Assistance in recycling chemical products

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus (100) for a) providing a first digital object (11) comprising first data including chemical product data and / or first access data based on which chemical product data are accessible, wherein the chemical product data are associated with a chemical product (10) to be recycled, b) providing second data comprising transport data and / or second access data based on which transport data are accessible, wherein the transport data are associated with a transport of the chemical product to a recycling site (40), and c) generating a second digital object (12) comprising the first digital object and the second data. Also a corresponding method and computer program are disclosed. The disclosed means can assist in the recycling of chemical products such as automobile batteries. For instance, an efficient transport system for products to be recycled can be established, and recycling processes can be planned and conducted efficiently.

Description

[0001] Assistance in recycling chemical products

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The invention relates to an apparatus, a method and a computer program for assisting in recycling chemical products. The invention also relates to a use of any of the foregoing for assisting in recycling chemical products.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] In order to establish efficient circular value chains, it is considered necessary that information about products can be shared among different actors in the value chain. For instance, for efficiently recycling a product, the recycler will need to know which materials the product is made of. As already realized in the Catena-X framework, for instance, it may therefore be envisaged to exchange information about products in a circular value chain via digital objects associated with the products. Such digital infrastructures can provide valuable assistance in recycling products particularly for the chemical industry, which participates in a wide range of value chains, many of which involve a particularly complex network of actors.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide further assistance in recycling chemical products.

[0008] In a first aspect, the invention relates to an apparatus for assisting in recycling chemical products, wherein the apparatus comprises one or more processors configured to a) provide a first digital object comprising first data, wherein the first data comprise chemical product data and / or first access data based on which chemical product data are accessible, wherein the chemical product data are associated with a chemical product to be recycled. Furthermore, the one or more processors are configured to b) provide second data, wherein the second data comprise transport data and / or second access data based on which transport data are accessible, wherein the transport data are associated with a transport of the chemical product to a recycling site, and c) generate a second digital object comprising the first digital object and the second data.

[0009] Since the second digital object comprises, apart from the first digital object, second data comprising transport data and / or second access data based on which transport data are accessible, wherein the transport data are associated with a transport of the chemical product to a recycling site, the second digital object cannot only be used for exchanging information about the chemical product to be recycled itself, but also to exchange information about how this chemical product has been, is being or is to be transported to a recycling site. This allows to establish a more efficient transport system for transporting chemical products to be recycled to respective one or more recycling sites. By planning and conducting the recycling based on information about the chemical products to be recycled and their transport, also the recycling efficiency can be increased.

[0010] The first digital object may refer to a digital product or material passport. The first data comprised in the first digital object may be data about a chemical product with which the first digital object is associated, and / or access data based on which data about the chemical product can be accessed. In other words, the first digital object may, for instance, function as a digital document including chemical product data, and / or it may function as an access element based on which chemical product data can be accessed. Access to chemical product data can be provided by the first digital object, for instance, by virtue of a digital address, authentication and / or authorization information included in the digital object. The first digital object may be provided by retrieving it from a database, or by requesting it from a data providing service, which may be associated with a producer of the chemical product or a data owner of the chemical product data, wherein the producer and the data owner may be identical or not. A data owner can be any entity that generates data. The data may be generated by a third-party entity on behalf of the entity owning physical products from or for which data is generated. Generally, a data consuming service can refer to computerexecutable instructions for accessing and / or processing data, such as chemical product data, associated with the data owner.

[0011] The second data may relate to the transport data like the first data relate to the chemical product data. Hence, for instance, also the second data may be transport data directly, and / or may be access data such as a digital address, authentication and / or authorization information based on which transport data may be accessed. The second data may be provided based on an input by a user ordering a transport of the chemical product or by requesting it from data providing service that may be associated with respective owners of the requested data.

[0012] The second digital object may hence serve as a digital document including the chemical product data and additionally transport data, and / or it may function as an access element providing access to chemical product data and / or transport data.

[0013] The generated second digital object may be provided to third parties via a data providing service, which may be associated with a data owner of the transport data. A data providing service can refer to computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing data, such as chemical product data or transport data, associated with a respective data owner, for accessing and / or processing by a data consuming service. Generally, the providing of the generated second digital object can refer to storing the generated second digital object on a respective accessible storage. However, the providing can also refer to providing the generated second digital object for further processing. In particular, it may be preferred that the apparatus further comprises a transport passport interface, wherein the transport passport interface is configured to provide an interface to the transport data.

[0014] Generally, the apparatus can be realized in the form of any general or dedicated software and / or hardware comprising one or more processors that are configured accordingly. In particular, the apparatus can also be realized by means of distributed computing, in which case the one or more processors may be distributed over different computers or computing systems - for instance, in a cloud computing or network computing environment. The apparatus may be configured to provide a chemical product passport as first digital object. The apparatus may be configured to generate the second digital object based in part on the chemical product passport being the first digital object. The second digital object may be a transport passport. An “X” passport may be indicative of a digital representation of data associated with “X”, wherein “X” may refer to a chemical product or a transport, for instance. The digital representation can refer to any representation of data that allows for accessing the respective data or parts thereof. The digital representation can refer to an ID of “X” under which the data can be found in a database, or a link to the data. The digital representation can also refer to a digital representation of the data or parts thereof, such as a list or table of the information provided by the data including the data itself.

[0015] In an embodiment, the first digital object may comprise a digital product identifier, the digital product identifier being a digital identifier for the chemical product. The digital product identifier can be part of the first access data, for instance. In particular, the first digital object may comprise a decentralized identifier identifying the product. A decentral identifier can be any unique identifier uniquely associated with an owner, i.e. data owner, of the chemical product data and the chemical product data. The decentral identifier may include a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) or a Digital IDentifier (DID). The decentral identifier can be issued by a central or decentral identity issuer. The decentral identifier can include authentication information. Via the decentral identifier and its unique association with the data owner and chemical product data access to the chemical product data can be controlled by the data owner. This contrasts with central authority schemes, where identifiers are provided by such central authority and access to data is controlled by such central authority. Decentral in this context refers to the usage of the identifier in implementations as controlled by the data owner.

[0016] Furthermore, in an embodiment, the first digital object may comprise a further digital object, wherein the further digital object comprises chemical pre-product data and / or further access data based on which chemical pre-product data are accessible, wherein the chemical pre-product data are associated with a pre-product used in a production of the chemical product to be recycled. In this way, the second digital object provides not only access to information about the chemical product to be recycled and its transport, but also to a preproduct of the chemical product to be recycled. The pre-product may also refer to a material included in the chemical product to be recycled. In principle, chemical pre-product data may also be regarded as chemical product data, since it at least partially also characterizes the chemical product produced from the chemical pre-product. This is reflected by the circumstance that the first digital object comprises the further digital object. The manner in which the first digital object comprises the further digital object may be identical to the manner in which the second digital object comprises the first digital object. If the first digital object corresponds to a digital product passport, the further digital object may correspond to a digital material passport. In order to stay with this terminology, the second digital object may be referred to as a transport passport.

[0017] In an embodiment, the second digital object may comprise a digital transport identifier, the digital transport identifier being a digital identifier for a transport vehicle and / or a transporting person for the chemical product. In particular, the second digital object may comprise a decentralized identifier identifying the transport vehicle and / or the transporting person. A decentral identifier can be any unique identifier uniquely associated with an owner, i.e. data owner, of the transport data and the transport data. The decentral identifier may include a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) or a Digital IDentifier (DID). The decentral identifier can be issued by a central or decentral identity issuer. The decentral identifier can include authentication information. Via the decentral identifier and its unique association with the data owner and transport data access to the transport data can be controlled by the data owner. This contrasts with central authority schemes, where identifiers are provided by such central authority and access to data is controlled by such central authority. Decentral in this context refers to the usage of the identifier in implementations as controlled by the data owner. Generally, the digital transport identifier may relate to the transport data like the digital product identifier relates to the chemical product data.

[0018] Moreover, the one or more processors may, in an embodiment, be configured to generate the second digital object in a format that is readable by all of a plurality of predefined potential users of the second digital object. Potential users of the second digital object include, for instance, a transport means provider such as a logistics company carrying out the transport of the chemical products to respective recycling sites, or a recycler in charge of recycling the chemical products at the respective recycling sites. More generally, the plurality of predefined potential users may include one or more of the following: a producer of the chemical product, a user of the chemical product, a transport service provider for the chemical product, a recycling service provider for the chemical product, an agent acting between any of the foregoing.

[0019] Furthermore, the one or more processors may, in an embodiment, be configured to generate the second digital object upon receiving a request to do so. The request may stem from a return site to which the chemical product has been returned in order to be transported from the return site to the recycling site. In an embodiment, the request may be associated with a transport order issued from the return site, the transport order being an order for a transport of the chemical product from the return site to the recycling site. For instance, the request may be sent by a user of a terminal device at a return site upon issuing a transport order to a transport means provider such as a logistics company responsible for the transport of the chemical product to the recycling site. In this case, the apparatus may be cloud-based or remote to the return site. The request may be delivered from the terminal device to the apparatus via known communication means.

[0020] In an embodiment, the digital product identifier may be associated with a physical product identifier, the physical product identifier being a physical identifier of the chemical product. The one or more processors may be configured to provide the first digital object based on the digital product identifier associated with the physical product identifier. For instance, the chemical product may carry a physical identifier in the form of a machine readable code, wherein this code may be read by a scanning device once the chemical product is being returned to the return site in order to be recycled. The digital product identifier may then be determined based on the scanned code, wherein the first digital object may be provided based on this digital product identifier. The first digital object may be provided or may have been generated by, inter alia, assigning the physical identifier to the digital product identifier. The chemical product data may refer to data collected in association with the physical identifier of the chemical product. The physical identifier can be any kind of physical identifier, for instance, a barcode, an RFID chip, a branding, a watermark, a stamp, a seal, etc. Moreover, the physical identifier can also be a specific characteristic or a combination of specific characteristics of the product that allows to uniquely identify the product physically. Thus, assigning the physical identifier that uniquely allows to identify the chemical product with the digital product identifier allows for a secure and unique identification of the chemical product via the digital product identifier. In particular, it can be ensured that the first digital object is indeed the first digital object associated with the respective chemical product. Tampering and unauthorized amendments with respect to the identification of the product can in this way be prevented or will at least be noted, for instance, when checking the physical identifier that is associated with the digital product identifier. Preferably, the assigning thus refers to a storing of the assignment, for instance, also as part of the first digital object. However, the assignment can also be stored in any other way, preferably in the form of a blockchain that allows for a tamperresistant or tamper-proof and secure association that is accessible by a plurality of parties. Thus, also, for instance, if the product changes its ownership a few times, the association between the physical identifier and the digital product identifier of the first digital object is secured and cannot be changed unauthorized by one of the parties.

[0021] Also the digital transport identifier may be associated with a corresponding physical identifier, i.e ., a physical transport identifier. Hence, for instance, if the digital transport identifier refers to a digital identifier for a transport vehicle, the physical transport identifier may be a physical identifier of the transport vehicle, which may be attached to the vehicle. If the digital transport identifier refers to a digital identifier for a transporting person, the corresponding physical transport identifier may be a physical identifier of the transporting person. For instance, the transporting person may possess an ID card, wherein the ID card or a machine readable code printed thereon may serve as the physical identifier.

[0022] A relation between the physical transport identifier and the transport data, the digital transport identifier and / or second digital object may correspond (i.e., for instance, be similar or identical) to a relation between the physical product identifier and the chemical product data, the digital product identifier and / or first digital object. Hence, the generating of the second digital object may include assigning the physical transport identifier to the digital transport identifier. The transport data may refer to data collected in association with the physical transport identifier. The physical transport identifier can be any kind of physical identifier, for instance, a barcode, an RFID chip, a branding, a watermark, a stamp, a seal, etc. Moreover, the physical transport identifier can also be a specific characteristic or a combination of specific characteristics of a transport entity, such as a transport vehicle involved in a respective transport, which allows to uniquely identify the transport entity physically. Thus, assigning the physical identifier that uniquely allows to identify the transport entity with the digital transport identifier allows for a secure and unique identification of the transport entity via the digital transport identifier. In particular, it can be ensured that the second digital object is indeed the second digital object associated with the respective transport entity. Tampering and unauthorized amendments with respect to the identification of the transport entity can in this way be prevented or will at least be noted, for instance, when checking the physical identifier that is associated with the respective digital identifier. Preferably, the assigning thus refers to a storing of the assignment, for instance, also as part of the second digital object. However, the assignment can also be stored in any other way, preferably in the form of a blockchain that allows for a tamper-resistant or tamper-proof and secure association that is accessible by a plurality of parties.

[0023] The transport data may, in an embodiment, include one or more of the following: a start time of the transport, an end time of the transport, a route of the transport, a location of a transport vehicle carrying out the transport, transport characteristics of a vehicle carrying out the transport. This kind of transport data is considered particularly relevant for the planning of transports and recycling processes.

[0024] In an embodiment, the chemical products may refer to a battery. The pre-product may then refer, for instance, to a battery module or cell, or to a material included in the battery module or cell. In particular, the chemical product may refer to an automobile battery.

[0025] The recycling may, in an embodiment, refer to a decomposition of the chemical product into parts and a treatment of one or more of the parts that results in a further technical usability thereof. In particular, the treatment of the one or more parts may be a pyrometal- lurgical treatment.

[0026] As indicated above, the second digital object may function as an access element for accessing the transport data, in which case it may comprise second access data. In an embodiment, the second access data may be associated with an authentication and / or authorization mechanism for a user of the second digital object. Via the authentication and / or authorization mechanism, the user may authenticate him- or herself, and / or may acquire authorization to access the transport data. The authentication and / or authorization mechanism may relate to any of the following: a public key infrastructure, a dynamic attribute provisioning service, a use of a decentralized identifier and / or verifiable credentials. In an embodiment, the second digital object may comprise a plurality of first digital objects. In particular, the one or more processors may be configured to provide a plurality of first digital objects for a plurality of respective chemical products to be recycled, wherein the transport data is associated with a transport of the plurality of chemical products to one or more respective recycling sites, and wherein the second digital object comprises the plurality of first digital objects.

[0027] Thus, for instance, the second digital object may comprise a plurality of first digital objects, each being associated with a different chemical product to be recycled. Moreover, each of the plurality of first digital objects may comprise a plurality of further digital objects being associated with pre-products used in a production of the respective chemical product to be recycled. Thus, the relation between the second digital object, the first digital object(s) and the further digital object(s) can represent the fact that a transport means can carry a plurality of chemical products to be recycled and that each chemical product to be recycled can be made of a plurality of pre-products.

[0028] In a further aspect, the invention relates to a method for assisting in recycling chemical products. The method includes a step of providing a first digital object comprising first data, wherein the first data comprise chemical product data and / or first access data based on which chemical product data are accessible, wherein the chemical product data are associated with a chemical product to be recycled. Furthermore, the method includes a step of providing second data, wherein the second data comprise transport data and / or second access data based on which transport data are accessible, wherein the transport data are associated with a transport of the chemical product to a recycling site. In a further step of the method, a second digital object is generated, wherein the second digital object comprises the first digital object and the second data.

[0029] A further aspect of the invention relates to a computer program for assisting in recycling chemical products, wherein the computer program comprises instructions that cause the apparatus as defined above to carry out the method as defined above.

[0030] Moreover, an aspect of the invention relates to a use of the apparatus as defined above, of the method as defined above and / or of the computer program as defined above, for assisting in recycling chemical products.

[0031] It shall be understood that the apparatus, the method, the computer program and the use defined above have similar and / or identical preferred embodiments, in particular, as defined in the dependent claims. It shall be understood that a preferred embodiment of the present invention can also be any combination of the dependent claims or above embodiments with the respective independent claim.

[0032] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

[0033] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Fig. 1 shows schematically and exemplarily an infrastructure for recycling batteries,

[0035] Fig. 2 shows schematically and exemplarily a second digital object comprising a first digital object and second data,

[0036] Fig. 3 shows schematically and exemplarily a method for assisting in recycling chemical products, and

[0037] Fig. 4 is a schematic and exemplary illustration of how access to a digital objects as shown in Fig. 2 can be provided in the case of the International Data Space (IDS) architecture.

[0038] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0039] Fig. 1 shows schematically and exemplarily an infrastructure for recycling batteries 10. The batteries 10 could be automobile batteries, for instance. Batteries such as automobile batteries are chemical products whose recycling is of particular significance for achieving a sustainable economy, since batteries form a main building block of the energy transition and the materials from which they are produced are limited.

[0040] In Fig. 1 , defective batteries 10 to be recycled have been returned to a return site 30. At this return site 30, a human worker is responsible for packaging the batteries 10 and ordering a transport thereof to a recycling site 40. As illustrated, the transport may be carried out by a truck 50.

[0041] As indicated for one of the returned batteries 10 in Fig. 1 , chemical products to be recycled can carry a physical product identifier 15 in the form of a barcode, QR code or other machine-readable code. Such physical identifiers of chemical products may be attached to the respective chemical product upon production, i.e. , for instance, at a respective production site after the respective chemical product has been produced, or in the course of its production. A physical identifier of a chemical product may be understood as a physical representation of identity information uniquely identifying the chemical product. Each physical identifier may be associated with a respective digital identifier of the respective chemical product, wherein the digital identifier may be understood as a digital representation of the identity information of the chemical product.

[0042] The worker at the return site may use a terminal device such as a tablet or smartphone, which may have additional scanning functionalities, in order to read the physical product identifier 15 on a given battery 10 and obtain, based thereon, the corresponding digital identifier for the battery 10. The digital identifier may be obtained by an identity providing service as, for instance, in the Industrial Data Space architecture. This process may then be repeated by the worker for a plurality of returned batteries 10 that are to be transported away from the return site 30 together and for which a combined transport order has been, is being or is to be issued. The worker may then, possibly still using the same terminal device, submit a request for generating a second digital object 12 associated with the transport of the plurality of identified batteries 10 to a cloud-based or remote apparatus 100 for assisting in recycling chemical products such as batteries 10. The second digital object 12 is schematically and exemplarily illustrated in Fig. 2. One or more processors of the apparatus 100 may then, upon receipt of the request, provide a first digital object 1 1 for each of the plurality of identified batteries 10. Each of the provided first digital objects 1 1 , which may also be referred to as digital product passports, comprises first data, wherein the first data comprise battery data about the respective battery 10 and / or access data based on which respective battery data are accessible. The battery data may include, for instance, data indicative of a size and / or shape of the respective battery, its weight, its charging state, a number of battery modules, a number of battery cells and / or a chemical type of the battery. The battery data may also include data indicative of a recyclability of the respective battery.

[0043] Furthermore, the one or more processors of the apparatus 100 may provide second data comprising transport data and / or second access data based on which transport data are accessible, wherein the transport data are associated with a transport of the plurality of identified batteries 10 to a recycling site 40. The transport data may include a start time of the transport, an end time of the transport, a route of the transport, a location of a transport vehicle like truck 50 carrying out the transport and / or transport characteristics of a vehicle like truck 50 carrying out the transport. If the request to generate the second digital object is submitted after the transport order has been issued, the transport data may be provided based on the transport order. The transport data may then correspond to the data indicated in the order, for instance. If, on the other hand, the transport order is to be issued in conjunction with the request or based thereon, the transport data may be determined by the apparatus 100 and thereafter used for the transport order. In the latter case, for instance, the transport data may be determined based on availabilities of transport means of one or more transport providers, traffic conditions, transport orders from different return sites and safety regulations associated with the transport of batteries. It is also possible that desired transport data are submitted to the apparatus 100, such as in the form of a desired transport order, wherein afterwards a feasibility of the desired transport is checked based on the aforementioned criteria. A final transport order may then be generated based on such a feasibility check.

[0044] Based on the provided first digital object and the provided second data, the one or more processors of the apparatus 100 may generate a second digital object 12 as requested, wherein the second digital object 12 comprises the first digital object 1 1 and the second data. The second digital object 12 may be regarded as being uniquely associated with the transport of the identified batteries 10 from the return site 30 to the recycling site 40. It may therefore also be regarded as being associated with the transport order. However, as far as the actual transport carried out differs from the transport as ordered, the second data comprised in the second digital object 12 may be changed. In this way, a user of the second digital object 12, which may also be regarded as a transport passport, may be given access to actual, or even live, information about the transport. This may be important, for instance, for evaluating carbon footprints associated with the transports.

[0045] The first digital objects 1 1 associated with the plurality of identified batteries 10 may be provided based on the digital product identifiers associated with the physical product identifiers attached to the batteries 10. The digital product identifiers may be included in the respective first digital objects 1 1 . Hence, the first digital objects 1 1 may each comprise an information element based on which it may be determined to which battery 10 they belong. Using these information elements, i.e. , the digital product identifiers, the first digital objects 1 1 may be retrieved from a database or requested from respective providing services. Similarly, as seen in Fig. 2, the second digital object 12 may be generated such that it comprises a digital transport identifier 51 , 52, the digital transport identifier being a digital identifier for a transport vehicle and / or a transporting person for the plurality of identified batteries 10 for which the request has been issued. As also illustrated schematically and exemplarily in Fig. 2, the second digital object 12 may indirectly also allow to exchange information about materials in the batteries 10. This is achieved by using as a first digital object 11 digital objects comprising further digital objects 9, wherein these further digital objects, which may also be regarded as material passports, comprise chemical pre-product data, in particular material data, and / or further access data based on which the chemical preproduct data, particularly material data, are accessible. The chemical pre-product data, particularly material data, may be associated with, for instance, a pre-product such as battery modules or cells that are used in a production of a chemical product such as the batteries 10 that are to be recycled in the example of Fig. 1 .

[0046] In the illustrated example, the second digital object 12 may be generated in a format that is readable at least by a producer of the batteries 10, a user of the batteries 10, a recycling service provider for the batteries 10 and / or an agent acting between any of the foregoing. Generally, the format of the second digital object 12 may be chosen so as to be readable by all of a plurality of predefined potential users of the second digital object 12. In particular, the second access data may be associated with an authentication and / or authorization mechanism for a user of the second digital object 12, wherein the authentication and / or authorization mechanism may relate to a public key infrastructure, a dynamic attribute provisioning service as used in international data spaces, a use of a decentralized identifier and / or verifiable credentials.

[0047] If the transport order is confirmed by the transport provider, the truck 50 having the vehicle ID 51 included in the generated second digital object 12 will pick up the batteries 10 at the return site 30 and transport them to the recycling site 40. At the recycling site 40, the batteries 10 may be decomposed into parts, wherein a treatment of one or more of the parts that may be carried out that results in a further technical usability of the parts. The treatment may refer, for instance, to a pyrometallurgical treatment.

[0048] Fig. 3 schematically and exemplarily illustrates a method 300 for assisting in recycling chemical products 10 such as the batteries shown in Fig. 1 . The method 300 includes a step 301 of providing a first digital object 1 1 comprising first data, wherein the first data comprise chemical product data and / or first access data based on which chemical product data are accessible, wherein the chemical product data are associated with a chemical product 10 to be recycled. Furthermore, the method 300 includes a step 302 of providing second data, wherein the second data comprise transport data and / or second access data based on which the transport data are accessible, wherein the transport data are associated with a transport of the chemical product 10 to a recycling site 40. In a further step 303 of the method 300, a second digital object 12 is generated that comprises the first digital object 1 1 and the second data.

[0049] The method 300 may be carried out, for instance, by the apparatus 100 indicated in Fig. 1 . Causing the apparatus 100 to carry out the method 300 may be realized in terms of a computer program to be run on the apparatus 100. Fig. 4 is a schematic illustration of providing first and / or second digital objects as referred to above, which may take the form of transport passports and / or chemical product passports, respectively, from a data providing service via an IDS architecture. The data providing service may provide chemical product data to a data consuming service. The following IDS components may be executable components in the “IDS infrastructure”: Data Connector, App Store, Identity Provider, Vocabulary Provider, Broker, Clearing House. Data may be exchanged between an interface of a data owner and an interface of a data user via a data providing service and a data consuming service. The data providing service and the data consuming service are each connected to the data connector to allow a secure and trusted data exchange. The data provided by the interface of the data owner may be associated with authorization mechanisms such as usage policies specifying authorization rules such as data usage rules. Exchange or sharing of data may be conducted according to predefined authorization mechanisms. The data provided by the interface of the data owner via the data providing service may be accessed by the interface of the data user according to the usage policies attached to the data provided by the interface of the data owner.

[0050] A participant acting as Data Owner may assume the role of the Data Provider. However, there may be cases in which the Data Provider may not coincide with the Data Owner, e.g., if the data is technically managed by a different entity than the Data Owner, such as in the case of a company using an external service to provide data, or if data management activities are handed over to a data trustee. In cases in which the Data Owner does not act as the Data Provider at the same time, the only activity of the Data Owner is to authorize a Data Provider to make its data available to be used by the interface of the Data Consumer.

[0051] The Data Provider interface makes data available for being shared or exchanged between a Data Owner and a Data Consumer. To facilitate a data request from a Data Consumer interface, the Data Provider interface may provide metadata, such as a description of datasets e.g. the syntax, serialization and / or semantics of data sources, a description of the provider or a description of consumers, to a Broker Service Provider (see below). A Broker Service Provider is not necessarily required for a Data Consumer interface and a Data Provider interface to establish a connection.

[0052] Exchanging or sharing data with a Data Consumer interface needs not necessarily be the only activity of the Data Provider. The Data Provider interface may log the details of the successful or unsuccessful completion of transactions at a Clearing House (see below). The data provider interface may facilitate billing or resolve a conflicts. Furthermore, the Data Provider interface may use Data Apps to check, enrich or transform the data. The Data Consumer interface may receive data from a Data Provider interface. The Data Consumer interface may be the mirror entity of the Data Provider interface. The executable components of the Data Provider interface may be mirrored by the Data Consumer interface. Before the connection to a Data Provider interface can be established, the Data Consumer may search for existing datasets by making an inquiry at a Broker Service Provider. The Broker Service Provider may provide the required metadata for the Data Consumer interface to connect to a Data Provider. Such metadata may include the ID and / or authentication mechanism of the data provider interface. Alternatively or additionally, the Data Consumer interface may establish a connection to a Data Provider interface, e.g. with or without involving a Broker Service Provider. In cases in which the information to connect with the Data Provider interface is already known to the Data Consumer interface, the Data Consumer interface may request the data and optionally the corresponding metadata directly from the Data Provider interface. Like a Data Provider interface, the Data Consumer interface may log the details of a successful or unsuccessful data exchange transaction at a Clearing House, use Data Apps to check, enrich, transform, etc. the data received, or use a Service Provider interface to connect to International Data Spaces, if it does not deploy the technical infrastructure for participation itself.

[0053] Similar to the Data Owner being the legal entity that has the legal control over its data, the Data User is the legal entity that has the legal right to use the data of a Data Owner as specified by the usage policy. In most cases, the Data User is identical with the Data Consumer. However, there may be scenarios in which these roles are assumed by different participants.

[0054] The identity provider may act as an agent. It may include a Certification Authority, for example, managing digital certificates for the participants of the International Data Spaces, a Dynamic Attribute Provisioning Service (DAPS), for instance, managing the dynamic attributes of the participants, and a service named Dynamic Trust Monitoring (DTM), for instance, for continuous monitoring of the security and behavior of the network. It may be responsible for issuing technical identities to parties that have been approved to become Participants in the International Data Spaces. The Identity Provider may be instructed to issue identities based on approved roles (see above). The Identity Provider may also manage the PKI rollout. There are two separate PKI hierarchies: one for software signatures, for example, Software Signing Root CA, and one for the IDS Connectors, for example, Service Root CA. An entity is assigned with either an end certificate or a sub / root-CA certificate. The Identity Provider may act as an authentication and / or authorization service by incorporating the DAPS. Each IDS Connector may run different services and communicate with other IDS Connectors. Using the PKI, an IDS Connector protects the persistent storage of its services and the communication with other IDS Connectors. In order to verify PKI signatures (e.g., for authentication, authorization or for Data Apps that were downloaded), the IDS Connector stores the trusted root certificates, for instance, Service Root CA and Software Signing Root CA, in a way their integrity is preserved.

[0055] App stores may provide data apps which can be run inside isolated containers of the IDS connectors. These are applications that can be deployed in IDS Connectors to execute tasks like transformation, aggregation or analytics on the data. App stores can be provided by IDS members and must be separately certified under IDS standards. An App Store has a service sub CA. The International Data Spaces Association signs a certificate signing request (CSR) in order to approve Apps or App Stores. The CSR identifies the App Store and makes it possible to sign the service CSRs from the IDS Connectors requesting apps. The IDS Connector creates a key pair for every App it downloads. The private key protects the App’s persistent data. When downloading an App from the App Store, the IDS Connector creates a CSR using the public key. The App Store signs the CSR and issues a certificate. The IDS Connector uses this certificate to make sure that the App it is running and is valid.

[0056] Vocabulary providers may manage and offer “vocabularies”, preferably, including ontologies, reference data models, metadata elements, etc. which can be used to annotate and describe datasets. Vocabulary providers provide these, often domain-specific, vocabularies and their references to the IDS Information Model, which is the basis for the description of data sources.

[0057] The Broker may be used as an intermediary that stores and manages information about the data sources available in the International Data Spaces. As the role of the Broker is central but non-exclusive, multiple Brokers may be around at the same time e.g., for different application domains. An organization offering broker services in the International Data Spaces may assume other intermediary roles at the same time e.g., Clearing House or Identity Provider (see below). The activities of the Broker may include receiving and providing metadata. The Broker must provide an interface for Data Provider interfaces to send their metadata. The metadata may be stored in an internal repository for being queried by Data Consumers in a structured manner. While the core of the metadata model may be specified by the International Data Spaces, a Broker may extend the metadata model to manage additional metadata elements. After the Broker has provided the Data Consumer interface with the metadata about a certain Data Provider interface, its job is done, in particular, it is not involved in the subsequent data exchange process. The Clearing House may be an intermediary that provides clearing and settlement services for financial and data sharing or exchange transactions. In the International Data Spaces, clearing activities are separated from broker services, since these activities are technically different from maintaining a metadata repository. As already stated above, it might still be possible that the two roles “Clearing House” and “Broker” are assumed by the same organization, as both roles require acting as a trusted intermediary between the Data Provider interface and the Data Consumer interface. The clearing house and the broker may include a distributed ledger to record metadata from data services. The Clearing House logs activities performed in the course of a data exchange. After a data exchange, or parts of it, are completed, both the Data Provider interface and the Data Consumer interface confirm the data transfer by logging the details of the transaction at the Clearing House. Based on this logging information, the transaction may be checked or billed. The logging information can also be used to resolve conflicts, e.g., to clarify whether a data package has been received by the Data Consumer or not. The Clearing House may provide reports on the performed (logged) transactions for billing, conflict resolution, etc.

[0058] While the above detailed description related to the exemplary case of batteries being recycled, the invention can also be applied to other chemical products. In particular, the invention is not limited to second digital objects associated with transports of whole batteries. Instead, second digital objects may be generated in association with transports of preproducts used in the production of batteries. For instance, material to be recycled may also arise where battery cells are produced or where battery modules are produced using battery cells. Transport providers may also be ordered to carry out transports of material or pre-products to be recycled from such further locations to respective one or more recycling sites, wherein also in this case second digital objects associated with a respective transport may be generated.

[0059] Similarly, while the above detailed description, particularly with respect to Fig. 4, related to international data spaces, data and / or digital objects as referred to herein may also be exchanged using other digital architectures.

[0060] Moreover, while not detailed above, the way in which the second digital object comprises the one or more first digital objects, which may correspond to the way in which the one or more first digital objects each comprise one or more further digital objects, may be realized in terms of a software wrapping. However, also other ways of realizing the relationship between the different digital objects may be used, as long as the one or more first digital objects are accessible via the respective second digital object, possibly upon authentication and / or authorization of the accessing party. Using second digital objects as presented herein, a vertical data exchange across participants of a circular value chain can be realized following, for instance, the Catena-X model, according to which data can be aggregated consistently along the supply chain from basic material to complex product. Moreover, a horizontal data exchange is facilitated, i.e., in addition to product and / or material data, also transport data can become interoperable or exchangeable between actors in the circular value chain, particularly recyclers and those realizing recycling transports. The addition of transport data allows for considerable efficiency gains in the recycling process.

[0061] Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims.

[0062] In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality.

[0063] A single unit or device may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

[0064] Procedures like the providing of a first digital object, the providing of second data, the generating of a second digital object, the issuing of a request for doing so, etc. can be performed by any number of units or devices. These procedures can be implemented as program code means of a computer program and / or as dedicated hardware.

[0065] A computer program may be stored / distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium, supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems.

[0066] Any units described herein may be processing units that are part of a classical computing system. Processing units may include a general-purpose processor and may also include a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any other specialized circuit. Any memory may be a physical system memory, which may be volatile, non-volatile, or some combination of the two. The term “memory” may include any computer-readable storage media such as a non-volatile mass storage. If the computing system is distributed, the processing and / or memory capability may be distributed as well. The computing system may include multiple structures as “executable components”. The term “executable component” is a structure well understood in the field of computing as being a structure that can be software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For instance, when implemented in software, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the structure of an executable component may include software objects, routines, methods, and so forth, that may be executed on the computing system. This may include both an executable component in the heap of a computing system, or on computer- readable storage media. The structure of the executable component may exist on a computer-readable medium such that, when interpreted by one or more processors of a computing system, e.g., by a processor thread, the computing system is caused to perform a function. Such structure may be computer readable directly by the processors, for instance, as is the case if the executable component were binary, or it may be structured to be interpretable and / or compiled, for instance, whether in a single stage or in multiple stages, so as to generate such binary that is directly interpretable by the processors. In other instances, structures may be hard coded or hard wired logic gates, that are implemented exclusively or near-exclusively in hardware, such as within a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any other specialized circuit. Accordingly, the term “executable component” is a term for a structure that is well understood by those of ordinary skill in the art of computing, whether implemented in software, hardware, or a combination. Any embodiments herein are described with reference to acts that are performed by one or more processing units of the computing system. If such acts are implemented in software, one or more processors direct the operation of the computing system in response to having executed computer-executable instructions that constitute an executable component. Computing system may also contain communication channels that allow the computing system to communicate with other computing systems over, for example, network. A “network” is defined as one or more data links that enable the transport of electronic data between computing systems and / or modules and / or other electronic devices. When information is transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection, for example, either hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless, to a computing system, the computing system properly views the connection as a transmission medium. Transmission media can include a network and / or data links which can be used to carry desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general-purpose or specialpurpose computing system or combinations. While not all computing systems require a user interface, in some embodiments, the computing system includes a user interface system for use in interfacing with a user. User interfaces act as input or output mechanism to users for instance via displays.

[0067] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that at least parts of the invention may be practiced in network computing environments with many types of computing system configurations, including, personal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, message processors, hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, mobile telephones, PDAs, pagers, routers, switches, datacenters, wearables, such as glasses, and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed system environments where local and remote computing system, which are linked, for example, either by hardwired data links, wireless data links, or by a combination of hardwired and wireless data links, through a network, both perform tasks. In a distributed system environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

[0068] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that at least parts of the invention may be practiced in a cloud computing environment. Cloud computing environments may be distributed, although this is not required. When distributed, cloud computing environments may be distributed internationally within an organization and / or have components possessed across multiple organizations. In this description and the following claims, “cloud computing” is defined as a model for enabling on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources, e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services. The definition of “cloud computing” is not limited to any of the other numerous advantages that can be obtained from such a model when deployed. The computing systems of the figures include various components or functional blocks that may implement the various embodiments disclosed herein as explained. The various components or functional blocks may be implemented on a local computing system or may be implemented on a distributed computing system that includes elements resident in the cloud or that implement aspects of cloud computing. The various components or functional blocks may be implemented as software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The computing systems shown in the figures may include more or less than the components illustrated in the figures and some of the components may be combined as circumstances warrant.

[0069] Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

[0070] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for a) providing a first digital object comprising first data including chemical product data and / or first access data based on which chemical product data are accessible, wherein the chemical product data are associated with a chemical product to be recycled, b) providing second data comprising transport data and / or second access data based on which transport data are accessible, wherein the transport data are associated with a transport of the chemical product to a recycling site, and c) generating a second digital object comprising the first digital object and the second data. Also a corresponding method and computer program are disclosed. The disclosed means can assist in the recycling of chemical products such as automobile batteries. For instance, an efficient transport system for products to be recycled can be established, and recycling processes can be planned and conducted efficiently.

Claims

Claims:

1. An apparatus (100) for assisting in recycling chemical products (10), wherein the apparatus (100) comprises one or more processors configured to: provide a first digital object (1 1 ) comprising first data, wherein the first data comprise chemical product data and / or first access data based on which chemical product data are accessible, wherein the chemical product data are associated with a chemical product (10) to be recycled, provide second data, wherein the second data comprise transport data and / or second access data based on which transport data are accessible, wherein the transport data are associated with a transport of the chemical product (10) to a recycling site (40), and generate a second digital object (12) comprising the first digital object (1 1 ) and the second data.

2. The apparatus (100) as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first digital object (11 ) comprises a digital product identifier, the digital product identifier being a digital identifier for the chemical product (10).

3. The apparatus (100) as defined in any of the preceding claims, wherein the first digital object (1 1 ) comprises a further digital object (9), wherein the further digital object (9) comprises chemical pre-product data and / or further access data based on which chemical pre-product data are accessible, wherein the chemical pre-product data are associated with a pre-product used in a production of the chemical product (10) to be recycled.

4. The apparatus (100) as defined in any of the preceding claims, wherein the second digital object (12) comprises a digital transport identifier (51 , 52), the digital transport identifier being a digital identifier for a transport vehicle and / or a transporting person for the chemical product (10).

5. The apparatus (100) as defined in any of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more processors are configured to generate the second digital object (12) in a formatthat is readable by all of a plurality of predefined potential users of the second digital object (12).

6. The apparatus (100) as defined in any of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more processors are configured to generate the second digital object (12) upon receiving a request to do so, the request stemming from a return site (30) to which the chemical product (10) has been returned in order to be transported from the return site (30) to the recycling site (40).

7. The apparatus (100) as defined in claim 6, wherein the request is associated with a transport order issued from the return site (30), the transport order being an order for a transport of the chemical product (10) from the return site (30) to the recycling site (40).

8. The apparatus (100) as defined in claim 2 or any of claims 3 to 7 insofar as referring to claim 2, wherein the digital product identifier is associated with a physical product identifier (15), the physical product identifier (15) being a physical identifier of the chemical product (10) returned to the return site (30), and wherein the one or more processors are configured to provide the first digital object (1 1 ) based on the digital product identifier associated with the physical product identifier (15).

9. The apparatus (100) as defined in any of the preceding claims, wherein the transport data include one or more of the following: a start time of the transport, an end time of the transport, a route of the transport, a location of a transport vehicle (50) carrying out the transport, transport characteristics of a vehicle (50) carrying out the transport.

10. The apparatus (100) as defined in any of the preceding claims, wherein the chemical product (10) refers to a battery.1 1 . The apparatus (100) as defined in any of the preceding claims, wherein the recycling refers to a decomposition of the chemical product (10) into parts and a treatment of one or more of the parts that results in a further technical usability thereof.

12. The apparatus (100) as defined in any of the preceding claims, wherein the second access data are associated with an authentication and / or authorization mechanism for a user of the second digital object (12).

13. The apparatus (100) as defined in any of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more processors are configured to provide a plurality of first digital objects (1 1 ) for a plurality of respective chemical products (10) to be recycled, wherein the transport data is associated with a transport of the plurality of chemical products (10) to one or more respective recycling sites (40), and wherein the second digital object (12) comprises the plurality of first digital objects (1 1 ).

14. A method (300) for assisting in recycling chemical products (10), wherein the method (300) includes: providing (301 ) a first digital object (1 1 ) comprising first data, wherein the first data comprise chemical product data and / or first access data based on which chemical product data are accessible, wherein the chemical product data are associated with a chemical product (10) to be recycled, providing (302) second data, wherein the second data comprise transport data and / or second access data based on which transport data are accessible, wherein the transport data are associated with a transport of the chemical product (10) to a recycling site (40), and generating (303) a second digital object (12) comprising the first digital object (1 1 ) and the second data.

15. A use of the apparatus (100) as defined in any of claims 1 to 13 and / or the method (300) as defined in claim 14 for assisting in recycling chemical products (10).

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