more material data sets 1110, such as Fig.11 Transaction metadata may include additional data (eg, material production data), which is not shown for simplicity.

[0278] Fig.11 Also shown in FIG. 1 are a material owner 1108 a (also referred to as an owner) and a material recipient 1108 b (also referred to as a recipient).

[0279] exist Fig.11In FIG. 1 , random credentials associated with the owner and the recipient are also shown, for example, a private key and a public key pair of the owner and the recipient, respectively. The recipient can provide its public key to the material owner. The material owner can then send a transfer transaction request, which in this example includes the material data, the owner's public key, and the recipient's public key.

[0280] Then, a transaction can be created. Optionally, the transaction can also be signed using the owner's (transaction-specific) private key.

[0281] In this example, the public keys of the material owner and the recipient are included in the transaction. In addition, transaction metadata (eg, obtained from the material data of the transfer transaction request) may also be included in the transaction.

[0282] The transaction also includes a transaction ID, which uniquely identifies the transaction and is provided to the owner. The owner provides the material recipient with the owner's and optionally the recipient's (transaction-specific) public key(s) used to create the transaction, the transaction ID, and optionally transaction metadata.

[0283] The material recipient or third party can use the transaction ID and one of the public key / public keys received from the owner and verify whether the transaction with the transaction ID and (multiple) public keys is stored in the public ledger.

[0284] Additionally or alternatively, the recipient or third party may determine whether the transaction was signed with the owner's private key based on the owner's (transaction-specific) public key. For example, the owner's signature in the transaction may correspond to the signature of the message received from the owner.

[0285] Since the credential is unique to a transaction and its association with a specific party to the transfer is known only to the parties involved in the transaction and recorded off-chain, a high degree of privacy can be provided to the parties involved, especially since the randomness does not even allow any conclusions to be drawn from the pattern analysis. At the same time, interested parties or audits given access to information indicating the identities of the parties involved can perform additional verification, which requires knowing the identities of the parties associated with the transaction.

[0286] It should be noted that the decentralized identifier included in the transaction metadata can be used by the requester 1108c to retrieve a material dataset associated with a particular material transfer associated with the transaction. In some cases, the material dataset can be retrieved using additional data (e.g., material production data) included in the transaction metadata. As an example, the decentralized identifier can identify a chemical substance, and among multiple material datasets associated with the material identifier, the additional data can be used to select and retrieve the material dataset associated with the particular transfer.

[0287] For example, each material data set may include data relating to a separate batch of a chemical substance. Although the decentralized identifier may indicate that the transaction is associated with a transfer of the chemical substance, based on the additional data (e.g., material production data), the material data set of a specific batch of the substance, i.e., the material data set of the batch transferred in the transfer of the material, may be retrieved.

[0288] Fig. 12A is a flow chart illustrating the computer-implemented method of the present application.

[0289] In step S111, the random encrypted credentials (multiple) of the material owner and / or the material recipient and the identity of the material transfer transaction are received, for example, by a requester. The requester may be a recipient or a third party.

[0290] The credentials are random and may require the corresponding public / private key pair to be unique for a single transaction. This improves the level of data privacy, especially in terms of avoiding pattern analysis.

[0291] In step S112, the transfer of the material is verified by verifying the random encrypted credential(s) of the material owner and / or the material recipient based on the received random encrypted credential(s) and the identity of the received material transfer transaction.

[0292] Fig. 12B is a flow chart showing a more detailed example of such a computer-implemented method. For example, step S111 may include a step S111A of receiving a public key of a material owner and / or a public key of a material recipient. Step S111 may further include a step S111B of receiving a unique identifier of a material transfer transaction associated with a transfer of the material.

[0293] Step S112 may include a step S112A of retrieving a material transfer transaction from a distributed ledger based on the identity. Step S112 may further include a step S112B of verifying the encrypted credential(s) contained in the material transfer transaction using a public key of the material owner and / or the material recipient.

[0294] As an even more detailed example, when creating a transaction, a random credential may be generated for the material owner and / or material recipient that is unique and generated and used only for a single transaction. The material recipient may provide a portion of the random credential (e.g., a public key) of the material recipient to the material owner.

[0295] A portion of the credential (e.g., a public key) may be written into the transaction, and the material owner may additionally sign the transaction using the material owner's private key.

[0296] The created transaction will be assigned a unique transaction ID, which is provided to the material owner, who can then pass it to the material recipient, either together with the material owner's public key for the transaction and optionally the recipient's public key for the transaction, or separately. The recipient's public key for the transaction is not required, but may be helpful for consistency checking in some cases.

[0297] If the transaction is signed by the material owner, the material recipient can verify the signature using the public key generated and used by the material owner for the transaction.

[0298] After the transaction has been submitted and stored in the distributed ledger, the requesting party may wish to verify the transfer of the material. To do this, they can receive a voucher and a transaction ID for the transaction. They can then use the transaction ID to retrieve the transaction from the distributed ledger. The received voucher can then be used to verify the transfer of the material.

[0299] An even more detailed example of the method of the present disclosure is provided below. Before creating a transaction to submit to a distributed ledger, the contractual partners, for example when establishing a supply contract, can exchange public keys to establish an asymmetrically encrypted communication channel. As an example, PGP encryption can be used.

[0300] However, other secure data exchange methods may also be used.

[0301] Each party may maintain a key store in which asymmetric keys matching a specific communication channel are stored, for example via a communication channel ID (sender plaintext ID, receiver plaintext ID, contract plaintext ID).

[0302] Before creating a transaction to submit to the distributed ledger, a public / private key pair PubK-S / PrivK-S may be created by the material owner and sender of the transaction, wherein a key pair unique to the transaction may be created. The public key PubK-S may be sent to the material recipient. In addition, a request may be sent to the recipient to provide the sender with a public key PubK-R unique to the transaction. PubK-S and the request may be sent via an encrypted communication channel.

[0303] In response to receiving the public key and / or the request, the recipient may create a new public / private key pair PubK-R / PrivK-R. The key pair is stored at the recipient along with the communication channel ID (e.g., the sender plaintext ID). The recipient's public key PubK-R is provided to the sender, for example, via the communication channel. In the case where the recipient initiates the transfer, the order may also be reversed.

[0304] The sender can then create a transaction, optionally sign it with the sender's private key PrivK-S, and address the transaction to the receiver's public key PubK-R.

[0305] The sender stores, for example, in a private database, which may also optionally store a private copy of the transaction and a private key PrivK-S used to sign the transaction, i.e., the sender transaction signature. The sender may store the recipient's public key PubK-R (i.e., the recipient transaction address and transaction ID) and optionally the transaction metadata and / or a hash of the metadata as part of the private copy of the transaction or independently of the private copy of the transaction.

[0306] The sender may optionally send the sender's public key PubK-S (i.e., the sender transaction address), the receiver's private key PubK-R (i.e., the receiver transaction address), the transaction ID, the transaction metadata, and / or a hash of the metadata to the receiver, for example, via a private communication channel. In particular, the sender may avoid submitting the transaction metadata, and may only provide information that enables the receiver to perform read-only access or lookup, for example, in the sender's database and for mapping to the transaction.

[0307] The recipient can verify the transaction, for example, by performing an on-chain proof. As an example, the recipient can look up the transaction ID and use the sender's public key PubK-S to verify whether the transaction is signed with the sender's private key PrivK-S, i.e., whether the private key is encoded in the transaction.

[0308] Optionally, confidentiality verification can also be performed by a third party (e.g., a certification body or regulator). The third party can initiate a key exchange with the sender to establish a private communication channel or can establish some other type of secure communication channel. The third party can then request the sender's public key for one or more transactions via the communication channel, for example based on one or more transaction IDs. Then, for each transaction, the regulator can use the transaction's corresponding PubK-S to verify whether the sender's corresponding private key PrivK-S is encoded in the transaction, that is, whether the transaction is correctly signed.

[0309] According to the present disclosure, material transactions can include different types of transactions. For example, a material transfer transaction can be a creation transaction. A creation transaction can be a transaction type that represents the introduction of, for example, raw or virgin materials into a production process. Through the methods of the present disclosure, restrictions can be implemented as to which participant is the material owner eligible to conduct a creation transaction. Thus, any entry point into the production process can be closely controlled.

[0310] For example, there may be a whitelist or blacklist of parties that are eligible to submit a create transaction to the distributed ledger. It should be noted that a create transaction has no previous transactions within a transaction chain. Therefore, some checks that can be applied within a transaction chain (e.g., mass balance, etc.) cannot be applied to a create transaction, which makes it even more important to only allow trustworthy parties to create transactions.

[0311] Another type of transaction may be an ongoing transfer transaction, which may be any transaction that does not introduce or dispose of material. These transactions will have a previous transaction. This may allow, for example, mass balancing to be done and ensure that material does not simply appear or disappear.

[0312] Fig.13 A block diagram showing a decentralized material network 1314 that can be used by the methods of the present disclosure is shown. According to the present disclosure, the decentralized material network includes a distributed ledger 1302, which includes multiple member nodes 1304 and a distributed ledger application. For simplicity, only one of the member nodes is shown in detail. Each transaction includes a transaction ID 1306b, 1306c. In addition, each transaction includes material data or material metadata 1306d for a material, in which case the transaction can be referred to as a material transaction; or the transaction includes product data or product metadata 1306e for a product, in which case the transaction can be referred to as a product transaction.

[0313] The member node can communicate with a requester 1310 (e.g., a requester computer device, also referred to as a requester), for example, via a data connection. The requester (e.g., a requester computer device) can also communicate with a participant 1312 (e.g., a participant computing device), for example, via another data connection.

[0314] The requestor may be configured to receive a material or product data set 1308a (e.g., one or more material data sets 1308b, 1308c), each material data set including an identity of a transaction associated with the material (e.g., a transaction ID). Alternatively or additionally, the requestor may be configured to receive one or more product data sets 1308d, 1308e, each product data set including an identity of a transfer transaction associated with the product (e.g., a transaction ID). That is, the requestor may receive a data set containing at least the identity of the associated transfer transaction for a given material or product. Thus, the requestor may use the identity contained in the material product data set to find information stored in the associated transfer transaction.

[0315] The requester may further be configured to determine the identity of a transfer transaction associated with a product associated with the material based on the received material data set. This may be done only for one or each of a plurality of transfer transactions each associated with a product associated with the material. In other words, the requester may be configured to identify a transfer transaction associated with a product associated with the material (e.g., a product containing the material). In this way, the destination of the material may be determined. If the material is a reused material, its source may similarly be determined by identifying the associated product. The requester may, for example, retrieve the identity of the transaction associated with the material from the material data set, and based thereon retrieve the identity of the transfer transaction associated with the product (s) associated with the material. To this end, as an example, a transaction ID chain may be determined to track transfers associated with the material and / or product (s).

[0316] The requester may be further configured to receive product characteristic data for a product, which may be determined by determining a transfer chain participant associated with the product and receiving product characteristic data from the participant. Optionally, the requester may provide the product characteristics to the participant. The product characteristic data received from the participant may be retrieved based on the determined identity of the transfer transaction associated with the product and optionally based on the product characteristics provided to the participant. The product characteristics may help retrieve relevant data more efficiently, for example, by providing a preselection in available material characteristic data.

[0317] To receive product characteristic data from a participant, a requester may send a request to a participant, the request including the identity of the determined transfer transaction associated with the product, the encrypted credentials of the material owner of the material, and optionally the product characteristics. After the participant verifies the encrypted credentials, the participant may provide the product characteristic data to the requester if the credentials are valid. Otherwise, the participant may reject the request.

[0318] In the manner described above, a requester can thus determine the flow of materials in a transfer chain using the decentralized material network 1314. Specifically, a requester can thus determine the source or destination of a material.

[0319] Alternatively or additionally, the requester may be configured to determine the identity of a transfer transaction associated with a material associated with the product (e.g., the material included in the product or obtained from the product for reuse) based on the received product data set. This may be done only for one or each of a plurality of transfer transactions each associated with a material associated with the product. In other words, the requester may be configured to identify transfer transactions associated with a material associated with the product. In this way, any material that has entered the product or resulted from recycling the product may be determined. The requester may, for example, retrieve the identity of the transaction associated with the product from the product data set and, based thereon, retrieve the identity of the transfer transaction associated with the material(s) associated with the product. To this end, as an example, a transaction ID chain may be determined to track transfers associated with the material(s).

[0320] The requester may further be configured to receive material property data for the material, which may be determined by determining a transfer chain participant associated with the material and receiving material property data from the participant. Optionally, the requester may provide the material property to the participant. The material property data received from the participant may be retrieved based on the determined identity of the transfer transaction associated with the material and optionally based on the material property provided to the participant. The material property may help retrieve relevant data more efficiently, for example, by providing a pre-selection among available material property data.

[0321] To receive material property data from a participant, a requester may send a request to the participant, the request containing the identity of the determined transfer transaction associated with the material, the encrypted credentials of the product owner of the product, and optionally the material properties. After the participant verifies the encrypted credentials, the participant may provide the material property data to the requester if the credentials are valid. Otherwise, the participant may reject the request.

[0322] In the manner described above, a requestor can thus determine the flow of materials in a transfer chain using the decentralized material network 1314. Specifically, a requestor can thus determine, for a given product, which materials flow into and out of the product.

[0323] FIG. 14A to FIG. 14D is a flow chart illustrating a computer-implemented method of the present disclosure.

[0324] Fig.14A In the method presented, product characteristic data of a product associated with a given material is determined. This is presented for the case of one product, but can be performed for a plurality of products associated with the material, in particular for all products associated with the material.

[0325] According to the present disclosure, a method for determining a material flow in a transfer chain using a decentralized material network 1314 is provided, the decentralized material network including a distributed ledger 1302, the distributed ledger including a plurality of member nodes 1304, the distributed ledger 1302 including transfer transactions 1306a. Each transfer transaction 1306a is associated with a material and contains material data of the material, or is associated with a product and contains product data of the product.

[0326] In step S11 , a material data set containing an identity of a transfer transaction associated with a material is received, for example at a requesting party.

[0327] In step S12, the identity of the transfer transaction associated with the product associated with the material is determined, for example by the requesting party based on the received material data set.

[0328] In step S13, product characteristic data of the product is determined based on the identity of the transfer transaction associated with the product. This may be performed at least in part by the requesting party. Optionally, a transfer chain participant may also perform part of this step.

[0329] Fig. 14B In the method presented, material property data of a material associated with a given product is determined. This is presented for the case of one material, but can be performed for a plurality of materials associated with the product, in particular for all materials associated with the product.

[0330] According to the present disclosure, a method for determining a material flow in a transfer chain using a decentralized material network 1314 is provided, the decentralized material network including a distributed ledger 1302, the distributed ledger including a plurality of member nodes 1304, the distributed ledger 1302 including transfer transactions 1306a. Each transfer transaction 1306a is associated with a material and contains material data of the material, or is associated with a product and contains product data of the product.

[0331] In step S14, a product data set including an identity of a transfer transaction associated with a product is received, for example at a requesting party.

[0332] In step S15 , the identity of the transfer transaction associated with the material associated with the product is determined, for example by the requesting party based on the received product data set.

[0333] In step S16, material property data of the material is determined based on the identity of the transfer transaction associated with the material. This may be performed at least in part by the requesting party. Optionally, a transfer chain participant may also perform part of this step.

[0334] Can also be combined Fig.14A and Fig. 14B For example, product property data of a product associated with a given material may be determined, and material property data of (multiple) (other) materials associated with the product may also be determined.

[0335] Fig. 14C A method according to the present disclosure is presented, the method comprising Fig. 14C Therefore, reference is made to the above description, in particular with regard to steps S11 to S13. Fig. 14C , and optional steps are also shown therein. S12 may include steps S12A and S12B. Alternatively or additionally, step S13 may include step S13A, optionally including step S13B and step S13C. As a specific optional example, step S13C may include steps S13C-1, S13C-2, S13C-3 and / or S13C-4.

[0336] In step S12A, the identity of the transfer transaction associated with the material is retrieved from the received material data set, for example by the requesting party.

[0337] In step S12B, the identity of the transfer transaction associated with the product associated with the material is retrieved, for example, by the requesting party based on the retrieved identity of the transfer transaction associated with the material.

[0338] In step S13A, the transfer chain participant(s) associated with the product are determined, for example by the requesting party.

[0339] In optional step S13B, product characteristics of the product are provided to the participant(s), for example by the requester.

[0340] In optional step S13C, product characteristic data is received from the participant(s) based on the determined identity of the transfer transaction associated with the product and optionally based on the provided product characteristics.

[0341] More specifically, in step S13C-1, a request is sent to the transfer chain participant(s), the request containing the determined identity of the transfer transaction associated with the product, the encrypted credentials of the material owner of the material, and optionally the product characteristics of the product.

[0342] In step S13C-2, the transfer chain participants verify the credentials.

[0343] In step S13C-3, if the credential is valid, product characteristic data is provided, for example by the participant based on the determined identity of the transfer transaction associated with the product and optionally based on the product characteristics.

[0344] In step S13C-4, if the credential(s) are invalid, the request is rejected, for example by the participant.

[0345] In particular, a material owner may be a requestor.

[0346] In the above method, the requester and / or the participant may not perform the corresponding steps, but let other parties (eg, service providers) perform part or all of the corresponding steps on their behalf.

[0347] Fig.14D A method according to the present disclosure is presented, the method comprising Fig. 14B Therefore, reference is made to the above description, in particular with respect to steps S14 to S16. Fig.14D , and optional steps are also shown therein. S15 may include steps S15a and S15b. Alternatively or additionally, step S16 may include step S16A, optionally including step S16B and step S16C. As a specific optional example, step S16C may include steps S16C-1, S16C-2, S16C-3 and / or S16C-4.

[0348] In step S15A, the identity of the transfer transaction associated with the product is retrieved from the received product data set, for example by the requesting party.

[0349] In step S15B, the identity of the transfer transaction associated with the material associated with the product is retrieved, for example by the requesting party, based on the retrieved identity of the transfer transaction associated with the product.

[0350] In step S16A, the transfer chain participant(s) associated with the material are determined, for example by the requesting party.

[0351] In optional step S16B, material properties of the material are provided to the participant(s), for example by the requestor.

[0352] In optional step S16C, material characteristic data is received, for example from the participant(s), based on the determined identity of the transfer transaction associated with the material and optionally based on the provided material characteristics.

[0353] More specifically, in step S16C-1, a request is sent to the transfer chain participant(s), the request containing the determined identity of the transfer transaction associated with the material, the encrypted credentials of the product owner of the product, and optionally the material properties of the material.

[0354] In step S16C-2, the transfer chain participants verify the credentials.

[0355] In step S16C-3, if the credentials are valid, material characteristic data (eg, provided by the participant) is received by the requestor based on the determined identity of the transfer transaction associated with the material and optionally based on the material characteristics.

[0356] In step S16C-4, if the credential(s) are invalid, the request is rejected, for example by the participant.

[0357] In particular, an artifact owner may be a requestor.

[0358] In the above method, the requester and / or the participant may not perform the corresponding steps, but let other parties (eg, service providers) perform part or all of the corresponding steps on their behalf.

[0359] The disclosure is also described in conjunction with preferred embodiments and examples. However, other variations may be understood and implemented by those skilled in the art and those practicing the claimed invention through study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the claims. It is particularly noteworthy that any of the steps presented may be performed in any order, i.e., the present invention is not limited to a particular order of the steps. Furthermore, it is not required that different steps be performed at a certain place or node in the distributed system, i.e., each step may be performed at a different node using different equipment / data processing.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for verifying a transfer of material between a material owner and a material recipient in a decentralized network (324), the decentralized network comprising a distributed ledger (302), the distributed ledger comprising a plurality of member nodes (304) and a distributed ledger application (306), the method comprising the steps of: - The requester (308) sends (S11) a material transaction request (314) to the distributed ledger application, wherein the material transaction request (314) includes - material data (316) associated with the material, and - the encrypted credential(s) of the owner of the material (312a) and optionally the encrypted credential(s) of the recipient of the material (312b) associated with the transfer of the material; and - receiving a confirmation (S16) or a rejection (S17) of submitting the material transaction request (314) as a material transaction to the distributed ledger, The distributed ledger application (306) is configured as follows: - receiving (S12) the material transaction request (314) from the requester (303), - verifying (S13) the transfer of the material associated with the material transaction request (314) by verifying the encrypted credential(s) (312a) of the material owner and optionally the encrypted credential(s) (312b) of the material recipient contained in the material transaction request (314), - if the transfer of the material is confirmed, submitting the material transaction request (314) as a material transaction (318) to the distributed ledger (302) and sending a confirmation (320) of submitting the material transaction request (314) (S14), or - If the transfer of the material is not confirmed, a rejection (322) of submitting the material transaction request (314) is sent (S15).

2. The method according to claim 1, in, The material is a discrete or non-discrete material, and / or wherein the material is a chemical raw material, and / or Therein, the material is transferred in a linear production process or in a cyclic process.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The material data includes transaction metadata and optionally the amount of the material transferred from the material owner to the material recipient, In particular, wherein the transaction metadata comprises a material identifier, at least one material classification, material production data or a combination thereof, the material identifier optionally comprising a digital representation pointing to a material data set or a portion thereof.

4. The method according to claim 3, in, The material dataset is received from the Data Provisioning Service, and / or The material data set includes a decentralized identifier and data related to the material, and in particular, the material data set further includes data related to one or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier, or data related to one or more authorization mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The data associated with the material includes one or more digital representations pointing to a data set or portion thereof of the material, In particular, the material data set includes material name, material ID, material composition, chemical and / or physical properties of the material, emission data of the material, recycled content of the material, bio-based content of the material, further material production data, material declaration data, chemical material safety data, certificate of analysis data associated with the material, or a combination thereof.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in, The material owner's encrypted credential(s) (312a) includes the material owner's public key, and optionally a private key and / or an encrypted signature, and / or The encrypted credentials (312b) of the material recipient include the public key of the material recipient, and optionally the private key and / or encrypted signature.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: A confirmation (320) or a denial (322) of the submission of the material trade request (314) is received by the requestor (308).

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: Verifying the material owner's encrypted credential(s) (312a) includes retrieving a list containing encrypted credential(s) and comparing the material owner's encrypted credential(s) (312a) to the encrypted credential(s) contained in the retrieved list, In particular, if the encrypted credential(s) contained in the material transaction request (314) do not match the encrypted credential(s) contained in the retrieved list, then the transfer of the material is confirmed.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The distributed ledger (302) includes material transactions, each material transaction being associated with a transfer of material from a material owner to a material recipient, the material transaction including a transaction identity and material data associated with the material.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Verifying the encrypted credential(s) of the material owner includes retrieving a list containing transaction identities for material transactions, and comparing the transaction identity associated with the material transaction request (314) with the transaction identities contained in the retrieved list, In particular, if a transaction identity associated with a received material transaction request (314) does not match a transaction identity contained in the retrieved list, then the transfer of the material is confirmed.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein: Verifying the encrypted credential(s) (312a) of the material owner and the encrypted credential(s) (312b) of the material recipient includes verifying the encrypted signatures of the material owner and the material recipient.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, in, The distributed ledger application (306) is stored on each member node (304) of the distributed ledger (302), and / or The distributed ledger application (306) is a smart contract.

13. An apparatus for verifying a transfer of a material between a material owner and a material recipient in a decentralized material network (324), the decentralized material network comprising a distributed ledger (302), the distributed ledger comprising a plurality of member nodes (304) and a distributed ledger application (306), the apparatus comprising: One or more computing nodes (101, 101.1, ..., 101.n); and one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, the computer-executable instructions being configured to, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, cause the apparatus to perform the following steps: - The requester (308) sends (S11) a material transaction request (314) to the distributed ledger application, wherein the material transaction request includes - material data (316) associated with the material, and - the encrypted credential(s) of the owner of the material (312a) and optionally the encrypted credential(s) of the recipient of the material (312b) associated with the transfer of the material; and - receiving (S16) a confirmation or a rejection of submitting the material transaction request (314) as a material transaction to the distributed ledger (302), The distributed ledger application (306) is configured as follows: - receiving (S12) the material transaction request (314) from the requester (308), - verifying (S13) the transfer of the material associated with the material transaction request (314) by verifying the encrypted credential(s) (312a) of the material owner and optionally the encrypted credential(s) (312b) of the material recipient contained in the material transaction request (314), - if the transfer of the material is confirmed, submitting the material transaction request (314) as a material transaction (318) to the distributed ledger and sending a confirmation (320) of submitting the material transaction request (S14), or - If the transfer of the material is not confirmed, a rejection (322) of submitting the material transaction request (314) is sent (S15).

14. Use of a method-verified material transfer according to any one of claims 1 to 12 for controlling the introduction of materials into a production process.

15. A computer element having instructions which, when executed on one or more computing nodes, cause an apparatus to perform the steps of a method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, or which are configured to be executed by an apparatus according to claim 13.

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