Method for Verifying Movement of Materials between Material Owners and Material Recipients in a Non - Centralized Network

Abstract

A method performed by a computer for verifying the movement of materials between a materials owner and a materials recipient in a decentralized network is disclosed, the network comprising a distributed ledger and a distributed ledger application including a plurality of member nodes. The method includes the step of sending, by a requester, a materials transaction request to the distributed ledger application, the materials transaction request including materials data associated with the materials and encrypted authentication information of the materials owner and optionally the materials recipient associated with the movement of the materials. The method further includes the step of receiving a confirmation or rejection of the commitment of the materials transaction request as a materials transaction to the distributed ledger. The distributed ledger application is configured to receive a materials transaction request from the requester and verify the movement of the materials associated with the request by verifying the encrypted authentication information of the materials owner and optionally the materials recipient included in the materials transaction request. The distributed ledger application is configured to commit the materials transaction request to the distributed ledger as a materials transaction and send a confirmation of the commitment of the materials transaction request if the movement of the materials is verified, or send a rejection of the commitment of the materials transaction request if the movement of the materials is not verified.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus implemented by a computer for verifying the movement of materials between a material owner and a material recipient in a decentralized network, the use of the verified material movement, and a computer element.

Background Art

[0002] Technical Background Generally speaking, the present disclosure relates to tracking and documenting the movement of materials (also referred to as material movement) in a distributed system. A commonly used implementation form of a distributed system is generally either a more centralized system with a central authority having supervisory power or a decentralized system.

[0003] Both types of systems have problems. A centralized system enables reliable tracking and documentation of material movement, but it is not applicable to all applications. As the number of decentralized solutions increases, the lack of a central authority with supervisory power makes it more difficult to implement reliable tracking and documentation.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to enable improved tracking and documentation of material movement in a decentralized material network, especially to enable overall system performance evaluation and optionally performance adjustment.

[0005] Even more specifically, it is necessary to enable such tracking and documentation of movement while also considering concerns about the privacy of participants in the movement.

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] Summary of the Invention In one aspect, a method performed by a computer for providing a material data set associated with the movement of materials from a material owner to a material recipient using a decentralized material network is disclosed. The decentralized network comprises a distributed ledger including a plurality of member nodes, and the distributed ledger includes material movement transactions. At least one of the material movement transactions is associated with the movement of materials and includes transaction metadata. The transaction metadata includes material production data. The transaction metadata also includes material identifiers associated with at least two different material data sets, and one of the material data sets is associated with the movement of materials. The method includes receiving transaction metadata associated with the movement of materials from the distributed ledger, and retrieving a material data set associated with the movement of materials (based on the material identifiers and the material production data included in the transaction metadata).

[0007] In another aspect, an apparatus for providing a material data set associated with the movement of materials from a material owner to a material recipient using a decentralized material network comprising a distributed ledger including a plurality of member nodes is disclosed. The distributed ledger includes material movement transactions. At least one of the material movement transactions is associated with the movement of materials and includes transaction metadata including material production data and material identifiers associated with at least two different material data sets, and one of the material data sets is associated with the movement of materials. The apparatus comprises one or more computing nodes and one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, cause the apparatus to perform steps in accordance with the method of the present disclosure.

[0008] In yet another aspect, the use of a material data set provided in accordance with the method of the present disclosure or by the apparatus of the present disclosure for determining the quality of a product being moved associated with the provided material data set or for further processing a material being moved associated with the provided material data set is disclosed.

[0009] In another aspect, a method implemented by a computer for verifying the movement of materials between a materials owner and a materials recipient in a decentralized network is disclosed, the network comprising a distributed ledger including a plurality of member nodes and a distributed ledger application. The method includes the step of sending, by a requester, a materials transaction request to the distributed ledger application, the materials transaction request including materials data associated with the materials and encrypted authentication information of the materials owner and optionally the materials recipient associated with the movement of the materials. The method further includes the step of receiving a confirmation or rejection of the commitment of the materials transaction request as a materials transaction to the distributed ledger. The distributed ledger application is configured to receive the materials transaction request from the requester and verify the movement of the materials associated with the materials transaction request by verifying the encrypted authentication information of the materials owner and optionally the materials recipient included in the materials transaction request. The distributed ledger application is configured to commit the materials transaction request to the distributed ledger as a materials transaction and send a confirmation of the commitment of the materials transaction request if the movement of the materials is verified, or send a rejection of the commitment of the materials transaction request if the movement of the materials is not verified.

[0010] In another aspect, an apparatus for verifying the transfer of materials between a materials owner and a materials recipient in a decentralized materials network comprising a decentralized ledger including a plurality of member nodes and a decentralized ledger application is disclosed. The apparatus includes one or more computing nodes and, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, causes the apparatus, particularly one or more of the computing nodes, to send, by a requester, a materials transaction request to the decentralized ledger application, the materials transaction request including materials data associated with the materials and encrypted authentication information of the materials owner and optionally the materials recipient associated with the transfer of the materials, and to receive, as a materials transaction associated with the materials transaction request for the decentralized ledger, confirmation or rejection of the commitment of the materials transaction request. The apparatus comprises one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions configured to perform the steps consisting of: sending a materials transaction request to the decentralized ledger application; and receiving confirmation or rejection of the commitment of the materials transaction request. The decentralized ledger application is configured to receive a materials transaction request from a requester and verify the transfer of materials associated with the materials transaction request by verifying the encrypted authentication information of the materials owner and optionally the materials recipient included in the materials transaction request. The decentralized ledger application is configured to commit the materials transaction request to the decentralized ledger as a materials transaction and send confirmation of the commitment of the materials transaction request if the transfer of the materials is verified, or send rejection of the commitment of the materials transaction request if the transfer of the materials is not verified.

[0011] In another aspect, there is provided a method implemented by a computer for verifying the transfer of materials from a materials owner to a materials recipient in a decentralized materials network comprising a distributed ledger including a plurality of member nodes. The distributed ledger includes a materials transfer transaction including materials data associated with the materials, and randomized encrypted authentication information of the materials owner and / or randomized encrypted authentication information of the materials recipient associated with the transfer of the materials. The method includes receiving the randomized encrypted authentication information of the materials owner and / or the randomized encrypted authentication information of the materials recipient, and identification information of the materials transfer transaction associated with the transfer of the materials. The method also includes verifying the transfer of the materials by verifying the randomized encrypted authentication information of the materials owner and / or the randomized encrypted authentication information of the materials recipient in the materials transfer transaction based on the received randomized encrypted authentication information and the received identification information of the materials transfer transaction. As an example, the randomized encrypted authentication information may include a public key generated and used to sign only one transaction submitted to the distributed ledger, as will be described in detail below.

[0012] Even more specifically, as an example, it may be possible to perform verifiable anonymous authentication of the materials transfer transaction. Generally, transactions on a distributed ledger are transparent to all participants. If the user ID associated with a transaction is transparent, this means that the transaction can be analyzed, for example, in terms of time patterns, so that participants can derive confidential information from the transaction even though the data itself associated with the materials transfer is kept private. The present invention makes it possible to keep the user ID associated with a transaction anonymous while also keeping the transaction verifiable in all its aspects.

[0013] Specifically, by using randomized encrypted authentication information, especially the encrypted authentication information specific to a transaction, it is possible to verify the transaction while protecting the identification information of the parties involved. Using the method of the present disclosure, it is even possible to enable third-party auditing.

[0014] As an example, when creating a new transaction, randomized encrypted authentication information, such as a public / private key pair, can be created uniquely for the transaction. Both the material owner and the material recipient can create such randomized encrypted authentication information. The material owner and / or the material recipient can store their respective authentication information, along with the transaction ID, in, for example, a private database. The authentication information can be used, in particular, to sign and / or verify this specific transaction. An example for obtaining randomized encrypted authentication information can be creating a key pair, which can be a key derivation or a randomizable signature. The above can be repeated for multiple transactions. Thus, multiple keys and associated transaction IDs can be stored.

[0015] In yet another aspect, the use of verified material movement according to the method of the present disclosure is disclosed for controlling the introduction of materials into the production process.

[0016] In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides an arithmetic unit having instructions, which, when the instructions are executed on one or more computing nodes, cause the device to execute the steps of the method of the present disclosure or are configured to be executed by the device of the present disclosure.

[0017] In yet another aspect, the present disclosure may provide a data processing system, in particular a distributed data processing system comprising a plurality of computing nodes, wherein one or more of the data processing system, in particular the plurality of computing nodes, are configured to execute the method of the present disclosure, in particular in a distributed manner.

[0018] In yet another aspect, the present disclosure may provide a computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a data processing system, cause the data processing system to execute the method of the present disclosure. The data processing system can be a distributed data processing system comprising a plurality of computing nodes.

[0019] In yet another aspect, the present disclosure can provide a computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by a data processing system, cause the data processing system to perform the method of the present disclosure. The data processing system can be a distributed data processing system comprising a plurality of computing nodes.

[0020] The methods and apparatuses of the present disclosure can enable improved tracking and / or documentation of the movement of materials in a decentralized materials network, and in particular can assist in overcoming the challenges posed by decentralization.

[0021] Specifically, the methods and apparatuses of the present disclosure use distributed ledger applications, such as encryption methods and blockchain applications, in a specific way, that is, represent the actual movement of materials from a material owner to a material recipient as a transaction stored in a distributed ledger, and allow and optionally store the commitment of such a transaction only under specific conditions.

[0022] The methods and apparatuses of the present disclosure use distributed ledger applications, such as encryption methods and blockchain applications, in a specific way, that is, represent the actual movement of materials as a transaction stored in a distributed ledger, and enable multi-level access to the data.

[0023] Even more specifically, as an example, it may be possible to perform a separation between data that enables identification of the flow of materials, such as chemicals, for example for mass balancing purposes and tracking purposes, while maintaining the privacy of specific data, such as carbon footprint or sustainability profile or origin data of the materials moved during the process of the transaction corresponding to the movement.

[0024] For example, the material mass flow can thus be balanced based on the material identifier, while monitoring and / or balancing, such as for the carbon footprint, can be performed in a separate process.

[0025] Many existing systems, such as smart contract-based systems, cannot reliably provide such separation.

[0026] Furthermore, the method enables a reliable and uncomplicated way to access the correct material dataset associated with a transaction. That is, if a transaction directly refers to a material dataset, this is error-prone because it is necessary to ensure that the correct, potentially unique material dataset is referred to or linked for each individual transaction. Instead, the correct one can be retrieved from among all the material datasets of interest, based on production data for a particular material, such as a batch ID, etc.

[0027] This application enables the utilization of information stored within the transaction itself for mass balancing purposes. Furthermore, it can thereby be made possible by selectively providing access to metadata to parties that are able to obtain additional information.

[0028] A transaction can be related to exactly one material identifier, and the relationship between the material identifier related to several material datasets and the material dataset associated with the transaction can be resolved using additional transaction metadata such as a timestamp, production site, country of production, etc.

[0029] The material dataset does not have to be stored as part of a distributed ledger, but may be stored, for example, in one or more databases.

[0030] Such material datasets can be retrieved using metadata from movement transactions. They can be shared among parties in a private channel.

[0031] As an example, the present disclosure can be used in the context where material flows occur among multiple parties (also called participants) in a decentralized material network where tracking and / or documentation of movement is reliably difficult without centralized supervision.

[0032] The generally used implementation forms of distributed systems are either hub-and-spoke systems or peer-to-peer systems. Hub-and-spoke systems either monopolize all production nodes and consumption nodes that the hub owner participates in, or are troubled by a strong centralization that leads to cumbersome and inappropriate bureaucracy ( "shareholder democracy") for all participants to share the ownership of the central hub.

[0033] As an example, in a distributed system, in order to achieve the target values of key performance indicators (KPIs) that can be verified across the system, prediction, planning, and management of production nodes and / or consumption nodes are required. The system-wide KPIs may include, for example, annual reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, annual increase in the equivalent recycling ratio, etc.

[0034] These system-wide KPIs are in contrast to local indicators that are only valid for a single node pair. Local indicators increase the risk of generating displacement effects or rebound effects while achieving local success, and as a result, the overall system performance decreases while the local performance improves. Exemplary displacement effects include so-called "carbon leakage" where GHG emissions increase in other producing countries, i.e., other parts of the network. Exemplary rebound effects include local production improvements that are overcompensated by an overall increase in consumption.

[0035] Decentralized systems in the art, such as peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, are suitable for managing such local KPIs, for example, between material owners and material recipients, but face challenges regarding system-wide KPIs. For example, P2P networks generally do not have means to guarantee a complete and interruption-free supply chain without lacking links, let alone a verifiable mass balance of the supply chain.

[0036] Examples of system-wide KPIs to be improved by prediction, planning, and management include the following. - Total emissions of the system (including GHG emissions and / or air, water, and / or land pollution), - Total recycled equivalent of the system, and - Environmental impact profile of the system (e.g., Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) or Aggregated PEF (Product Environmental Footprint)). - From the above perspectives, in particular, in order to enable overall system performance evaluation and optionally performance adjustment, there is a need to provide a method for assisting in improved tracking and / or documentation of the movement of materials in a decentralized material network.

[0037] It is particularly advantageous that the methods and apparatuses of the present disclosure enable verifiable and transparent tracking of material movement, in particular reducing the risk of fraudulent recycling and sustainability claims or assertions regarding material origin.

[0038] When providing reliable verifiable tracking and / or documentation of material movement, in particular mass flow and / or mass balance, there is a concern that it may lead to complete transparency of the material flow. However, for example, for reasons such as privacy protection, it may be advantageous to make information available based on the need to know, for example, selectively providing information only to selected parties. Generally, data that should be more readily available may be data that enables verifiable tracking of overall system KPIs for deriving, for example, recycled equivalent, GHG emissions, throughput or flow rate in a material loop, consumption of unused materials compared to throughput, and / or flow rate of materials lost irreversibly. The present method may enable a significant degree of anonymization without preventing reliable and verifiable tracking. For example, the use of encrypted authentication information, such as signatures and public / private keys, is advantageous for that purpose. The authentication information may be activated to verify material movement.

[0039] The methods and apparatuses of the present disclosure can be used for these purposes and can assist in overcoming the problems outlined above.

[0040] The methods and apparatus of the present disclosure can be used for these purposes and can assist in overcoming the problems outlined above. In particular, the methods and apparatus of the present disclosure can be used in cyclic processes represented by decentralized material networks, particularly in closed material loops. Specifically, the methods and apparatus can be used to track mass movement and perform mass balancing. Mass balancing can involve tracking that the mass of the material being moved is consistent over all successive material movements. In particular, it can be used to ensure that materials do not simply disappear in the production process unless they are verified and committed as transactions, for example, creation transactions, to a distributed ledger. This is equally applicable to the disappearance of materials from the production process.

[0041] The use of the encrypted authentication information of the material owner specified by the present disclosure makes it possible to restrict the eligibility of the material owner for transactions committed to the distributed ledger, particularly for transactions of a specific type.

[0042] For example, a material movement transaction can be a creation transaction. A creation transaction can be a type of transaction representing the introduction of material (e.g., raw material or unprocessed material) into the production process. By the method of the present disclosure, restrictions can be implemented regarding which participants are eligible material owners for creation transactions. Thus, it is possible to tightly control any entry points into the production process. This can be important as otherwise materials with uncertain characteristics or origins may be introduced or the materials associated with the transaction may not be fully constituted. By managing the entry points, only trusted parties can introduce materials. Optionally, additional checks can be performed (in addition to the eligibility of the owner) to commit a creation transaction.

[0043] Another type of transaction can be a processing in-transit transaction that does not introduce materials. Such a transaction can also be called an owner-recipient transaction. Such a transaction may require a potentially lower level of trust than a creation transaction. For example, a material owner can, in principle, be qualified to commit such a transaction to a distributed ledger on the premise that their encrypted authentication information is verified and, optionally, additional checks are successfully executed. For example, the permission for a transfer transaction to be committed to the ledger can be made in response to a validity check such as mass balancing to ensure no undocumented appearance or disappearance of materials. Some such additional validity checks can also be applied to the creation of transactions, but especially with respect to mass flow, there may be cases where no validity check is applicable because the creation transaction has no (documented) previous transactions.

[0044] According to the present disclosure, the material can be an individual material or a non-individual material. According to the present disclosure, the material can be a chemical raw material.

[0045] According to the present disclosure, the material can be moved in a linear production process or a circular process. Then, the method can be used, for example, to track mass transfer, specifically the mass balance. As an example, whether a material transfer is committed as a transaction can be determined based on the permission of the material owner and / or boundary conditions related to the mass flow.

[0046] According to the present disclosure, the material data can include transaction metadata and, optionally, the amount of material moved from the material owner to the material recipient. The transaction metadata can be used, for example, to retrieve more information about the transaction, specifically the transferred material associated with the transaction, from a database, such as a MongoDB database.

[0047] The amount of material can be used for the purpose of determining the mass flow, for example, to perform mass balancing. This information may be less confidential than the information related to the material being moved and the identification information of the material owner and the material recipient. As a result, for the purpose of transparency, for example, for mass balancing, it may be advantageous to be directly accessible to the amount of material being moved as part of the transaction data. With respect to other information, being accessible not as part of the transaction but, for example, for retrieval from a database can enable improved access control and privacy. In particular, this enables confidential data, for example, data regarded as reliable and / or subject to auditing, to be managed by reliable parties and ensures reliable and continuous access to the information. Furthermore, this enables the use of a public distributed ledger because confidential information such as material data and the identification information of the material owner and the material recipient cannot be derived from the transaction data. However, knowing the identification information of the material owner and / or the material recipient enables a reliable party to monitor the material flow such as the waste material flow.

[0048] According to the present disclosure, the transaction metadata may include a material identifier, at least one material classification, material production data, or a combination thereof.

[0049] As an example, the material production data may include one or more of a timestamp, a production site, a production country, and a batch ID. This enables efficient information access and retrieval, for example, in a database holding information on the material being moved, and also enables participants in the movement (not necessarily other parties) to access more information than that stored in the actual transaction.

[0050] Such metadata enables efficient retrieval of information associated with the transaction, particularly information specific to the movement of the material associated with the transaction, for example, from a database.

[0051] Thus, it is possible to accurately track units of a particular material over a process such as multiple movement steps, processing steps, etc., without having to pass all of the previous history in each transaction. Thus, the transaction can remain manageable in size, require no specific means for protecting confidential data, and still provide reliable tracking.

[0052] According to the present disclosure, the material identifier may include a digital representation that refers to a material data set, such as a material passport, or a part thereof.

[0053] As an example, the digital representation referring to the material data set may include the material data set, particularly a material passport associated with the material, particularly a pointer identifying the characteristics of the material, particularly a hash pointer.

[0054] According to the present disclosure, the material data set may be received from a data providing service. Specifically, the data providing service may ensure that the material data set has an appropriate configuration and content, particularly ensuring reliable storage and / or secure access to the material data set.

[0055] According to the present disclosure, the material data set may further include a decentralized identifier and data related to the material. The decentralized identifier may include a unique identifier uniquely associated with the data owner and / or the material data. Through the unique association of the decentralized identifier, particularly between the data owner and the material data, access to the material data may be controlled by the data owner rather than a central authority.

[0056] 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 by a data consuming service can be securely controlled, and the integrity of the data providing service can be ensured. This enables a more reliable, controlled, and secure data exchange or sharing, as will also be understood from the following glossary section.

[0057] According to the present disclosure, a material data set may be associated with one or more authorizing agencies associated with a decentralized identifier. Through the authorizing agencies, data access and data use by data consumption services can be securely controlled, as will be understood from the following terminology section.

[0058] According to the present disclosure, data related to a material may include one or more digital representations, or portions thereof, that refer to a material data set, also referred to as material property data.

[0059] According to the present disclosure, a material data set (material property data) may include the name of the material, the ID of the material, the composition of the material, the chemical and / or physical properties of the material, the emission data of the material, the recycling content rate of the material, the bio-based content rate of the material, further material production data, material declaration data, chemical material safety data, a certificate of analytical data associated with the material, or a combination thereof.

[0060] Specifically, the material data set (material property data) may include data representing the carbon footprint of the material.

[0061] According to the present disclosure, the encrypted authentication information of the material owner may include a public key, and optionally, the private key and / or encrypted signature of the material owner.

[0062] As an example, with respect to the encrypted signature, a material transaction request may be signed by the material owner using their private key. Subsequently, verification of the signature may be performed, for example, using URI content.

[0063] According to the present disclosure, the encrypted authentication information of the material recipient may include a public key, and optionally, the private key and / or encrypted signature of the material recipient. This enables highly reliable verification.

[0064] According to the present disclosure, confirmation or rejection of a commitment to a material transaction request may be received by the requester. Alternatively or additionally, confirmation or rejection of a commitment to a material transaction request may be received by the material owner and / or some other predetermined party. This may enable parties, independent of the distributed ledger, to successfully verify the movement of materials and document whether the commitment, particularly the storage, has been made to the distributed ledger.

[0065] According to the present disclosure, verifying the encrypted authentication information of a material owner may include searching a list containing the encrypted authentication information and comparing the encrypted authentication information of the material owner with the encrypted authentication information included in the searched list.

[0066] The list containing the encrypted authentication information may be, for example, a whitelist or blacklist of public keys.

[0067] As an example, a user attempting to participate in a material movement may be required to store their ID along with their public key in a database. The database may then be used to create and / or update a list, such as a blacklist or whitelist of public keys.

[0068] According to the present disclosure, if the encrypted authentication information included in a material transaction request does not match the encrypted authentication information included in the searched list, the movement of the material is verified. This may be the case, for example, when the searched list is a blacklist.

[0069] Note that, to be complete, the movement of materials may be verified only under the condition that the encrypted authentication information included in the material transaction request does not match the encrypted authentication information included in the searched list. That is, if the encrypted authentication information included in the material transaction request matches the encrypted authentication information included in the searched list, the movement may not be verified.

[0070] The above exemplifies the case where the retrieved list is a blacklist of public keys. Alternatively, the encrypted authentication information can be verified only when, in particular, the encrypted authentication information included in the material transaction request matches the encrypted authentication information included in the retrieved list or another list. This exemplifies the case where the retrieved list or another list is a whitelist of public keys.

[0071] As further described below, there may be alternative or additional conditions that need to be met to verify a material transaction.

[0072] According to the present disclosure, the distributed ledger may include a material transaction, each material transaction being associated with the transfer of materials from a material owner to a material recipient, and the material transaction including transaction identification information and material data associated with the materials. Each material transaction included in the distributed ledger can be a material transaction stored in the distributed ledger in response to committing the material transaction to the ledger, as outlined above.

[0073] According to the present disclosure, verifying the encrypted authentication information of the material owner may, alternatively or additionally to searching a list containing the encrypted authentication information, include searching a list containing the transaction identification information of the material transaction and comparing the transaction identification information associated with the received material transaction request with the transaction identification information included in the retrieved list.

[0074] The list containing the transaction identification information of the material transaction can be, for example, a whitelist or blacklist of transaction identification information, similar to, for example, a whitelist or blacklist of encrypted authentication information.

[0075] The above enables retroactive sanctions. For example, a transaction that should not have been committed against a distributed ledger but was not prevented by safeguards such as the use of encrypted authentication information can be blocked because it is the origin of subsequent transfer transactions. Such transactions can be detected by the above list of transaction identification information and transaction materials. Accordingly, additional safeguards against attacks and fraud that enable retroactive measures can be provided.

[0076] According to the present disclosure, if the transaction identification information associated with the received material transfer request does not match the transaction identification information included in the retrieved list, the transfer of the material can be verified.

[0077] For completeness, it should be noted that the transfer of the material can be verified only if, in particular, the transaction identification information associated with the received material transfer request does not match the transaction identification information included in the retrieved list. That is, if the transaction identification information associated with the received material transfer request matches the transaction identification information included in the retrieved list, the material transfer may not be verified.

[0078] This illustrates the case where the retrieved list is a blacklist of transaction identification information. Alternatively, a whitelist of transaction identification information can be used for verification, similar to the above whitelist of public keys.

[0079] According to the present disclosure, verifying the encrypted authentication information of the material owner may include verifying the encrypted signature of the material owner. Verifying the encrypted authentication information of an optional material recipient may include verifying the encrypted signature of the material recipient.

[0080] That is, in order to have the qualification for a commitment, a material transaction request may be required to include the encrypted authentication information of the material owner and optionally the encrypted authentication information of the material recipient, in particular the encrypted signature of the material owner and optionally the encrypted signature of the material recipient, and verifying the encrypted authentication information may be performed on the encrypted authentication information of the material owner and optionally the encrypted authentication information of the material recipient.

[0081] Verifying the encrypted authentication information may be performed, for example, as outlined above. In particular, both the encrypted authentication information of the material owner, in particular the encrypted signature, and the encrypted authentication information of the material recipient, in particular the encrypted signature, may be verified.

[0082] According to the present disclosure, a material transfer transaction may include exactly one material identifier. Thus, each transaction may uniquely refer to only one material and its associated material dataset. This makes it easier to resolve information and keeps the transactions efficient.

[0083] According to the present disclosure, searching for a material dataset associated with the movement of a material (based on the material identifier included in the transaction metadata and the material production data) may include determining the chemical substances associated with the material based on the material identifier included in the metadata, and searching for the material dataset associated with the movement of the material based on the determined substances and the material production data.

[0084] A chemical substance can be any material having a definite chemical composition and characteristic properties. As an example, the material can be at least one of ethanol, urea, sulfonic acid, hydrogen chloride, nitric acid, styrene, acrylic acid, hydrogen, propanol, butanol, butyl acetate, butyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate.

[0085] Accordingly, at least two material datasets can be, for example, datasets each containing data of a different specific batch of a chemical substance. Based on the material identifiers in the transaction, although not necessarily essential, the movement of materials related to a specific chemical substance for the batch of the substance can be identified. The material dataset related to the movement of the material, for example, for a specific batch of the substance being moved, can be retrieved as outlined above based on the material production data and can be used, for example, to identify the specific batch and / or the associated material dataset.

[0086] According to the present disclosure, a chemical substance can be associated with a material via a chemical registration number, particularly a CAS number.

[0087] The CAS number (also called the 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 non-structurable materials.

[0088] According to the present disclosure, the distributed ledger application can be stored on each member node of the distributed ledger.

[0089] According to the present disclosure, the distributed ledger application can be a smart contract. According to the present disclosure, the material identifier can include a pointer that refers to a digital representation of a chemical substance.

[0090] The pointer that refers to the digital representation of a chemical substance can be a pointer that refers to an identifier of the chemical substance, such as a registration number, particularly a hash pointer.

[0091] Any disclosure, embodiment, feature, technical effect, and advantage described in the present disclosure in the context of the method also apply to the apparatus, use, and computing device of the present disclosure, and vice versa. The advantages provided by any of the plurality of embodiments and examples equally apply to all other embodiments and examples, and vice versa.

[0092] Term In the following, terms used in this specification and / or the technical field of the present disclosure are outlined by definitions and / or examples. When examples are given, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the said examples.

[0093] Materials should be broadly understood in the present disclosure as referring to one or more physical entities. Materials can be individual or non-individual. For example, in the case of non-individual materials, it can be a continuous volume of solid or liquid materials, or in the case of individual materials, it can include a plurality of fragments, such as parts or components. Chemical materials can be, for example, chemical raw materials, chemically processed materials, or recycled materials.

[0094] According to the present disclosure, materials can be classified into at least the following material categories. Raw materials can include, in the present disclosure, materials that are induction sources or starting materials in a production process. It can be unused materials or reused materials, for example, materials that have already passed through production and use cycles.

[0095] According to the present disclosure, unused materials can include newly extracted raw materials, particularly materials that have not undergone production and use cycles, especially materials that have not been processed and / or used. For example, it may not have gone through any of the second to sixth steps of the production process as described below.

[0096] According to the present disclosure, reused materials can be materials that have already undergone manufacturing and use cycles. For example, reused materials can be materials that have undergone processing to prepare for reuse after the use of the materials. This may involve processing steps, such as recycling and / or other processing steps, such as cleaning, etc.

[0097] Recycled materials are an example of reused materials. It can be materials that have undergone one or more processing steps after the use of the materials. The processing steps can be steps that enable the use of the materials as raw materials.

[0098] This disclosure relates to the movement of materials. Materials can be moved during the production process, which, according to this disclosure, can include a manufacturing stage and a use stage, such as use by the end consumer. The production process can include that the materials are processed for reuse after use and enter another processing stage. Alternatively or additionally, the production process can include that the materials are discarded.

[0099] More specifically, for example, the production process according to this disclosure includes at least a first step in which the material is introduced into the production process (also called a supply step or a material introduction step), a second step in which the material introduced into the production process is processed to obtain, for example, a product (also called a processing step), and a third step that includes, for example, use by the end customer (also called a use step).

[0100] Generally, materials can be moved in a linear process, such as a linear production process, or in a cyclic process that can include a production process.

[0101] The cyclic process according to this disclosure is a process that includes a reuse stage in addition to the manufacturing stage and the use stage. Therefore, it can also include processing the materials for reuse. In particular, the cyclic process can include one or more, especially all, of the above-mentioned first step, second step, third step (also called a use step), fourth step (also called a processing for reuse step that can include, for example, a recycling step and / or a cleaning step), and fifth step (also called a reuse step that can be another processing step). Optionally, the cyclic process can include a sixth step also called a disposal step. Furthermore, different cycles of the cyclic process can include different subsets of the above steps.

[0102] The steps can optionally be executed in this order. Optionally, the fourth and fifth steps may be repeated before performing the sixth step. Each of the first through sixth steps may include a plurality of sub-steps.

[0103] In the course of the cyclic process, one or more materials may be involved, in particular, one or more, particularly all, of the first through sixth steps may be provided with.

[0104] In the course of the cyclic process, the material may be divided and / or merged with other materials. The merging with other materials may be regarded as processing the material and processing the other materials.

[0105] Alternatively or additionally, in the course of the cyclic process, one or more materials may be moved among the parties.

[0106] The cyclic process may in particular be implemented as a closed material loop. The closed material loop according to the present disclosure may be a cyclic process, more specifically a circular material flow, where only unused materials are supplied to the cyclic process in order to replace unusable materials, such as discarded materials, and environmental diffusible or accidental material losses such as wear, abrasion, or irrecoverable losses. Otherwise, unused materials are not supplied / introduced into the closed material loop. The unused material flow supplied to the cyclic process to replace discarded materials and / or diffusible or accidental material losses may be referred to as the makeup stream of unused materials.

[0107] The linear process may include only the manufacturing stage, the use stage, and disposal. In particular, there may be no reuse of materials, and in particular, there may be no recycling and / or other processing steps to prepare the materials for reuse. In other words, the raw materials may not include materials of the process itself, such as recycled or otherwise reintroduced materials. As an example, the linear process may include the first through third and sixth steps outlined above, but may not include the fourth and fifth steps outlined above.

[0108] In the present disclosure, the movement of materials may refer to materials that are moved between one or more first parties (each also referred to as a material owner) and one or more second parties (each also referred to as a material recipient), particularly from one or more first parties to one or more second parties. The movement of materials may refer to materials that have already been moved, as well as materials that are expected or planned to be moved from a first party to one or more second parties. In particular, the movement of materials may include materials that are moved between exactly one first party and exactly one second party.

[0109] One or more first parties and one or more second parties, particularly material owners and material recipients, may each include at least one of a legal entity, such as a company, a natural person, and a group of legal entities and / or natural persons.

[0110] A material owner may be a party that has ownership of the materials, particularly physical control of and / or economic ownership of the materials. A material owner who is a party to the movement of materials is also referred to in the present disclosure as a material owner associated with the movement of materials, or vice versa.

[0111] A material recipient may be a party that receives ownership of the materials, particularly physical control of and / or economic ownership of the materials. A material recipient who is a party to the movement of materials is also referred to in the present disclosure as a material recipient associated with the movement of materials, or vice versa.

[0112] The movement of materials may include the transfer of ownership from a material owner to a material recipient, and may include at least one of the transfer of physical control of the materials (also referred to simply as the physical movement of the materials) and economic ownership of the materials. Materials that are being moved during the process of the movement of materials are also referred to as materials associated with the movement of materials, or vice versa.

[0113] One or more first parties and one or more second parties are collectively referred to in this specification as parties involved in the movement.

[0114] According to the present disclosure, material data associated with or related to a material (or simply data) may include, for example, transaction metadata and / or the amount of material moved during the movement of the material. The material data may optionally include production data, such as a timestamp, a production site, a production country, a serial number (IBC), a QR code (registered trademark), 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 the material) and / or one or more digital representations indicating the material data set or a part thereof.

[0115] The material data set may include the name of the material, the ID of the material, the composition of the material, the chemical and / or physical properties of the material, the release data of the material, the recycling content rate of the material, the bio-based content rate of the material, further material production data, material declaration data, chemical material safety data, a certificate of analytical data associated with the material, or a combination thereof. The material data set associated with the movement of the material may be a data set including material data specifically associated with the particular batch related to the movement of the material, for example, for the material being moved.

[0116] In particular, it may not include material data not associated with the material being moved, in other words, it may only include such material data associated with the material being moved.

[0117] The term "material dataset" should be understood in a broad sense in this case and may include data related to the properties of materials and / or data related to the use of materials. Such properties can be static properties or dynamic properties. Static properties can be properties that remain constant over time, such as melting point, boiling point, density, hardness, flammability, etc. Dynamic properties can be properties that change over time, such as shelf life, pH value, color, reactivity. The properties of materials can include performance properties, flammability, toxicity, acidity, reactivity, chemical properties such as heat of combustion, and / or physical properties such as density, color, hardness, melting point, and boiling point, conductivity, etc. Data related to the use of materials can include, for example, data related to further processing of the materials by using the materials as reactants in further chemical reactions, and / or data related to the use of materials, for example, data related to the use of materials in processing processes and / or within manufacturing processes. The material dataset can include chemical substance data, emission data, recycle rate content, bio-based content, and / or production data.

[0118] Transaction metadata can be regarded as data representing the materials being moved. Transaction metadata can include one or more of a material identifier, at least one material classification, and material production data. The material identifier can include, for example, a digital representation that refers to a material dataset or a part thereof, and in this disclosure, can include a digital representation that refers to at least two different material datasets. For example, according to this disclosure, the transaction itself may not include any specific details about the materials associated with the material movement. This can ensure that, for example, the transaction can be published while keeping details about the materials being moved and the parties involved confidential. As a more specific example, the transaction can include transaction data that includes a digital representation that refers to a material dataset or a part thereof. In addition, the transaction data can include one or more of the type of transaction, for example, creation or movement of the transaction, one or more public keys such as public keys of the material owner and material recipient, ID, and the amount of the material being moved.

[0119] The term "digital representation referring to material data or a part thereof" should be understood in a broad sense in this case and may include at least one interface for a data provision service.

[0120] Furthermore, it may include at least one interface for a data consumption service. A digital representation referring to product data or a part thereof may include an endpoint for data exchange or sharing (resource endpoint) or an endpoint for service interaction (service endpoint) that is uniquely identified via a communication protocol. Therefore, a digital representation referring to material data or a part thereof may be uniquely associated with a decentralized identifier.

[0121] According to the present disclosure, a material data set may be received from a data provision service. The term "data provision service" should be understood in a broad sense in this case and includes computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing data such as material data associated with a data owner for access and / or processing by a data consumption service.

[0122] 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 be associated with and / or include data related to one or more authorization mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier.

[0123] The term "decentralized identifier" can be understood broadly in this case and can include any unique identifier that is uniquely associated with the data owner and the material data. The decentralized identifier can include a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) or a Digital Identifier (DID). The decentralized identifier can be issued by a centralized or decentralized identifier issuer. The decentralized identifier can include authentication information. Through the decentralized identifier and its unique association with the data owner and the material data, access to the material data can be controlled by the data owner. This is in contrast to a central authority scheme, where the identifier is provided by such central authority and access to the data is controlled by such central authority.

[0124] In this context, "decentralized" can refer to the use of an identifier in an implementation controlled by the data owner.

[0125] In the present disclosure, a material data set can include one or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier and data related to the material data.

[0126] The authentication mechanism can include tokens such as a private key and a public key infrastructure, a certificate authority, or a biometric mechanism such as fingerprint, face recognition, or voice recognition. One common public key certificate is, for example, an X.509 certificate. Through the authentication mechanism, data access by a data consumption service can be securely controlled, and the integrity of the data provision service can be ensured. This enables a more reliable, controlled, and secure data exchange or sharing.

[0127] One or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier generated by one centralized node or by one or more decentralized nodes can be provided to the node that generates the material dataset and, preferably, to at least one decentralized authentication data registry accessible by a data providing service and / or a data consuming service. The authentication data registry can be a centralized registry such as a centralized file system, a centrally managed decentralized database, and / or a centrally managed peer-to-peer network. The centralized configuration allows for a higher degree of control and standardization through the centralized 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. The decentralized configuration allows for a more efficient use of computing resources and enhances the control by the data owner through the material dataset.

[0128] In the present disclosure, the material dataset can be related to or include one or more authorization mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier and data related to the material data. The authorization mechanism can include authorization rules including data transaction instructions or data transaction protocols such as data usage policies, smart data contracts, or more complex data processing instructions related to the data providing service and / or the data consuming service. Through the authorization mechanism, data access and data usage by the data consuming service can be securely controlled.

[0129] One or more authorization mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier generated by one centralized node or by one or more decentralized nodes may be provided to a node that generates or processes a material dataset or to a node that accesses 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, preferably accessible 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 are provided to a node that generates or processes a material dataset and to 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, preferably accessible by a data providing service and / or a data consuming service.

[0130] In the present disclosure, a material transfer transaction (also abbreviated as a material transaction) should be understood as a digital representation, in particular a unique digital representation, of the transfer of materials from a first party to one or more second parties, in particular strictly from one first party to exactly one second party. A material transfer transaction is also, in the present disclosure, referred to as a material transfer transaction associated with the transfer of materials, or vice versa. Thus, the materials associated with the transfer of materials may also be referred to as materials associated with the material transfer transaction, or vice versa. More specifically, a material transfer transaction may be a transaction stored in a distributed ledger.

[0131] A material transfer transaction request (also abbreviated as a material transaction request) according to the present disclosure may include an instruction to commit the material transfer transaction request as a material transfer transaction to a distributed ledger. The request may in particular be a request to commit a material transfer request as a material transaction to a distributed ledger and may optionally store the material transfer transaction in the distributed ledger. This material transfer transaction is also referred to as being associated with the material transfer transaction request, or vice versa.

[0132] A material movement transaction request can be created and / or sent by a requesting party, also referred to as a requester, to, for example, a distributed ledger application. A material movement transaction and / or a material movement transaction request according to the present disclosure can be said to be associated with materials, and vice versa.

[0133] A material movement transaction request can include material data. That is, the material data can be stored within a material movement transaction associated with the material movement transaction request.

[0134] Alternatively or additionally, a material movement transaction request can include data indicating a material movement transaction. For example, the data indicating a material movement transaction can include data representing identification information of the movement transaction, also referred to as transaction identification information. Such data can be any data including, in a given context, for example, in a given distributed network, an identifier that uniquely identifies a material movement transaction.

[0135] In the present disclosure, the commitment of a material transfer transaction request as a transaction to a distributed ledger may include, for example, instructions for storing the transaction in the distributed ledger. For example, a material transfer transaction is received and verified at a member node, also referred to as a receiving node of the distributed ledger. The receiving node may store the verified request in a database and may allocate the verified request to one or more other nodes that execute a consensus algorithm such as the Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus protocol. These one or more other nodes may process the allocated request by creating an ordered list of transactions from the allocated request, creating a block for the transaction, and storing the block in the database. Each created block has a reference to a parent block so that a blockchain is obtained. Other member nodes that execute the consensus algorithm vote on whether to consider the block valid or invalid by checking the validity of all transactions within the block. If such a node finds an invalid transaction, it votes that the block is invalid; otherwise, it votes that the block is valid. Once a positive (valid) vote for a block becomes a majority, the voting on the block stops and the block is committed to the blockchain. Otherwise, the block is rejected and not committed to the blockchain.

[0136] In the present disclosure, for example, storing or saving a transfer transaction may include the transfer transaction being stored in the distributed ledger and, for example, added to the distributed ledger as a block. In one example, the decision to add a transfer transaction to the distributed ledger is made by consensus, that is, a majority of the member nodes of the distributed ledger must agree that the transaction is valid as described above.

[0137] The storage of a transaction in a distributed ledger can be triggered by the commitment of a transfer transaction request as a transaction to the distributed ledger. Thus, except in the case of an error, the storage of the transaction can be executed in response to the commitment. The confirmation of a commitment, such as a material transfer transaction request, may include an indication that the commitment has been approved, which may mean that the commitment has been or will be carried out. In particular, the confirmation of the commitment may include an indication that the commitment has been successfully executed.

[0138] Sending or receiving a confirmation of the commitment of a request as a transaction to the distributed ledger may involve sending or receiving information, particularly included in the message, indicating that the request has been and / or will be committed as a transaction to the distributed ledger.

[0139] For example, sending or receiving a rejection of the commitment of a request as a transaction to the distributed ledger may involve sending or receiving information, particularly included in the message, indicating that the request has not been and will not be committed as a transaction to the distributed ledger.

[0140] Verifying the movement of materials may include determining whether the movement of materials to be registered in the distributed ledger is or has been carried out between parties based on data associated with the movement of materials, such as materials, material owners, and / or material recipients, and / or data associated with the material transfer transaction request, and based on a predetermined rule or set of rules.

[0141] Verifying the movement of materials may include verifying the encrypted authentication information of the material owner associated with the movement of materials and / or the encrypted authentication information of the material recipient associated with the movement of materials. For example, the encrypted authentication information may be included in the material transfer transaction request associated with the movement of materials.

[0142] The encrypted authentication information may include data that establishes the identification information of the parties to the communication. The encrypted authentication information may take the form of a machine-readable encryption key, such as a public key, and / or a private key, and / or an encrypted signature, and / or a password, and / or a passphrase. The encrypted authentication information may be self-issued or issued by a trusted third party. The encrypted authentication information may be configured to establish a clear association with a specific actual individual or other entity. Optionally, the encrypted authentication information may be configured to expire after a certain period of time, but this is not essential. An X.509 public key certificate is an example of encrypted authentication information.

[0143] Verifying the encrypted authentication information may include comparing the encrypted authentication information with a list of authentication information, particularly a curated list. Such a list may include a blacklist and / or a whitelist of authentication information. If the encrypted authentication information matches or does not match the authentication information on the list of authentication information (e.g., when it matches the authentication information on the whitelist or does not match the authentication information on the blacklist), the verification of the encrypted authentication information may succeed.

[0144] In the context of the present disclosure, verifying the encrypted authentication information may also include, for example, alternatively or additionally to comparing the encrypted authentication information with a list of authentication information, comparing the transaction identification information of a material transfer transaction that includes or is associated with the encrypted authentication information with a list of transaction identification information. If the transaction identification information matches or does not match the transaction identification information on the list of transaction identification information (e.g., when it matches the transaction identification information on the whitelist or does not match the transaction identification information on the blacklist), the verification of the encrypted authentication information may succeed.

[0145] The method implemented by a computer may be related to a decentralized material network with a distributed ledger, for example, as in the case of the present application. The distributed ledger can be regarded as a database shared, replicated, and synchronized among member nodes of a decentralized network such as a P2P network. Generally, the distributed ledger can record transactions among participants in the network and thus provide an immutable history of the transactions.

[0146] The update of the distributed ledger can be executed based on a consensus algorithm. When an update occurs, all nodes update themselves using an appropriate updated copy of the ledger. A blockchain application is a specific example of a distributed ledger application. The nature of the distributed ledger is that there is no centralized authority such as a clearing institution.

[0147] The distributed ledger, more specifically its transactions, can represent the material flow in a material network such as a production or supply chain, for example, the introduction of materials into the material network or the movement of materials in the material network. In that case, the distributed ledger enables searching for transactions and then enables lookups across multiple intermediate steps in the material network, for example, the supply chain, thereby ensuring the traceability of the material flow and the accountability of each material owner and recipient.

[0148] Similar to the case of the present disclosure, the distributed ledger may include a distributed ledger application. The distributed ledger application executes computing steps associated with the distributed ledger.

[0149] The distributed ledger application can be stored on each member node of the distributed ledger. As an example, the distributed ledger application can be a smart contract. A smart contract can be a computer program or a transaction protocol that automatically executes and / or controls and / or documents events and / or actions according to an agreement such as a contract.

[0150] For example, a computer program or a trading protocol may automatically execute steps in response to being derived from an agreement and / or when predetermined conditions are satisfied.

[0151] As used herein, "determine" includes "initiate or cause a determination", "generate" includes "initiate and / or cause a generation", and "provide" includes "initiate or cause a determination, generation, selection, transmission, and / or reception". "Initiate or cause the execution of an action" includes any processing signal that triggers a computing node or device to execute the respective action.

[0152] In the claims and the specification, the term "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite articles "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may perform the functions of a plurality of entities or items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain means are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not imply that a combination of these means cannot be used advantageously in an implementation.

[0153] Brief Description of the Drawings Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0154]

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[0155] Detailed Description of Embodiments The following embodiments are merely examples for implementing the methods, systems, or application devices disclosed herein and should not be regarded as limiting.

[0156] To provide the context of the methods and apparatuses according to the present disclosure, different computing environments, namely, centralized, decentralized, and decentralized and distributed, are shown in FIGS. 1a to 1c and are described below in this specification.

[0157] The methods, apparatuses, and calculators of the present disclosure are implemented in a decentralized or at least partially decentralized computing environment, specifically, in a decentralized network that can reflect the decentralized nature of material movement among multiple independent parties.

[0158] FIG. 1a shows an exemplary embodiment of a centralized computing system 100 comprising a centralized computing node 101 (a solid circle in the center) and several peripheral computing nodes 101.1 to 101.n (shown as peripheral solid circles).

[0159] As used herein, the term "computing system" is broadly defined to include one or more computing nodes, a system of nodes, or combinations thereof. As used herein, the term "computing node" is broadly defined and can refer to any device or system having at least one physical and tangible processor and a physical and tangible memory capable of having computer-executable instructions executed by the processor. Computing nodes are increasingly taking on a variety of forms. A computing node can be, for example, a handheld device, a production facility, a sensor, a monitoring system, a control system, a household appliance, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a mainframe, a data center, or even a device not conventionally regarded as a computing node such as a wearable (e.g., glasses, a wristwatch, etc.). The memory can take any form and depends on the nature and form of the computing node.

[0160] In this example, the peripheral computing nodes 101.1 to 101.n can be connected to one centralized computing system (or server). In another example, the peripheral computing nodes 101.1 to 101.n can be attached to a centralized computing node, for example, via a terminal server (not shown). Most of the functions may be executed by or obtained from a centralized computing node (also referred to as a remote centralized management location). One peripheral computing node 101.n is enlarged to provide an overall view of the components present in the peripheral computing node.

[0161] The centralized computing node 101 can comprise the same components as those described in relation to the peripheral computing node 101.n.

[0162] Each computing node 101, 101.1 to 101.n may include at least one hardware processor 102 and a 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, a device configured to perform computational or logical operations. In particular, a processor or computer processor may be configured to process the 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 arithmetic unit ("FPU") such as a numeric co-processor or numeric coprocessor, a plurality of registers, particularly registers configured to supply operands to the ALU and store the operation results, and a memory such as L1 and L2 cache memories. In particular, the processor may be a multi-core processor. Specifically, the processor may be a central processing unit ("CPU") or may include a CPU. The processor may be a graphics processing unit ("GPU"), a tensor processing unit ("TPU"), a complex instruction set computing microprocessor ("CISC"), a reduced instruction set computing ("RISC") microprocessor, a very long instruction word ("VLIW") microprocessor, a processor implementing other instruction sets, or a processor implementing a combination of instruction sets. The processing means may also be one or more dedicated processing devices such as an application-specific integrated circuit ("ASIC"), a field-programmable gate array ("FPGA"), a complex programmable logic circuit ("CPLD"), a digital signal processor ("DSP"), a network processor, etc. The methods, systems, and devices described herein may be implemented as software within a DSP, a microcontroller, or any other side processor, or as a hardware circuit within an ASIC, a CPLD, or an FPGA.The term "processor" may also refer to one or more processing devices, such as a distributed system of processing devices (e.g., cloud computing) arranged across multiple computer systems, and it should be understood that it is not limited to a single device unless otherwise specified.

[0163] Memory 104 may refer to physical system memory that can be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination thereof. The memory may include non-volatile mass storage devices such as physical storage media. The memory can be RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other physical and tangible storage medium such as a computer-readable storage medium used to store the desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and accessible by a computing system. Further, the memory can be a computer-readable medium (also referred to as a transmission medium) having computer-executable instructions. Further, when reaching various computing system components, program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures can be automatically moved from the transmission medium to the storage medium (or vice versa). For example, computer-executable instructions or data structures received via a network or data link are buffered in RAM within a network interface module (e.g., "NIC") and ultimately can be moved to the RAM of the computing system and / or to a lower-level volatile storage medium in the computing system. Thus, it should be understood that the storage medium can be included in computing components that also (or even primarily) utilize the transmission medium.

[0164] Computing nodes 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n may often include a plurality of structures 106, often referred to as "executable components or computer-executable instructions". For example, the memory 104 of computing nodes 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n may be shown as including executable components 106. The term "executable component" is a name for a structure that is software, hardware, or a combination thereof, or a structure that can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination, and is well understood by those skilled in the computing art. For example, when implemented in software, the structure of an executable component, whether such an executable component exists in a number of computing nodes 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n or the executable component exists in a computer-readable storage medium, will be understood by those skilled in the art to include software objects, routines, methods, etc. that are executed in computing nodes 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n. In such a case, those skilled in the art should recognize that the structure of the executable component exists in a computer-readable medium such that when interpreted by one or more processors (e.g., by a processor thread) of computing nodes 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n, the computing nodes 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n are caused to perform functions. Such a structure may be directly computer-readable by a processor (as if the executable component were binary). Alternatively, the structure may be configured to be interpretable and / or compiled (whether in a single stage or multiple stages) to produce a binary that is directly interpretable by a processor. Such an understanding of exemplary structures of executable components is sufficient within the understanding of those skilled in the computing art when the term "executable component" is used. Examples of executable components implemented in hardware include hard-coded or wired logic gates implemented exclusively or substantially 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 description, terms such as "component", "agent", "manager", "service", "engine", "module", "virtual machine", etc. are used synonymously with the term "executable component".

[0165] Upon execution of computer-executable instructions that constitute executable components, the processors 102 of each computing node 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n can direct the operation of each computing node 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n. For example, such computer-executable instructions can be embodied in one or more computer-readable media that form a computer program product. The computer-executable instructions can be stored in the memories 104 of each computing node 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n. The computer-executable instructions, for example, when executed on the processor 101, include instructions and data that cause a general-purpose computing node 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n, a dedicated computing node 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n, or a dedicated processing device to execute a specific function or group of functions. Alternatively or additionally, the computer-executable instructions can configure the computing nodes 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n to execute a specific function or group of functions. The computer-executable instructions can be, for example, binary or even instructions that undergo some translation (such as compilation) before being directly executed by the processor, such as intermediate format instructions like assembly language or even source code.

[0166] Each computing node 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n may include a communication channel 108 that enables each computing node 101.1, ···, 101.n to communicate with a centralized computing node 101, for example, a network (shown as a solid line between the peripheral computing node and the centralized computing node in FIG. 1a). The "network" may be defined as one or more data links that enable the transmission of electronic data between computing nodes 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n, modules, and / or other electronic devices. When information is transferred or provided to computing nodes 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n via a network or another communication connection (either wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wireless), the computing nodes 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n appropriately regard the connection as a transmission medium. The transmission medium can be used to carry the desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and may include a network and / or data link that can be accessed by general-purpose or dedicated computing nodes 101, 101.1, ···, 101.n. The above combinations may also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0167] The computing nodes 101, 101.1 to 101.n may further include a user interface system 110 used for the interface with the 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 a precise output mechanism 110A or input mechanism 110B because such matters would 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 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.

[0168] FIG. 1b shows an exemplary embodiment of a decentralized computing environment 100' having several computing nodes 101.1' to 101.n' shown as solid circles. In contrast to the centralized computing environment 100 shown in FIG. 1a, the computing nodes 101.1' to 101.n' of the decentralized computing environment are not connected to the centralized computing node 101 and thus are not under the control of the centralized computing node. Instead, resources of both hardware and software can be allocated to each individual computing node 101.1',..., 101.n' (local or remote computing systems), and data can be distributed among the various computing nodes 101.1',..., 101.n' for task execution. Thus, in a decentralized system environment, program modules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. One computing node 101' is enlarged to provide an overall view of the components present in the computing node 101'. In this example, the computing node 101' comprises the same components as those described in connection with FIG. 1a.

[0169] FIG. 1c shows an exemplary embodiment of a distributed computing environment 103. In this description, "distributed computing" can refer to any computing that utilizes multiple computing resources. Such use can be realized through the virtualization of physical computing resources.

[0170] An example of distributed computing is cloud computing. "Cloud computing" can refer to a model that enables on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services). When distributed, a cloud computing environment can be distributed internally within one organization and / or across multiple organizations. In this example, the distributed cloud computing environment 103 can include the following computing resources: mobile device 114, application 116, database 118, data storage 120, and server 122. The cloud computing environment 103 can be deployed as a public cloud 124, a private cloud 126, or a hybrid cloud 128. The private cloud 124 can be owned by an organization, and only members of the organization with appropriate access can use the private cloud 126, keeping the data within the private cloud at least confidential. In contrast, data stored in the public cloud 126 can be open to anyone via the Internet. The hybrid cloud 128 can be a combination of the private cloud 124 and the public cloud 126, and can enable some data to be kept confidential while other data can be made public.

[0171] As described in detail above, the methods and apparatuses of the present disclosure may utilize a distributed ledger. An exemplary distributed ledger 200 is shown in FIG. 2. The distributed ledger 200 is a database that is shared, replicated, and synchronized among member nodes 202 of a decentralized network such as a P2P network. A distributed ledger application executes computing steps associated with the distributed ledger. Generally, a distributed ledger may record transactions among participants in a network and thus provide an immutable history of the transactions. Updates to the distributed ledger are performed based on a consensus algorithm. When an update occurs, all nodes update themselves with an appropriate updated copy of the ledger. A blockchain application is a specific example of a distributed ledger application. The nature of a distributed ledger is that there is no centralized authority such as a clearinghouse.

[0172] A distributed ledger, and more specifically its transactions, may represent the flow of materials in a materials network such as a supply chain, for example, the introduction of materials into the materials network or the movement of materials within the materials network. In that case, the distributed ledger may enable the search of transactions and then enable lookups across multiple intermediate steps in the materials network, such as a supply chain, thereby ensuring the traceability of the materials flow and the accountability of each materials owner and recipient.

[0173] In FIG. 2, as a specific 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 that includes a distributed consensus algorithm and functions as a distributed ledger anchoring, such as blockchain anchoring. By providing separate layers, the database function can be advantageous as it is equipped with high throughput for, e.g., data loading and retrieval, access and query, while the distributed ledger function typically provides a lower throughput but still ensures data immutability, tamper resistance, evidence, decentralized consensus over state, and replication of state across various nodes. However, the separation into separate layers is optional.

[0174] A distributed ledger as shown in FIG. 2 can be configured such that database access and query commands on each node are implemented as part of the database layer and only a few essential database commands that can be implemented by the control layer are implemented. As an example, when a material flow is represented by a distributed ledger, the control layer can perform create transactions and transfer transactions, where a create transaction represents the supply or introduction of materials into the material network, and a transfer transaction represents materials being moved from a material owner to a material recipient within the material network.

[0175] A create transaction can, for example, write an asset object to the ledger and add a pointer to the corresponding metadata, and a transfer transaction can, for example, perform a "write-only append" operation to the ledger that needs to reference one or more input transactions (create or transfer) and one or more outputs (destination addresses).

[0176] Thus, using only two transaction types, further distributed tracking and documentation of material flow in a material network, particularly material mass balancing, can be performed with distributed consensus.

[0177] Figures 3A and 3B show a block diagram illustrating a method for verifying the movement of materials between a material owner and a material recipient in a decentralized network comprising a plurality of member nodes 304 and a decentralized ledger application 306 according to the present disclosure. For simplicity, only one of the member nodes is shown in detail. The member node communicates, via a data connection for example, with a requester computer device 308, also referred to as a requester for short.

[0178] The requester computer device communicates communicatively, via another data connection for example, with a storage device 310a in which the encrypted authentication information 312a of the material owner is stored. The requester device is configured to obtain the encrypted authentication information of the material owner from the storage device.

[0179] Optionally, the requester device may also be configured to retrieve the encrypted authentication information 312b of the material recipient from the storage device 310a or from a different storage device 310b with which it communicates communicatively. The requester computer device is configured to send a material transaction request 314 to the member node, specifically to the decentralized ledger application.

[0180] The material transaction request includes material data 318 associated with the material movement to be verified. Further, the material transaction request includes at least the encrypted authentication information of the material owner. Optionally, the material transaction request may also include the encrypted authentication information of the material recipient.

[0181] The decentralized ledger application is configured to receive the material transaction request from the requester computer device and to verify the movement of the material.

[0182] Verifying the movement of the material is performed by verifying at least the encrypted authentication information of the material owner and optionally the material recipient included in the material transaction request.

[0183] Figure 3a shows a scenario where the movement of the material is successfully verified. In this case, the material transaction 318 is committed to the decentralized ledger and optionally stored in the distributed ledger. Further, the member node, specifically the distributed ledger application, sends a confirmation 320 of the commitment of the transaction request as a transaction to the requester computer device. Additionally, in the same or a different step, the success of storing the transaction in the distributed ledger can also be sent to the requester computer device.

[0184] Figure 3b shows the same system as in Figure 3a. Figure 3b shows a scenario where the movement of the material is not verified. In this case, the sending of a rejection 322 of the commitment of the transaction request as a transaction is executed by the member node, specifically the distributed ledger application, to the requester's computer device. Also, since the movement of the material is not verified, the material transaction request is not committed as a transaction in the distributed ledger and is not stored. The decentralized network is indicated by reference numeral 324 in Figures 3a and 3b.

[0185] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the method implemented by the computer of the present application. In step S21, a material transaction request is sent by the requester. The material transaction request includes material data associated with the material and encrypted authentication information of the material owner and optionally the material recipient.

[0186] In step S22, the material transaction request is received by the distributed ledger application from the requester.

[0187] In step S23, the distributed ledger application verifies the movement of the material by verifying the encrypted authentication information of the material owner and optionally the material recipient.

[0188] If the authentication information is successfully verified, in step S24, the material transaction request is committed as a material transaction in the distributed ledger, and a confirmation of the commitment of the material transaction request is sent by the distributed ledger application.

[0189] If the authentication information is not successfully verified, in step S25, the rejection of the commitment of the material transaction request as a material transaction is sent by the distributed ledger application.

[0190] In step S26, the confirmation of the commitment of the material transaction request is received, for example, by the requester.

[0191] In step S27, the rejection of the commitment of the material transaction request is received, for example, by the requester.

[0192] According to the present disclosure, the material transaction may include different types of transactions. For example, the material movement transaction may be a creation transaction. The creation transaction may be a type of transaction representing the introduction of materials (e.g., raw materials or unprocessed materials) into the production process. By the method of the present disclosure, restrictions regarding which participants are eligible material owners for the creation transaction can be implemented. Thus, any entry point into the production process can be strictly controlled.

[0193] For example, there may be a white list or black list of parties eligible to create transactions committed to the distributed ledger. It should be noted that the creation transaction does not have a preceding transaction within the transaction chain. Thus, some checks, such as mass balance, etc., that can be applied within the transaction chain cannot be applied to the creation transaction, making it even more important to enable transactions to be created only for trusted parties.

[0194] Another type of transaction may be an in - process movement transaction, which can be any transaction that does not introduce or discard materials. These transactions will have preceding transactions. This can thereby enable, for example, performing mass balancing and ensuring that materials do not simply appear or disappear.

[0195] Figures 5A - 5E show different examples of possible applications of the method of the present disclosure in a material network, such as a supply chain.

[0196] Participants in this example may include one or more of material providers 502, one or more product producers 504, such as component producers 504a, constituent producers 504b, module producers 504c, or original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) 504d, and one or more recyclers 508.

[0197] Figure 5A generally shows an information flow of data labeled, for example, as "material data" and data labeled as "product data", where product data is a specific type of material data related to products that include materials in, for example, processed or unprocessed form. Specifically, a material provider may provide material data to a distributed ledger, and each product producer may provide product data to the distributed ledger 302. In addition, information may be retrieved from the distributed ledger by each of the participants and / or exchanged between different participants.

[0198] Figure 5B is similar to Figure 5A and shows a specific case where the information exchanged between participants may include the movement of material data sets.

[0199] Figure 5C is also similar to Figure 5A. In this specific case, the participants include a material provider, a component producer, a constituent producer, a module producer, and an OEM. Materials 506, parts 506a, constituents 506b, modules 506c, and original devices 506d are also shown in Figure 5C. It should be understood that at least a portion of material 506 is found within parts, constituents, modules, and original devices.

[0200] In the example shown in Figure 5D, for example, the participants include a material provider, specifically a pigment provider, and two product producers, namely, a past producer of the pigment and a coating material producer.

[0201] In the example shown in FIG. 5E, 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.

[0202] In FIGS. 5A to 5E, each participant is shown as being able to perform a two-way exchange of data with the distributed ledger and other participants, but it should be understood that this is not necessarily the case. For example, the data exchange may not be carried out for all possible data exchange routes, or the data exchange routes may be selectively closed for some participants, such as by access control.

[0203] FIG. 6 shows an example of ID-based owner data, ID-based data that may be at least partially included in a material data set such as a material passport, and a decentralized identification information manager.

[0204] The ID can be a decentralized ID (DID). The ID-based material data set can be a DID document associated with the DID. The ID-based owner data can include IDs associated with subjects such as product data and chemical product data, and can include an authentication mechanism. The ID-based owner data can include owner data electronically owned and controlled by the DID owner. In this context, being electronically owned can refer to data stored in an owner repository or wallet. Such data can be securely stored and / or managed on an organized server or client device. The ID-based owner data can include a DID, a private key, and a public key. The ID-based owner can own and control a DID that represents identification information associated with the DID subject, a private key, and a public key associated with the DID. The DID can be understood as an identifier and authentication information associated with or uniquely linked to the identifier.

[0205] A DID subject can be a raw material, a basic substance, a chemical product, an intermediate product, a component, a component assembly, or a final product. A DID subject can be a machine, a system, or a device used in the production of a raw material, a basic substance, a chemical product, an intermediate product, a component, a component assembly, or a final product, or a collection of such machines, devices, and / or systems. A DID owner can be a manufacturer such as a supply chain participant or a chemical manufacturer that produces chemical substances. A DID owner can be an upstream participant in the supply chain of a chemical manufacturer, such as a supplier that supplies a raw material chemical product or a precursor for producing a chemical substance. A DID owner can be a downstream participant in the supply chain of a chemical manufacturer, such as a customer that consumes a chemical substance to produce an intermediate product, a component, a component assembly, or a final product. A DID owner can be any participant in the supply chain including a raw material chemical product supplier, an intermediate chemical product manufacturer, an intermediate part manufacturer, a component manufacturer, a component assembly manufacturer, or a final product manufacturer.

[0206] 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 expected during the use of the DID. The identifier can be a local or global unique identifier for 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, or a machine, a system, or a device used in the production of a raw material, a basic substance, a chemical product, an intermediate product, a component, a component assembly, or a final product, or a collection of such machines, devices, and / or systems, or a chemical manufacturer that produces chemical substances, 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, or any participant in the supply chain including a raw material chemical product supplier, an intermediate chemical product manufacturer, an intermediate part manufacturer, a component manufacturer, a component assembly manufacturer, or a final product manufacturer, or a collection thereof.

[0207] 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 for security purposes. In one embodiment, a DID can be a 128-character string of numbers and letters following a scheme such as did:method name:method-specific did, e.g., did:example:ebfeb1f712ebc6f1c276e12ec21. A DID can be decentralized, under the control of the DID owner, independent of a centralized third-party management system.

[0208] A material dataset as a DID document can be associated with a DID. Thus, the material dataset can include a reference to a DID associated with the DID subject described by the DID document. The DID document can also include authentication information such as a public key. The public key can be used by a third-party entity to which access to information and data owned by the DID owner / subject is authorized by the DID owner / subject. The public key can also be used to verify that the DID owner actually owns or controls the DID. The DID document can include authentication information, authorization information, for example, to authorize a third-party entity to read the DID document or a portion of the DID document without, for example, giving the third party the right to prove ownership of the DID.

[0209] The material data set may include one or more representations that are digitally linked to product data or chemical product data, for example, by a service endpoint. The service endpoint may include a network address where the service operates on behalf of the DID owner. In particular, the service endpoint may refer to a service of the DID owner that provides access to product data or chemical product data. Such services may include services that read or analyze product data or chemical product data. Chemical product data may include chemical product declaration data, chemical product safety data, certificates of analytical data, emissions data, product carbon footprint data, product environmental footprint data, chemical product specification data, product information, technology application data, production data, or combinations thereof.

[0210] The material data set may include various other information such as metadata that specifies when the material data set was created, when the last change was made, and / or when it expires.

[0211] The DID and the material data set may be associated with a centralized data service system or a decentralized data service system, such as a data registry node like a distributed ledger or a blockchain. Possible blockchain systems include Quorum, Hyperledger, and Fabric. The distributed ledger or blockchain may be used to store the representation of the DID that refers to the material data set. The representation of the DID may be stored on the distributed computing nodes of the distributed ledger or blockchain. For example, the DID hash may be stored on multiple computing nodes of the distributed ledger and may refer to the location of the material data set. In some embodiments, the material data set may be stored in the distributed ledger. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the DID document may be stored in a data storage (not shown) associated with the distributed ledger or blockchain.

[0212] A distributed ledger or blockchain can be any decentralized distributed network that includes various computing nodes that communicate with each other. For example, a distributed ledger can 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 can operate according to any known distributed ledger standard or method. Examples of conventional distributed ledgers corresponding to a distributed ledger or blockchain include, but are not limited to, Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum, and Litecoin.

[0213] FIG. 7 shows an example of ID-based certificate data, an ID-based material dataset, and an identification information manager.

[0214] In contrast to the example of FIG. 6, the example of FIG. 7 is certificate-based. The ID-based certificate data can include authentication data of the certificate owner and the certificate issuer. For example, an encrypted signature from the issuer can bind the public key of the data owner to the ID. The ID can be a unique ID (such as a UID) as described in relation to the DID of FIG. 6. The certificate can be an X.509 certificate such as X509v3. The ID-based material dataset can be associated with the data source of the data owner. The ID-based material dataset 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 associated with the data source. The data source can provide product data and / or chemical product data.

[0215] In this certificate-based example, the ID-based material dataset includes one or more certificates associated with the data owner. The certificates can be associated with an identity information manager that provides, for example, a certificate issuing service and / or a dynamic provisioning service that provides dynamic attribute tokens (e.g., OAuth access tokens). Information necessary for certificate verification is provided via an authentication registry associated with the certificate issuing service and / or the dynamic provisioning service. For example, in the IDSA reference architecture model, version 3.0 of April 2019, connectors associated with the data owner, a certificate authority (CA), a dynamic attribute provisioning service (DAPS), and a connector associated with the data consumer service are used for identity information verification prior to the execution of data exchange (not shown). For this purpose, such connectors include one or more certificates such as X.509 certificates. Thus, the connector holds a unique identifier embedded in the X.509 certificate that identifies the connector instance.

[0216] Figure 8 shows an example of a production facility that produces chemical products associated with a material dataset.

[0217] The production facility shown in Figure 8 can manufacture chemical products. The production facility can manufacture, for example, organic chemical products obtained by reacting organic chemical reactants. The production facility can include one or more production plants. For example, a production facility for manufacturing chemical products can include at least one production plant for a precursor / intermediate product.

[0218] Physical inputs to the production facility can include materials such as raw materials, intermediate materials, or components to be assembled. The raw materials can be unprocessed raw materials or recycled raw materials.

[0219] Physical inputs can be associated with decentralized identifiers as described above. Physical inputs can be registered in a production facility. Registration can include providing a decentralized identifier associated with the physical input. Providing a decentralized identifier can include reading physical identifier elements physically associated with the physical input as described above. Providing a decentralized identifier can include accessing a database using the decentralized identifier and fetching the decentralized identifier associated with the physical input.

[0220] Based on the provided decentralized identifier, chemical product data associated with such a decentralized identifier can be accessed. Access can be permitted through authentication and authorization based on 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, certificates of analytical data, emissions data, product carbon footprint data, product environmental footprint data, chemical product specification data, product information, technology application data, production data, performance data, quality data, material composition data, recycle rate content data, or combinations thereof can be accessed. Chemical product data can be accessed through a data service that requests access to chemical product data associated with each decentralized identifier and controlled by the physical input data owner. The data owner can be the producer of the physical input. The data service can include computer-executable instructions that operate at least partially in a decentralized computing environment. Such computer-executable instructions can be based on authentication information, authorization information, and / or a Json Web Token (JWT) that includes a digital representation that refers to chemical product data or a portion thereof. The digital representation can include an endpoint for data exchange or sharing (resource endpoint) uniquely identified via a communication protocol or an endpoint for service interaction (service endpoint). The digital representation that refers to chemical product data or a portion thereof can be uniquely associated with the decentralized identifier. Chemical product data can be used in the production process of a production facility.

[0221] A production facility can produce a physical output based on one or more physical inputs. The physical output of the production facility can be associated with a physical identifier. The physical output of the production facility can be physically linked to a physical identifier element as described above. The physical identifier can be assigned to identifier information associated with a decentralized identifier. For such an assignment, it is also possible to read the physical identifier element or access a database using the physical identifier. A request to provide a decentralized identifier can be triggered to assign a physical identifier to a decentralized identifier.

[0222] In this way, a decentralized identifier can be assigned to the physical output. Providing a decentralized identifier can include accessing a database using related information such as the decentralized identifier and authentication information. Providing a decentralized identifier can include accessing a decentralized service that provides related information such as the decentralized identifier and authentication information. In response to a request, a material dataset can be generated that includes the decentralized identifier and data related to the chemical product data of the chemical product. Data related to the chemical product data can include representations such as pointers or links to the chemical product data. The decentralized identifier can be associated with data related to the chemical product data of the physical output. The decentralized identifier can further be associated with, assigned to, or linked to the decentralized identifier of the physical input. The material dataset can be provided to a decentralized network for access by other participants or producers in the network. In this way, the material chain from input to output can be made traceable and usable in further manufacturing steps without exposing the chemical product data in an uncontrolled manner.

[0223] The above-described processing steps can be executed 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 related to a chemical product or chemical product data related to the production of a chemical product, where the chemical product is associated with or comprises a physical identifier. The operating system can in particular include an ID reader configured to provide physical identification information of a physical input or a physical output as described above. The system can further include an assigner configured to assign a decentralized identifier and associated information to a physical output as described above. Furthermore, the operating system can include an ID provider configured to provide a decentralized identifier and associated information as described above.

[0224] FIG. 9 shows another example of a production facility that produces chemical products associated with a material dataset.

[0225] The processing steps described in the context of FIG. 8 can be executed via an operating system of a production facility that interacts with an assigner, a collector, or a reader, or an ID provider. In this embodiment, the operating system can be communicatively connected to the production facility and the assigner, the collector, the ID reader, or the ID provider. The operating system can be configured to provide chemical product data from the production facility. The operating system can include a collector configured to provide chemical product data from the production facility. The operating system can include an ID reader configured to read physical identifier elements physically associated with a physical input or a physical output. The assigner can be configured to assign a decentralized identifier and related information to the physical identifier of the physical output, as described above in the context of FIG. 8. The ID provider can be configured to provide a decentralized identifier and related information, as described above in the context of FIG. 8. The ID reader can be configured to provide a physical identifier and related information of a physical input or a physical output, as described above in the context of FIG. 8. The assigner, the collector, the ID reader, and / or the ID provider can be configured as a decentralized service or application executed via a decentralized network.

[0226] FIGS. 8 and 9 merely show two exemplary embodiments, and any combination of the system components shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 may be possible. For example, while the ID reader can be configured as part of the operating system, the ID provider and the assigner may not be configured as part of the operating system.

[0227] FIG. 10 shows an example of tracking materials from raw materials to the final product in the production of chemical products. FIG. 10 particularly shows an example of tracking materials in the production of chemical products.

[0228] To produce chemical products, raw materials can be provided as physical inputs. The raw materials can include precursor materials. The raw materials can include unprocessed materials, or recycled materials. The raw materials can be associated with a decentralized identifier. The decentralized identifier can be associated with a digital twin of the raw materials. The decentralized identifier can be associated with raw material data such as tags of unprocessed or recycled materials, material properties related to environmental impact, or material properties related to origin.

[0229] The production of chemical products can include a two-step process, namely, 1) production of precursor materials, 2) production of chemical products. To produce precursor materials, raw materials can be used as physical inputs. The operating system for precursor production can access data related to the raw materials based on a decentralized identifier, 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 recycle rate can be included. For example, if the raw material is an unprocessed material, the purification step can be omitted. The precursor materials can be formed by coprecipitating the raw materials. The production data from precursor production can be stored and / or associated with a decentralized identifier.

[0230] In the second step, the precursor materials can be provided to produce chemical products. The precursor materials can include precursors produced by precursor production. The precursor materials can include recycled precursor materials, or precursor materials produced by different entities. Such precursor materials can be associated with a decentralized identifier, and through the decentralized identifier, data related to the precursor materials can be made accessible.

[0231] The produced and packaged chemical products can be assigned decentralized identifiers and related information as outlined above. The packaged electrode active material can comprise a physical identifier element such as a QR code physically attached to the package. Such a physical identifier element can be assigned to a decentralized identifier. The assignment of the physical identifier element and the decentralized identifier can be performed through a locally operating ID generator / assigner in a decentralized system and / or a distributed system.

[0232] For example, the packaging line can comprise a detector that detects the physical identifier of each package. Based on such recognition, the operating system of the chemical product production requests to provide a decentralized identifier, and the provided decentralized identifier can be assigned to the physical identifier. In response to the request, a material dataset can be generated that includes the decentralized identifier and data related to the chemical product.

[0233] In such generation, data related to the chemical product recorded before and / or during the production of the chemical product can be collected or accessed. Such data can be provided by the operating system of the chemical product production or a storage environment connected to the operating system of the chemical product production. This can include data collected and stored during the production of the precursor material.

[0234] Data related to the chemical product can include identifiers of the raw materials used to produce the chemical product. Data related to the chemical product can include, for example, data related to the raw materials accessible via the decentralized identifiers of the raw materials.

[0235] Data related to the chemical product can include data related to the material composition of the chemical product. The material composition data can be related to the chemical composition of the chemical product. The material composition data can specify at least one constituent substance of the chemical composition of the chemical product.

[0236] Data related to chemical products may include data related to characteristics related to environmental impact, such as CO2 footprint or recycle rate content. For example, data related to chemical products may specify the recycle rate content of components or raw materials.

[0237] Such recycle rate content may be directly associated with the decentralized identifier of the chemical product, or may be indirectly associated with the decentralized identifier of the chemical product, for example, via the decentralized identifier of a raw material or a precursor material. Data related to chemical products may include data related to production conditions provided by the operating system of chemical product production. Data related to chemical products may include data related to operating conditions provided by the operating system of chemical product production. Data related to chemical products may include data related to producers, such as producer names, producer brands, or producer identifiers. Data related to chemical products may include data related to products, such as product names, product brands, or product identifiers.

[0238] Figures 8 to 10 show an example of providing access to data via one or more material datasets.

[0239] Through the decentralized setup as described above, various supply chain participants or producers up to end consumers can access data from supply chain participants or producers. Such access to data may include moving the data to the requester, or processing the data and moving the processing result to the requester.

[0240] Figure 11 shows a block diagram showing a method for verifying the movement of materials from a material owner to a material recipient in a decentralized network comprising a decentralized ledger 1102 including a plurality of member nodes 1104 according to the present disclosure. For simplicity, only one of the member nodes is shown in detail.

[0241] As shown in FIG. 11, transaction 1106a is stored on each of the member nodes of the distributed ledger. One transaction is shown in detail. The transaction includes a transaction ID 1106b and transaction metadata 1106c. The transaction metadata includes a decentralized (material) identifier in this embodiment. The material identifier is related to one or more material data sets 1110, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 11. The transaction metadata may include additional data, such as material production data, which is not shown for simplicity.

[0242] Also shown in FIG. 11 are a material owner 1108a, also referred to as an owner, and a material recipient 1108b, also referred to as a recipient.

[0243] In FIG. 11, the randomized authentication information associated with the owner and the recipient is also shown, by way of example, as a pair of a private key and a public key for each of the owner and the recipient. The recipient may provide their public key to the material owner. Then, the material owner may send a transfer transaction request that includes, in this embodiment, the material data, the owner's public key, and the recipient's public key.

[0244] Then, a transaction can be created. The transaction may also optionally be signed using the owner's (transaction-specific) private key.

[0245] In this embodiment, the public keys of the material owner and the recipient are included in the transaction. Further, transaction metadata, for example, transaction metadata obtained from the material data of the transfer transaction request, may be included in the transaction.

[0246] The transaction also includes a transaction ID that uniquely identifies the transaction and is provided to the owner. The owner provides the material recipient with the owner's (transaction-specific) public key, and optionally the recipient's transaction ID used for creating the transaction, and optionally the transaction metadata.

[0247] The material recipient or a third party may use one of the transaction ID and the public key received from the owner to verify that the transaction using the transaction ID and the public key is stored in the public ledger.

[0248] Additionally or alternatively, the recipient or a third party may determine whether the transaction was signed using the owner's private key based on the owner's (transaction-specific) public key. For example, the signature of the owner in the transaction may correspond to the signature of the message received from the owner.

[0249] The authentication information is specific to the transaction, and their association with a particular party for the transfer is known only to the parties involved in the transaction and is documented off-chain. In particular, since no conclusion from pattern analysis is allowed in randomization, a high degree of privacy can be provided for the relevant parties. At the same time, an audit that is given access to the relevant parties or information indicating the identifying information of the parties involved may perform additional verification that requires knowledge of the identifying information of the parties associated with the transaction.

[0250] It should be noted that the decentralized identifier included in the transaction metadata can be used by the requesting party 1108c to search for the material dataset associated with a particular material transfer associated with the transaction. In some cases, additional data included in the transaction metadata, such as material production data, can be used to search for the material dataset. As an example, the decentralized identifier can identify a chemical substance, and from among a plurality of material datasets associated with the material identifier, the material dataset associated with the particular transfer can be selected and searched using the additional data. For example, each of the material datasets may include data regarding a separate batch of the chemical substance. The decentralized identifier can indicate that the transaction is associated with the transfer of the chemical substance based on additional data, such as material production data, while the material dataset of a particular batch of the substance can be obtained, that is, the material dataset of the batch being transferred in the transfer of the material can be obtained.

[0251] FIG. 12A is a flowchart showing a method implemented by the computer of the present application. In step S111, the randomized encrypted authentication information of the material owner and / or the material recipient, as well as the identification information of the material transfer transaction, are received, for example, by the requesting party. The requesting party can be the recipient or a third party.

[0252] The randomized authentication information may involve that each public / private key pair is unique to a single transaction. Therefore, from the perspective of avoiding pattern analysis in particular, the level of data privacy is increased.

[0253] In step S112, the transfer of the material is verified by verifying the randomized encrypted authentication information of the material owner and / or the material recipient based on the received randomized encrypted authentication information and the received identification information of the material transfer transaction.

[0254] FIG. 12B is a flowchart showing a more detailed example of a method implemented by such a computer. For example, step S111 may include step S111A of receiving the public key of the material owner and / or the public key of the material recipient. Step S111 may further include step S111B of receiving the unique identifier of the material transfer transaction associated with the transfer of the material.

[0255] Step S112 may include step S112A of searching for the material transfer transaction from the distributed ledger based on the identification information. Step S112 may further include step 112B of verifying the encrypted authentication information included in the material transfer transaction using the public key of the material owner and / or the material recipient.

[0256] As an even more detailed example, when creating a transaction, randomized authentication information that is unique and generated and used only for a single transaction can be generated for the material owner and / or the material recipient. The material recipient may provide a part of the randomized authentication information of the material recipient, for example, the public key, to the material owner.

[0257] A part of the authentication information, for example, the public key, can be written into the transaction, and the material owner can additionally sign the transaction using the material owner's private key.

[0258] The created transaction will be assigned a unique transaction ID provided to the material owner, and then can be passed to the material recipient together with the public key of the material owner used in the transaction and optionally the public key of the recipient used in the transaction, or separately from it. The latter is not essential but may be advantageous for consistency checks in some cases.

[0259] If the transaction is signed by the material owner, the material recipient can verify the signature using the public key of the material owner that is generated and used in the transaction.

[0260] After the transaction is committed to and stored in the distributed ledger, the requesting party may wish to verify the movement of the material. To do so, the requesting party may receive the authentication information and transaction ID used in the transaction. Then, the transaction can be retrieved from the distributed ledger using the transaction ID. Next, the material movement can be verified using the received authentication information.

[0261] A more detailed example of the method of the present disclosure is provided below. Before creating a transaction for commitment to the distributed ledger, the contract partners may exchange public keys for establishing an asymmetrically encrypted communication channel, for example, when establishing a supply contract. As an example, PGP encryption may be used.

[0262] However, other methods of secure data exchange may be used. Each party may hold a key vault in which an asymmetric key corresponding to a specific communication channel is stored, for example, via a communication channel ID (sender plain ID, recipient plain ID, contract plain ID).

[0263] Before creating a transaction for commitment to a decentralized ledger, a public / private key pair PubK-S / PrivK-S can be created by the material owner and sender of the transaction, and a key pair unique to the transaction can be created. The public key PubK-S can be sent to the material recipient. Further, a request can be sent to the recipient to provide the sender with the public key PubK-R unique to the transaction. PubK-S and the request can be sent via an encrypted communication channel.

[0264] In response to receiving the public key and / or the request, the recipient can create a new public / private key pair PubK-R / PrivK-R. The key pair is stored at the recipient together with a communication channel ID (e.g., the sender plain ID). The recipient's public key PubK-R is provided to the sender, for example, via a communication channel. The order can also be reversed if the recipient initiates the movement.

[0265] The sender can then create a transaction, optionally sign it using the sender's private key PrivK-S, and address the transaction to the recipient's public key PubK-R.

[0266] The sender stores, for example, in a private database, which can also optionally hold a private copy of the transaction and the private key PrivK-S used to sign the transaction, i.e., the sender transaction signature. The sender can store the recipient's public key PubK-R, i.e., the recipient transaction address and the transaction ID, and optionally the transaction metadata and / or the hash of the metadata, either as part of or separately from the private copy of the transaction.

[0267] The sender may optionally send to the recipient, e.g., via a private communication channel, the sender's public key PubK-S, i.e., the sender transaction address, the recipient's private key PubK-R, i.e., the recipient transaction address, the transaction ID, the transaction metadata, and / or the hash of the metadata. In particular, the sender may refrain from submitting the transaction metadata and only provide information that allows the recipient to perform a read-only access or lookup (e.g., in the sender's database and mapping to the transaction).

[0268] The recipient may verify the transaction, e.g., perform an on-chain attestation. As an example, the recipient may look up the transaction ID and verify, using the sender's public key PubK-S, that the transaction is signed using the sender's private key PrivK-S, i.e., that the private key is encoded in the transaction.

[0269] Optionally, the confidentiality verification may also be performed by a third party, e.g., an authenticated institution or a regulatory agency. The third party may initiate a key exchange with the sender to establish a private communication channel or establish some other kind of secure communication channel. The third party may then request the sender's public key for one or more transactions via the communication channel, e.g., based on one or more transaction IDs. The regulatory agency may then verify for each transaction that the sender's respective private key PrivK-S is encoded in the transaction using the respective PubK-S of the transaction, i.e., that the transaction is properly signed.

[0270] According to the present disclosure, a material transaction may include different types of transactions. For example, a material movement transaction may be a creation transaction. A creation transaction may be a type of transaction representing the introduction of materials (e.g., raw materials or unprocessed materials) into a production process. By the method of the present disclosure, restrictions regarding which participant is the eligible material owner for a creation transaction may be implemented. Thus, it is possible to strictly control any entry point into the production process.

[0271] For example, there may be a whitelist or blacklist of parties that are eligible to create transactions committed to a decentralized ledger. Note that a creation transaction has no preceding transactions within the transaction chain. Thus, some checks that may be applied within the transaction chain, such as mass balance, cannot be applied to a creation transaction, making it even more important to enable transactions only for trusted parties.

[0272] Another type of transaction can be an in-process transfer transaction that does not introduce or discard materials. These transactions will have preceding transactions, which can enable, for example, performing mass balancing and ensuring that materials do not simply appear or disappear.

[0273] FIG. 13 shows a block diagram depicting a decentralized material network 1314 that can be used by the method of the present disclosure. The decentralized material network comprises a distributed ledger 1302 including a plurality of member nodes 1304 and a distributed ledger application according to the present disclosure. For simplicity, only one of the member nodes is shown in detail. Each transaction includes transaction IDs 1306b, 1306c. Additionally, each transaction includes material data or material metadata 1306d of a material, in which case the transaction may be referred to as a material transaction, or product data or product metadata 1306e of a product, in which case the transaction may be referred to as a product transaction.

[0274] A member node can communicate with a requesting party 1310, e.g., a requester computer device, also referred to as a requester for brevity, via, for example, a data connection. The requesting party, e.g., the requester computer device, can also communicatively communicate with a participant 1312, e.g., a participant computing device, via, for example, another data connection.

[0275] The requesting party may be configured to receive a material or product dataset 1308a, e.g., one or more material datasets 1308b, 1308c, each including identification information of a transaction associated with the material, e.g., a transaction ID. Alternatively or additionally, the requesting party may be configured to receive one or more product datasets 1308d, 1308e, each including identification information of a movement transaction associated with the product, e.g., a transaction ID. That is, the requesting party may receive a dataset including at least the identification information of the relevant movement transaction for a given material or product. Accordingly, the requesting party may use the identification information included in the material product dataset to find the information stored in the relevant movement transaction.

[0276] The requesting party may be further configured to determine the identification information of the movement transaction associated with the product associated with the material based on the received material dataset. This may be done for only one or each of a plurality of movement transactions, each associated with the product associated with the material. In other words, the requesting party may be configured to identify the movement transaction associated with the product associated with the material, e.g., the product including the material. Accordingly, the destination of the material may be determined. If the material is a reused material, its origin may be similarly determined by identifying the relevant product. The requesting party may, for example, obtain the ID of the transaction associated with the material from the material dataset and, based thereon, obtain the identification information of the movement transaction associated with the product associated with the material. For this purpose, as an example, a chain of transaction IDs may be determined to track the movement associated with the material and / or product.

[0277] The requesting party may be further configured to receive product characteristic data of the product, which can be determined by identifying the participants in the supply chain associated with the product and receiving the product characteristic data from said participants. Optionally, the requesting party may provide product characteristics to the participants. The product characteristic data received from the participants can be retrieved based on the determined identification information of the supply chain transactions associated with the product and optionally based on the product characteristics provided to the participants. The product characteristics can assist in more efficiently obtaining relevant data, for example, by providing a pre-selection from among the available material characteristic data.

[0278] To receive product characteristic data from a participant, the requesting party may send a request to the participant that includes the determined identification information of the supply chain transaction associated with the product, the encrypted authentication information of the material owner of the material, and optionally the product characteristics. After verification of the encrypted authentication information by the participant, if the authentication information is valid, the participant may provide the product characteristic data to the requesting party. Otherwise, the participant may reject the request.

[0279] Thus, in the manner outlined above, the requesting party may determine the material flow in the supply chain using the decentralized material network 1314. Specifically, the requesting party may thus determine the origin or destination of the material.

[0280] Alternatively or additionally, the requesting party may be configured to determine, based on the received product dataset, identification information of a movement transaction associated with a material associated with the product, for example, included in the product or obtained from the product for reuse. This may be done for only one or each of a plurality of movement transactions, each associated with a material associated with the product. In other words, the requesting party may be configured to identify a movement transaction associated with a material associated with the product. In this way, any material that has become part of the product or obtained from recycling of the product can be determined. The requesting party may, for example, search the product dataset for identification information of transactions associated with the product and, based thereon, obtain identification information of a movement transaction associated with a material associated with the product. For this purpose, as an example, a chain of transaction IDs may be determined to track the movement associated with the material.

[0281] The requesting party may be further configured to receive material characteristic data of the material, which may be determined by determining movement chain participants associated with the material and receiving the material characteristic data from said participants. Optionally, the requesting party may provide material characteristics to the participants. The material characteristic data received from the participants may be retrieved based on the determined identification information of the movement transaction associated with the material and optionally based on the material characteristics provided to the participants. The material characteristics may assist in obtaining relevant data more efficiently, for example, by providing a pre-selection from among the available material characteristic data.

[0282] To receive material characteristic data from the participants, the requesting party may send to the participants a request including the determined identification information of the movement transaction associated with the material, the encrypted authentication information of the product owner of the product, and optionally the material characteristics. After verification of the encrypted authentication information by the participants, if the authentication information is valid, the participants may provide the material characteristic data to the requesting party. Otherwise, the participants may reject the request.

[0283] Accordingly, in the manner outlined above, the requesting party can determine the material flow in the movement chain using the decentralized material network 1314. Specifically, the requesting party can thus determine which materials flowed into and out of the product for a given product.

[0284] Figures 14A - 14D are flowcharts showing the method implemented by the computer of the present disclosure.

[0285] Figure 14A shows a method for determining product characteristic data of products associated with a material for a given material. This is shown for one product, but can be performed for multiple products associated with the material, particularly all products associated with the material.

[0286] According to the present disclosure, there is provided a method for determining the material flow in a movement chain using a decentralized material network 1314 comprising a decentralized ledger 1302 including a plurality of member nodes 1304, wherein the decentralized ledger 1302 includes movement transactions 1306a. Each of the movement transactions 1306a is associated with a material and includes the material data of the material, or is associated with a product and includes the product data of the product.

[0287] In step S11, a material data set including identification information of movement transactions associated with a material is received, for example, by the requesting party.

[0288] In step S12, based on the received material data set, identification information of movement transactions associated with the products associated with the material is determined, for example, by the requesting party.

[0289] In step S13, the product characteristic data of the product is determined based on the identification information of the movement transactions associated with the product. This can be performed, at least in part, by the requesting party. Optionally, the movement chain participants can also perform a part of this step.

[0290] Figure 14B shows a method for determining the material property data of materials associated with a given product. Although shown for one material, it can be performed for multiple materials associated with the product, particularly for all materials associated with the product.

[0291] According to the present disclosure, a method for determining the material flow in a supply chain using a decentralized material network 1314 comprising a decentralized ledger 1302 including a plurality of member nodes 1304 is provided, wherein the decentralized ledger 1302 includes a transfer transaction 1306a. Each of the transfer transactions 1306a is associated with a material and includes the material data of the material, or is associated with a product and includes the product data of the product.

[0292] In step S14, a product data set including the identification information of the transfer transactions associated with the product is received, for example, by the requesting party.

[0293] In step S15, based on the received product data set, the identification information of the transfer transactions associated with the materials associated with the product is determined, for example, by the requesting party.

[0294] In step S16, the material property data of the material is determined based on the identification information of the transfer transactions associated with the material. This can be performed, at least in part, by the requesting party. Optionally, the supply chain participants can also perform a part of this step.

[0295] The methods of FIGS. 14a and 14b can also be combined. For example, the product property data of the products associated with a given material can be determined, and the material property data of the (other) materials associated with the product can also be determined.

[0296] Figure 14C shows a method according to the present disclosure, including the steps outlined in the context of Figure 14B. Therefore, with particular regard to steps S11 to S13 themselves, the above description is referred to. Steps S12 and S13 are shown in more detail in Figure 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 step S13B, and step S13C. As a specific example of an optional step, step S13C may include steps S13C-1, S13C-2, S13C-3, and / or S13C-4.

[0297] In step S12A, the identification information of the movement transaction associated with the material is retrieved from the received material dataset, for example, by the requesting party.

[0298] In step S12B, the identification information of the movement transaction associated with the product associated with the material is retrieved, for example, by the requesting party, based on the retrieved identification information of the movement transaction associated with the material.

[0299] In step S13A, the movement chain participants associated with the product are determined, for example, by the requesting party.

[0300] In optional step S13B, the product characteristics of the product are provided to the participants, for example, by the requesting party.

[0301] In optional step S13C, product characteristic data is received from the participants based on the determined identification information of the movement transaction associated with the product and, optionally, based on the provided product characteristics.

[0302] More specifically, in step S13C-1, a request including the determined identification information of the movement transaction associated with the product, the encrypted authentication information of the material owner of the material, and optionally the product characteristics of the product is sent to the movement chain participants.

[0303] In step S13C-2, the mobile chain participant verifies the authentication information. In step S13C-3, if the authentication information is valid, the product characteristic data is provided, for example, by the participant, based on the determined identification information of the mobile transaction associated with the product and optionally based on the product characteristics.

[0304] In step S13C-4, if the authentication information is invalid, the request is rejected, for example, by the participant. In particular, the material owner can be the requester.

[0305] In the above method, instead of executing each step, the requesting party and / or the participant can have another party, such as a service provider, execute some or all of each step on their behalf.

[0306] FIG. 14D shows a method according to the present disclosure that includes the steps outlined in the context of FIG. 14B. Accordingly, the above description is referred to, particularly with respect to steps S14 to S16 themselves. Steps S15 and S16 are shown in more detail in FIG. 14D, and optional steps are also shown therein. S15 may include steps S15a and S15b. Alternatively or additionally, step S16 may include steps S16A, optionally step S16B, and step S16C. As a specific example of an option, step S16C may include steps S16C-1, S16C-2, S16C-3, and / or S16C-4.

[0307] In step S15A, the identification information of the mobile transaction associated with the product is retrieved, for example, by the requesting party, from the received product data set.

[0308] In step S15B, the identification information of the mobile transaction associated with the material associated with the product is retrieved, for example, by the requesting party, based on the retrieved identification information of the mobile transaction associated with the product.

[0309] In step S16A, the movement chain participants associated with the material are determined, for example, by the claimant.

[0310] In optional step S16B, the material properties of the material are provided to the participants, for example, by the claimant.

[0311] In optional step S16C, based on the determined identification information of the movement transaction associated with the material and optionally based on the provided material properties, material property data is received, for example, from the participants.

[0312] More specifically, in step S16C-1, a request including the determined identification information of the movement transaction associated with the material, the encrypted authentication information of the product owner of the product, and optionally the material properties of the material is sent to the movement chain participants.

[0313] In step S16C-2, the movement chain participants verify the authentication information. In step S16C-3, if the authentication information is valid, for example, the material property data provided by the participants is received by the claimant based on the determined identification information of the movement transaction associated with the material and optionally based on the material properties. In step S16C-4, if the authentication information is invalid, the request is rejected, for example, by the participants. In particular, the product owner can be the requester.

[0314] In the above method, instead of executing each step, the claimant and / or the participants can have other parties, such as service providers, execute some or all of each step on their behalf.

[0315] The present disclosure has been described in conjunction with a plurality of preferred embodiments and examples. However, those skilled in the art who practice the invention described in the claims can understand and practice other variations from a review of the drawings, the present disclosure, and the claims. In particular, any steps specifically presented can be executed in any order, that is, the present invention is not limited to a specific order of these steps. Further, it is not required that different steps be executed at a specific location or at one node of a distributed system, that is, each of the steps can be executed at different nodes using different devices / data processing apparatuses.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a computer for verifying the transfer of materials between a materials owner and a materials recipient in a decentralized network (324) comprising a decentralized ledger (302) including a plurality of member nodes (304) and a decentralized ledger application (306), the method comprising: - transmitting (S11) a materials transaction request (314) to the decentralized ledger application by a requester (308), the materials transaction request (314) including: - materials data (316) associated with the materials, and - encrypted authentication information (312a) of the materials owner and optionally encrypted authentication information (312b) of the materials recipient associated with the transfer of the materials, and - receiving (S16) confirmation or (S17) rejection of the commitment of the materials transaction request (314) as a materials transaction to the decentralized ledger, comprising the steps of wherein the decentralized ledger application (306): - receives (S12) the materials transaction request (314) from the requester (303), - verifies (S13) the transfer of the materials associated with the materials transaction request (314) by verifying the encrypted authentication information (312a) of the materials owner and optionally the encrypted authentication information (312b) of the materials recipient included in the materials transaction request (314), - commits (S14) the materials transaction request (314) to the decentralized ledger (302) as a materials transaction and transmits the confirmation (320) of the commitment of the materials transaction request (314) if (when the transfer of the materials is verified), or - transmits (S15) the rejection (322) of the commitment of the materials transaction request (314) if (when the transfer of the materials is not verified), configured as such.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the materials are individual or non - individual materials, and / or the materials are chemical raw materials, and / or the materials are transferred in a linear production process or a cyclic process.

3. The materials data includes transaction metadata and optionally the quantity of the materials transferred from the materials owner to the materials recipient. In particular, the transaction metadata includes a material identifier, at least one material classification, material production data, or a combination thereof, and the material identifier optionally includes a digital representation that refers to a material data set or a part thereof, according to the method of claim 1 or 2.

4. The material data set is received from a data providing service, and / or The material data set includes a decentralized identifier and, in particular, data related to the material, and 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, according to the method of claim 3.

5. The data related to the material includes one or more digital representations that refer to the material data set or a part thereof, In particular, the material data set includes the name of the material, the ID of the material, the composition of the material, the chemical and / or physical properties of the material, the emission data of the material, the recycling content rate of the material, the bio-based content rate of the material, further material production data, material declaration data, chemical material safety data, a certificate of analytical data associated with the material, or a combination thereof, according to the method of claim 4.

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

7. The confirmation (320) or rejection (322) of the commitment of the material transaction request (314) is received by the requester (308), according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. Verifying the encrypted authentication information (312a) of the material owner includes searching a list containing encrypted authentication information, and comparing the encrypted authentication information (312a) of the material owner with the encrypted authentication information included in the searched list. In particular, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein when the encrypted authentication information included in the material transaction request (314) does not match the encrypted authentication information included in the retrieved list, the movement of the material is verified.

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

10. Verifying the encrypted authentication information of the material owner includes searching a list including transaction identification information of the material transaction, and comparing the transaction identification information associated with the material transaction request (314) with the transaction identification information included in the retrieved list. In particular, the method according to claim 9, wherein when the transaction identification information associated with the received material transaction request (314) does not match the transaction identification information included in the retrieved list, the movement of the material is verified.

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

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

13. An apparatus for verifying the movement of a material between a material owner and a material recipient in a decentralized material network (324) comprising a distributed ledger (302) including 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 when executed by the one or more computing nodes, causing the apparatus to: - Transmit a material transaction request (314) to the distributed ledger application by a requester (308) (S11), wherein the material transaction request includes: - Material data (316) associated with the material, and - the encrypted authentication information (312a) of the material owner and optionally the encrypted authentication information (312b) of the material recipient associated with the movement of the material including, and - receiving confirmation or rejection of the commitment of the material transaction request (314) as a material transaction for the distributed ledger (302) (S16), One or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions configured to cause a step consisting of the above to be executed, and the distributed ledger application (306) - receiving the material transaction request (314) from the requester (308) (S12), - verifying the movement of the material associated with the material transaction request (314) by verifying the encrypted authentication information (312a) of the material owner and optionally the encrypted authentication information (312b) of the material recipient included in the material transaction request (314) (S13), - (if the movement of the material is verified) committing the material transaction request (314) to the distributed ledger as a material transaction (318) and sending the confirmation (320) of the commitment of the material transaction request, or (S14), or - (if the movement of the material is not verified), sending the rejection (322) of the commitment of the material transaction request (314) (S15), An apparatus configured as described above.

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

15. An arithmetic unit having instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed on one or more computing nodes, the apparatus is caused to execute the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, or is configured to be executed by the apparatus according to claim 13. An arithmetic unit.

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