Method and system for generation and processing of data associated with end-of-life products

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of sustainability, more particularly, to the field of sustainable industrialization. The disclosure relates to methods, apparatuses, systems and computer elements for generating an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product. The disclosure further relates to methods, apparatuses, systems and computer elements for controlling access to end-of-life digital asset(s). The disclosure further relates to a use of end-of-life digital asset(s) for generating product passport(s) associated with one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product(s).

Description

[0001] 240935

[0002] METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GENERATION AND PROCESSING OF DATA ASSOCIATED WITH END- OF-LIFE PRODUCTS

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] The invention relates to the field of sustainability, more particularly, to the field of sustainable industrialization. The disclosure relates to methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer elements for generating an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product.

[0005] TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

[0006] In the supply and production of products multiple regulatory requirements need to be met, which differ depending on the supply chain product. To fulfil such regulatory requirements, data on such products may need to be exchanged between different participants involved in the supply chain production and use of such products. Such data may be exchanged in a secure and controlled manner within a decentral network connecting different participants involved in the supply chain production and / or recycling of the supply chain product. Availability of end-of-life products and their components needs to be ensured. However, generation and processing of highly standardized data packages within the decentral network is cumbersome in handling, especially a plurality of supply chain participants are involved. Hence, there is a need to a simple generation and transfer of data packages associated with one or more component(s) of end-of-life product(s).

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Disclosed is in one aspect a method for generating an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product, the end-of-life product being a supply chain product after its lifecycle including one or more component(s), the method comprising: providing- from one or more database(s) -supply chain product data associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product including supply chain product identifier(s); providing - based on the provided supply chain product identifier(s) - a component dataset associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product; generating -based on the provided component dataset - the end-of-life digital asset of the one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product by generating a digital representation for accessing at least a part of the provided component dataset and providing an end-of-life decentral identifier associated with the generated end-of-life digital asset; linking the generated end-of-life digital asset and the provided end-of-life decentral identifier to the component dataset; providing the generated end-of-life digital asset for access by a decentral data consuming node under control of or controlled by a decentral data providing node associated with data owner of the end-of-life digital asset.

[0009] In a further aspect is disclosed an apparatus for generating an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product, the end-of-life product being a supply chain product after its lifecycle including one or more component(s), the apparatus comprising: a data providing interface configured to provide at least one component dataset including supply chain product data with one or more240935

[0010] 2

[0011] component(s) of the supply chain product including supply chain product identifier(s); optionally a rule-based engine including one or more rule(s) associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, or one or more rule(s) derived from a data model of an end-of-life product associated with the supply chain product; an end-of-life data generator configured to generate the end-of-life digital asset based on the provided at least one component dataset and to provide the generated end-of-life digital asset to the decentral network.

[0012] In yet a further aspect is disclosed a method for controlling access via a decentral network to an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product, the end-of-life product being a supply chain product after its lifecycle including one or more component(s), wherein the access is controlled by a data owner of the end-of-life digital asset via a data providing node associated with the data owner, the method comprising: receiving via the decentral network a request to access the end-of-life digital asset, wherein the request includes a decentral identifier associated with the end-of-life digital asset and at least one digital credential certifying identity entity requesting access to the end-of-life product digital asset; authenticating the received request based on at least one the digital credential; optionally authorizing the received request; based on the authentication and optionally authorization, providing the end-of-life digital asset associated with the decentral identifier via the decentral network.

[0013] In a further aspect is disclosed an apparatus for controlling access via a decentral network to an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product, the end-of-life product being a supply chain product after its lifecycle including one or more component(s), wherein the access is controlled by a data owner of the end-of-life digital asset via a data providing node associated with the data owner, the apparatus comprising: a data supply chain product data providing interface configured to provide supply chain product data including supply chain product identifier(s), and / or a component dataset associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product; a digital asset generator configured to generate end-of-life digital asset(s) of the one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product by generating a digital representation for accessing at least a part of the provided component dataset and providing an end-of-life decentral identifier associated with the generated end-of-life digital asset, and link the generated end-of-life digital asset and the provided end-of-life decentral identifier to the component dataset; a data providing interface configured to provide the end-of-life digital asset linked to providing the end-of-life decentral identifier and the component dataset for access by a decentral data consuming node under control of or controlled by a decentral data providing node associated with data owner of the end-of-life digital asset.

[0014] In yet another aspect is disclosed use of the end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product generated according to the method as recited herein or by the apparatus as recited herein for providing generating one or more product passport(s) associated with one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product.240935

[0015] 3

[0016] In yet another aspect disclosed is a computer element, in particular a computer program product or a computer readable medium, with instructions, which when executed on one or more computing node(s) are configured to carry out the steps of any of the methods disclosed herein.

[0017] In yet another aspect the present disclosure relates to a computer element with instructions, which when executed on one or more computing node(s) is configured to carry out the steps of the method(s) of the present disclosure or configured to be carried out by the apparatus(es) of the present disclosure.

[0018] Any disclosure, embodiments and examples described herein relate to the methods, the apparatuses, systems, the uses and computer elements lined out above and below. Advantageously, the benefits provided by any of the embodiments and examples equally apply to all other embodiments and examples.

[0019] Embodiments

[0020] In the following, embodiments of the present disclosure will be outlined by ways of embodiments and / or examples. It is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to said embodiments and / or examples.

[0021] Supply chain products may pass through a complex lifecycle that encompasses stages such as design, production, distribution, utilization, and end-of-life (EOL) processing, each influencing the overall sustainability of industrial operations. During the production phase, the selection of materials and manufacturing techniques may significantly affect resource efficiency and environmental impact. Effective allocation of material flows may ensure materials being optimally utilized, minimizing waste and energy consumption. The EOL phase serves as a critical juncture where products are evaluated for their potential for recycling or remanufacturing, thereby diverting materials from landfills and reducing the demand for virgin resources, which contributes to more sustainable industrial ecosystems.

[0022] Moreover, transition to second life products may contribute to re-engineering and remanufacturing processes that may reintroduce materials back into the production cycle, enhancing resource circularity. Additionally or alternatively, second life products may also contribute reducing generation of waste material by allowing reusing the second life product. This not only may allow to conserve materials but also reduce energy consumption and emissions associated with the extraction and processing of new resources. By adopting sustainable practices in EOL processing, industries can significantly diminish their environmental footprints while promoting the efficient use of materials.

[0023] Supply chain products consisting of multiple components, each part can be independently reused, repurposed, or refurbished for various end-of-life and / or second life (SL) applications, contributing significantly to sustainable material utilization. For instance, a consumer electronic device may contain metals, plastics, and circuit boards that can be extracted and processed separately, allowing each material240935

[0024] 4

[0025] to be allocated to its optimal EOL / SL stream. Modular supply chain products may introduce complexity, as it is required careful consideration of disassembly processes, compatibility of materials as well as technical and economic viability of various recycling methods. For example, cars as supply chain products represent a complex assembly of multiple components, including batteries, electronics, metal structures, and various plastic elements, each of which can be reused, repurposed, or refurbished for different EOL and / or SL applications for sustainable material utilization. For instance, the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles can be extracted and repurposed for stationary energy storage systems, extending their functional lifespan beyond their initial automotive application. Meanwhile, metals from the car's chassis and body can be recycled and transformed into new automotive parts or other products, significantly reducing the need for virgin materials. Electronic components, such as circuit boards and sensors, can be refurbished to restore their functionality and re-used in other cars, further enhancing resource efficiency. This modularity within the automotive supply chain adds complexity, as it requires sophisticated disassembly processes, careful tracking of materials, and an understanding of the viability of various recycling and refurbishment methods.

[0026] Material may refer to any good which is bought from suppliers and brought to the respective production plant. The material may be an input material. The input material may include starting material used in the production process of the production plant to produce the product. An input material can be used in any production step used to produce the product. This means, the product of the one production plant can be the input material of the other production plant. Likewise, the supply chain product of one supply chain participant may be used as input material to produce a further supply chain product by a downstream participant. Material may include recycled material. The input material may comprise or be any input material entering a production. The input material may comprise or be any input material provided at any entry point of the production.

[0027] Supply chain product and product may include any product produced or producible from one or more input materials. The supply chain product may be produced or producible via one or more process steps. The process steps may involve chemical reactions and / or physical processes and / or assembly processes and / or disassembly processes. The input material may be used in one or more of such production step(s). The supply chain product may comprise or be any product produced or producible by a production and provided at any exit point of the production. The supply chain product may be used as input material to produce one or more product(s). The product(s) may be produced by one or more downstream participants which may use the supply chain product(s) produced by one or more upstream participants as input material(s). The supply chain product may be associated with a supply chain product identifier. The supply chain product identifier may be a digital or virtual supply chain product identifier. The supply chain product identifier may uniquely identify the supply chain product within the entity producing the supply chain product. The supply chain product identifier may uniquely identify the supply chain product within the decentral network. The supply chain product identifier may be associated with an identifier element physically connected to the supply chain product. The identifier element may encode the digital supply chain product identifier. The240935

[0028] 5

[0029] supply chain product identifier may include a supply chain product name, a supply chain product number, a LOT number, a batch number, a serial number, etc.

[0030] Produced supply chain product(s) may be physical entity / ies of supply chain product(s) having been produced by the production. Producible supply chain product(s) may not yet have been produced by the production but may be producible by one or more production process(es) performed within the production. Producible supply chain product(s) may include supply chain product(s) planned to be produced, for example based on demand data received from downstream participant(s) (e.g. supply chain product consumer(s)). Producible supply chain product(s) may include supply chain product(s) which can be produced by one or more process step(s) performed within the production.

[0031] Supply chain product(s) may include end-of-life product(s). An end-of-life product is a supply chain product, such as an end-product, that has reached the end of its usable life cycle and is no longer functional, viable, or feasible to repair or use for its intended purpose. The end-of-life product may also comprise one or more component(s) that may have reached an end-of-life status. The end-of-life product may also refer to a second life product, a second life of the supply chain product and / or a second life of the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. The second life product refers to the supply chain product after its useful lifecycle of its original intended purpose, wherein one or more component(s) of the supply chain product may be repurposed, refurbished and / or recycled after it has reached the ends of its initial usable lifecycle. The second life product allows extending the life of the one or more component(s) through a plurality of means such repairing, upgrading, transforming and / or reusing the one or more component(s) into another product and / or a new product, and hence reducing generation of waste. The end-of-life product may comprise one or more component(s) that may have reached a second life status.

[0032] The supply chain product / input material and the product may be part of a product ecosystem. The product ecosystem may include chemical products. The product ecosystem may include production chains to produce a product. The product may be a chemical product, an intermediate chemical product, a component, a component assembly or an end-product. The product ecosystem may include processing chains to process used products resulting from the use of produced products. Processing chains may include recycling chains to recycle at least part of the used product or a component thereof. Processing chains may include re-use chains to re-use the used product. The product ecosystem may include various participants, such as raw input material producers, chemical product producers, chemical product users, end-product producers, endproduct users, EOL product collectors and recyclers. The product ecosystem may allow to use of recycled materials resulting from recycling of end-of-life end products to produce new products, such as chemical products. The product ecosystem may be associated with the production and / or re-use and / or recycling of physical products.240935

[0033] 6

[0034] The participants of the product ecosystem may be connected via a decentral network. The decentral network may include one or more decentral network node(s) configured to perform data transactions. The decentral network node(s) may be associated with participants of the product ecosystem. The data transactions may be based on a transaction protocol including authentication and / or authorization mechanism(s). Based on the authentication and / or authorization mechanism(s) a peer-to-peer network between decentral network node(s) of the decentral network may be established. The one or more authentication mechanism(s) may be associated with or linked to decentral identifier(s). The one or more authentication mechanism(s) associated with decentral identifier(s) may be provided to decentral network node(s). The one or more authentication mechanism(s) associated with decentral identifier(s) may be accessible by decentral network node(s). The decentral configuration allows for more efficient use of computing resources and strengthens control by each data owner of the decentral network.

[0035] The decentral data providing network node may comprise computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing data within a decentral network, such as the supply chain product data sets, by a decentral data consuming network node. The decentral data providing network node may be associated with or connected to one or more dedicated data storage(s) storing the supply chain product data sets or the digital product passports. The decentral data providing network node may be directly or indirectly connected to the data storage(s) storing the supply chain product data sets or the product passports. Hence, the decentral data providing network node may be associated with the supply chain product data sets or the product passports. The dedicated data storage(s) may be under control of the data owner of the supply chain product data sets or the product passports. Via the supply chain product identifier and its unique association with the data owner and supply chain product data set access to the supply chain product data set may be controlled by the data owner.

[0036] The decentral data consuming network node may comprise computer-executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data within a decentral network, such as input material data, provided by a decentral data providing network node. The decentral data consuming network node may be controlled or owned by or associated with a consumer of the input material data (e.g. the entity generating the product passport). The consumer may be any entity processing the input material data. The consumer may be any entity operating a production configured to process the supply chain products associated with the supply chain product data as input material(s) Processing may include using the supply chain products as input materials to produce further products. Processing may include performing one or more recycling step(s) on the supply chain products as input material. The consumer may be an upstream participant of the supply chain product producer in the product ecosystem.

[0037] The decentral identifier may include any unique identifier or combination of identifier(s) uniquely associated with the supply chain product data and optionally the data owner of the supply chain product data. The decentral identifier may connect the physical entity of the supply chain product to the supply chain productdata. The decentral identifier may connect an entity of the producible supply chain product to the supply chain product data. The decentral identifier may include one or more Universally Unique Identifier(s) (UUID(s)) and / or one or more Decentralized Identifier(s) (DID(s)). The decentral identifier may further include or be associated with a supply chain product identifier associated with the supply chain product. The decentral identifier may be issued by a central or decentral identity issuer. The decentral identifier may be generated by the data owner or on behalf of the data owner of the supply chain product data. The decentral identifier may include or be associated with authentication information. Via the decentral identifier and its unique association with the supply chain product data associated with the supply chain product and optionally the data owner of the supply chain product data, access to the supply chain product data may be controlled by the data owner of the supply chain product data. 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 processing of the decentral identifier in implementations as controlled by the data owner of the supply chain product data. The decentral identifier may be a digital or virtual identifier, e.g. may not correspond to physical identifier(s) physically attached to the supply chain product.

[0038] The decentral identifier may include or be associated with one or more identifier(s) used in the decentral network and allowing for exchange of supply chain product data via the decentral network. For instance, the decentral identifier may include or be associated with identifier(s) of supply chain product data set(s) and / or endpoint(s) associated with decentral data providing node(s) providing the supply chain product data or a part thereof. Data exchange may include discovery of the decentral identifier and optionally identifier(s) included in or be associated with said decentral identifier for participant nodes of the decentral network, authentication of participant nodes of the decentral network and / or authorization of data transfers via a peer-to-peer communication between participant nodes of the decentral network.

[0039] The decentral identifier may be associated with a representation for accessing the supply chain product data. The representation may include an endpoint for accessing the supply chain product data. The endpoint may be associated with a decentral data providing node configured to provide the supply chain product data. The decentral data providing node may have access to the database storing the supply chain product data. The data owner may control access to the supply chain product data via the decentral data providing node.

[0040] The data owner may be an entity having access to the respective data and controlling access by data consuming node(s) of the decentral network to the respective data. The data owner may be the supply chain product producer and / or the supply chain product owner. The data owner may be the entity operating the production producing the supply chain product. The data owner may be the product producer. The data owner may be the entity operating the production producing the product. The data owner may be the digital product passport generator. The respective data sets may be accessible for the data owner. The respective data may be accessible for the data owner. The data owner may hence directly or indirectly own the respective data. The respective data may be stored in a database of or associated with the data owner. The8

[0041] respective data may be stored in a database accessible by the data owner. The data owner may control access to the respective data via the data providing node associated with the data owner. The data owner may control access to the respective data. The respective data may be associated with the data owner. The data owner may be the owner of the respective data or the respective data owner. The respective data may be stored in a data base of or under control by the data owner. The respective data may be stored in a database for access by respective data consumer(s).

[0042] The data consumer may be an entity consuming data, such as supply chain product data set(s) / i nput material data, via the decentral network. The data consumer may be the input material consumer. The data consumer may be an entity generating the digital product passports.

[0043] The contractual obligations may include permission(s), obligation(s) and / or prohibition(s) of data consumer(s) with respect to the processing of data associated with or related to such contractual obligations. The contractual obligations may include permission(s), obligation(s) and / or prohibition(s) of data providers(s) with respect to providing data to data consumer(s).

[0044] The product passport may refer to a data set having a defined semantic structure. The defined semantic structure may be obtained by applying a data model, such as an aspect model, to data associated with the production of the product. The product passport may include a product identifier, at least one decentral identifier and passport data. The product passport may include one or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentral identifier(s) and the passport data. The product passport may relate to one or more authorization mechanisms associated with the decentral identifier(s) and the passport data. The one or more authorization mechanisms may include authorization rules determining if access to the at least a part of the passport data is granted. The product passport may be associated with one or more digital representations of the passport data. The digital representations may be regarded as access element(s) providing access to the product passport or parts thereof. The digital representation may include a decentral identifier and access data. The access data may include a locator or pointer, such as am url or uri, to a dedicated storage, such as a dedicated storage address, associated with the data owner of the product passport. The pointer or locator may point directly to the dedicated storage. The pointer or locator may point to a data providing network node associated with the dedicated storage. The access element may include one or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentral identifier(s) and the access data. The access element may be associated with one or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentral identifier(s) and the access data. The access element may be provided to a decentral registry storing access elements. The decentral registry may be associated with a data providing network node. This may allow to control access to such registry and access to access element(s) stored in such registry via the data providing network node. The decentral registry may be associated with a participant of the product ecosystem. The decentral registry may be associated with the data owner of the product passport. The9

[0045] decentral registry may be part of the decentral network but may not be associated with a particular participant of the product ecosystem, e.g. may be regarded as infrastructure node of the decentral network.

[0046] A rule-based engine may be used to transform at least part of the gathered supply chain product data associated with supply chain product(s). The rule-based engine may be a software or software component that applies one or more rules to at least part of the gathered supply chain product data. The rule(s) may include or correspond to executable logic. The executable logic may be generated from a rule template including unstructured data associated with instructions related to transformation operation(s). The rulebased engine used to transform at least part of the gathered supply chain product data may include one or more rule(s) associated with product(s) produced from the supply chain product(s) (e.g. by using the supply chain products as input materials). The one or more rule(s) may be associated with or derived from at least one data model of the product. Hence, the one or more rule(s) may ensure that data point(s) for such supply chain products required according to the data model may be included in the generated supply chain product data set. The one or more rule(s) may be defined by the mandatory supply chain product data points present within the data model. The one or more rule(s) may be generated based on the mandatory supply chain product data points present within the data model. This may ensure that supply chain product data required by the data model is included in the generated supply chain product data set. The one or more rule(s) may hence be generated or defined by the data model associated with the product produced from the supply chain product(s) as input materials. The one or more rule(s) may hence not be derived or generated based on a data model associated with the produced supply chain products. This may allow to avoid generation of complex data models for produced supply chain products but may instead allow to use existing data models of product(s) for generation of rule(s) to transform gathered supply chain product data to supply chain product data set(s).

[0047] The rule-based engine may operate on individual data point level, combination of data points or the whole gathered supply chain product data. The operation of the rule-based engine may be defined by the one or more rule(s). The rule(s) may include or correspond to executable logic. The executable logic may be generated from a rule template including unstructured data associated with instructions related to validation operation(s). Rule(s) associated with individual data point(s) may include one or more rule(s) defining condition(s) for individual data points present with the gathered supply chain product data. Use of such rule(s) allows to ensure that data point(s) required by the semantic model associated with the product are contained in the generated supply chain product data sets. Rule(s) associated with multiple data points may include one or more rules defining required combination of data points. Use of such rule(s) allows to ensure that combination(s) of data point(s) required by the semantic model associated with the product are contained within the generated supply chain product data sets.

[0048] In an embodiment, the one or more databases are distributed databases, wherein at least one of the databases stores instance(s) of the supply chain product data. A distributed database may be a collection240935

[0049] 10

[0050] of data stored at different sites of a computer network. Each site might expose a degree of autonomy, providing services for the execution of local applications, but also participating in the execution of a global application. For instance, a distributed data source may be a distributed database. A distributed database can be created by splitting and scattering the data of an existing database over different sites or by federating together multiple existing databases. Each data source may contain only a fragment of the data associated with the chemical product. This leads to a fragmentation of said data. Two common types of data fragmentation are horizontal fragmentation, wherein (possibly overlapping) subsets of data tuples are stored at different sites; and vertical fragmentation, wherein (possibly overlapping) subtuples of data tuples are stored at different sites. More generally, the data associated with the chemical product may be fragmented into a set of relations (tables of a relational database, distributed across multiple sites).

[0051] In an embodiment, the gathered supply chain product data includes property data including at least one measured chemical and / or physical property and / or at least one chemical and / or physical property determined from collected data associated with the production of the supply chain product and / or property data of one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. The data may be collected before, during and / or after production of the supply chain product. The collected data may be used to determine at least one physical and / or chemical property of the produced supply chain product. For instance, the at least one physical and / or chemical property may be determined from sensor data obtained from sensor(s). The data may be collected with a suitable sensor configured to measure the chemical and / or physical property. The chemical property may be a property of the supply chain product that becomes evident during, or after, a chemical reaction. Hence, the chemical property may be any quality that can be established only by changing the chemical identity of the supply chain product. Examples of chemical properties include heat of combustion, enthalpy of formation, toxicity, chemical stability in a given environment, flammability, oxidation state(s), ability to corrode, combustibility, acidity and basicity, chemical composition, recyclate content used for producing or manufacturing the product, bio-based content used for producing or manufacturing the product, renewable content used for producing or manufacturing the product and / or pH value. The physical property may be any property of the supply chain product that is measurable. Hence, the value of a physical property describes a state of the supply chain product. Examples of physical properties include absorption, brittleness, boiling point, capacitance, color, concentration, density, ductility, distribution, efficacy, elasticity, electric charge, electrical conductivity, electrical impedance, electric potential, flow rate, fluidity, hardness, heat capacity, inductance, intrinsic impedance, luminance, luminescence, luster, mass, melting point, opacity, permeability, permittivity, plasticity, pressure, radiance, resistivity, reflectivity, refractive index, solubility, specific heat, strength, stiffness, temperature, tension, thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, viscosity, volume and / or wave impedance. The measured at least one physical and / or chemical property may be obtained by sensors configured to measure such property. The sensor may be included in a measuring device. The sensor may correspond to the measuring device.240935

[0052] 11

[0053] In an embodiment, the rule-based engine operates on individual data points present within at least part of the gathered supply chain product data, multiple data points present within at least part of the gathered supply chain product data or the whole gathered supply chain product data. The rule-based engine may be configured to transform gathered supply chain product data based on one or more included rule(s). The rulebased engine may apply one or more rule(s) to individual data point(s), multiple data point(s) and / or the whole data set to generate the supply chain product data set(s). If the rule-based engine determines that individual data point(s), multiple data point(s) and / or the whole data matches one or more condition(s) in the rule(s), such individual data point(s), multiple data point(s) or the whole data may be included in the generated supply chain product data set.

[0054] In an embodiment, the one or more rule(s) are generated from a rule template including unstructured data associated with instructions related to transformation operation(s). The transformation operation(s) may relate to aggregation supply chain product data gathered from multiple data sources into a given format, filters to filter gathered supply chain product data, attribute construction(s) to create or add new attributes to the gathered supply chain product data and / or a trigger condition and a corresponding group of one more action(s). The rule template may be used to generate executable logic that may be executed by the rulebased engine. Use of a rule template may facilitate generation of one or more rule(s) since the instructions for generation of executable logic may be formulated in natural language. The rule template may be a predefined rule template. The rule template may be generated to match semantic model(s) associated with product(s) the supply chain product may be used as input material. The rule template may be generated and provided by a third party. This may allow to provide rule template(s) as a service to data providers to further simplify the generation of the supply chain product data sets and to lower the entry barrier for input material suppliers to generate and provide supply chain product data sets via a decentral network to allow data consumers access to such data for generation of product passports.

[0055] In an embodiment, the one or more rule(s) are associated with or are derived from at least one data model associated with at least one of the products, more particularly, wherein the one or more rule(s) are defined by one or more mandatory supply chain product data point(s) present within the at least one data model. This may allow to avoid the use of complex data models associated with supply chain products and instead may allow to use existing data models of product(s) for which such supply chain products are used as input materials. This allows to significantly reduce the complexity of the generation of supply chain product data sets for producers of such supply chain product(s), hence ensuring reliable and efficient provision of such supply chain product data set(s) within the decentral network for access by consuming entities for generation of product passports.

[0056] In an embodiment, the one or more rule(s) define aggregation rule(s) for aggregating supply chain product data gathered from multiple data sources into a given format, define filters to filter gathered supply chain product data, define attribute construction(s) to create or add new attributes to the gathered supply chain240935

[0057] 12

[0058] product data and / or include a trigger condition and a corresponding group of one more actions. The given format may be a tabular representation. Hence, the rule-based engine may be configured to generate, based on the one or more included rule(s), a tabular representation filled with gathered supply chain product data matching one or more included rule(s). The tabular representation may be stored within a dedicated storage associated with the decentral data providing node, allowing provision of the tabular representation by requesting access to such tabular representation based on a supply chain product identifier included in such tabular representation.

[0059] In an embodiment, transforming the gathered supply chain product data by the rule-based engine includes generating executable logic from the one or more rule(s) and transforming the gathered supply chain product data by executing the generated executable logic by the rule-based engine subject to rule execution criteria. The rule execution criteria may be included in the executable logic. The execution criteria may relate to action(s) associated with triggers included in the executable logic. Generating executable logic allows provision of rule(s) or rule template(s) as unstructured data, such as in natural language, hence simplifying creation of executable logic by using rule template(s) or rule(s) including unstructured data, such as rule(s) and / or rule template(s) written in natural language. Simplifying creation of the executable logic ensures that the barrier to generate and provide supply chain product data set(s) within the decentral network is lowered, hence ensuring that also small supplier entities are able to participant as output data providers within the decentral network. This in turn allows data consumers generating product passports to reliably consume all required input material data via the decentral network, hence ensuring efficient and reliable generation of product passports using the gathered input material data.

[0060] In an embodiment, the supply chain product data set is generated responsive to fulfilment of one or more rule(s) applied to the gathered supply chain product data by the rule-based engine. This may ensure that generation of supply chain product data set(s) is only then performed if the rule(s) could be successfully applied to the gathered data by the rule-based engine, e.g. if application of the rule(s) did not result in an error, for example due to missing data, wrong data, incomplete data, etc. This may ensure that only supply chain product data set(s) are provided via the decentral network which fulfil the applied rule(s), hence avoiding errors during validation performed on the consumer side which may prevent generation of required product passports. This may in turn have a negative influence on the provision of such products for example if the product passport is required from a regulatory standpoint. The delayed provision of such products may result in a negative influence on the production of downstream participants, since required input materials are not available for production.

[0061] A rule-based engine may be used to validate at least part of the supply chain product datasets gathered via the decentral network. The rule-based engine may be a software or software component that applies one or more rules to at least part of the gathered supply chain product datasets. The rule-based engine used to validate at least part of the gathered supply chain product datasets may include one or more rule(s)240935

[0062] 13

[0063] associated with product(s). The one or more rule(s) may be associated with or derived from at least one data model of the product. Hence, the one or more rule(s) may ensure that data point(s) for such supply chain products required according to the data model may be included in the gathered supply chain product datasets. The one or more rule(s) may be defined by the mandatory supply chain product data points present within the data model. The one or more rule(s) may be generated based on the mandatory supply chain product data points present within the data model. This may ensure that supply chain product data required by the data model is included in the gathered supply chain product datasets, hence ensuring reliable and efficient generation of digital product passports using such validated supply chain product datasets.

[0064] The rule-based engine may operate on individual data point level, combination of data points or the whole gathered supply chain product datasets. The operation of the rule-based engine may be defined by the one or more rule(s). Rule(s) associated with individual data point(s) may include one or more rule(s) defining condition(s) for individual data points present with the gathered supply chain product datasets. Use of such rule(s) allows to ensure that data point(s) required by the data model associated with the product are contained in the consumed supply chain product datasets. Rule(s) associated with multiple data points may include one or more rules defining required combination of data points. Use of such rule(s) allows to ensure that combination(s) of data point(s) required by the data model associated with the product are contained within the consumed supply chain product datasets.

[0065] The product passport may refer to a dataset having a defined semantic structure. The defined semantic structure may be obtained by applying a data model, such as an aspect model, to validated supply chain product datasets and product data associated with the respective product. The product passport may include a product identifier, at least one decentral identifier, validated supply chain product datasets and product data (e.g. passport data). The product passport may include one or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentral identifier(s), the validated supply chain product datasets and the product data. The product passport may relate to one or more authorization mechanisms associated with the decentral identifier(s), the validated supply chain product datasets and the product data. The one or more authorization mechanisms may include authorization rules determining if access to the at least a part of the validated supply chain product datasets and / or product data is granted. The product passport may be associated with one or more digital representations of the passport data. The digital representation(s) may include representation(s) for accessing the passport data. The digital representation(s) may be provided to a decentral registry storing digital representations. The decentral registry may be associated with a data providing network node associated with the data owner of the digital product passport(s). This may allow to control access to such registry and access to digital representations stored in such registry via the data providing network node. The decentral registry may be associated with a participant of the product ecosystem. The decentral registry may be associated with the data owner of the digital product passport.240935

[0066] 14

[0067] In an embodiment, the supply chain product dataset(s) is / are gathered via the decentral network from one or more decentral data providing node(s) associated with data owner(s) of the supply chain product dataset(s). The decentral data providing node(s) may be determined from data mapping decentral data providing node data to associated supply chain product identifier(s). The supply chain product identifier(s) and associated data providing node data may be provided by respective decentral data providing node(s) to the consuming entity consuming such supply chain product datasets from such data providing node(s).

[0068] In an embodiment, the gathered supply chain product dataset(s) is / are provided to one or more input node(s) configured to gather the supply chain product dataset(s) and to provide the gathered supply chain product dataset(s) to one or more downstream node(s), wherein the one or more downstream node(s) are configured to validate at least a part of the data included in the supply chain product dataset(s) provided by the one or more input node(s), link the validated supply chain product dataset(s) to at least one of the product identifiers, determine storage location (s) for the validated supply chain product dataset(s) and to provide the validated supply chain product dataset(s) linked to product identifier(s) to determined storage location(s). An input node may represent a computing node gathering input material data from one or more decentral data consuming node(s). The one or more input node(s) may be configured to generate data packages, such as messages or events, from the received supply chain product dataset(s). The generated data packages may be sent downstream from the input node to the one or more downstream node(s). The downstream node(s) may be configured to retrieve data packages provided by the input node(s). The input node(s) may be configured to provide data packages to a persistent or non-persistent log. The downstream node(s) may be configured to retrieve data packages provided to the persistent or non-persistent log. The downstream node(s) may be configured to receive data packages provided to the persistent or non-persistent log. The input node(s) may be associated with a decentral network. For instance, the input node(s) may be associated with a decentral data consuming network node being part of a decentral network. Downstream node may refer to a computing node consuming data from a computing node present upstream with respect to the flow of data. Consuming data may include receiving data or retrieving data packages from the input node(s) or the persistent or non-persistent log. For instance, data "flows” downstream from an input node to the downstream node. The downstream node may be regarded as an output node. A request for data may be sent upstream from the downstream node to the input node.

[0069] In an embodiment, the rule-based engine operates on individual data points present within at least part of the supply chain product dataset(s), multiple data points present within at least part of the supply chain product dataset(s) or the whole supply chain product dataset(s). The rule-based engine may be configured to validate supply chain product dataset(s) based on one or more included rule(s). The rule-based engine may apply one or more rule(s) to individual data point(s), multiple data point(s) and / or the whole dataset to generate validated supply chain product dataset(s). If the rule-based engine determines that individual data point(s), multiple data point(s) and / or the whole data matches one or more condition(s) in the rule(s), such individual data point(s), multiple data point(s) or the whole data may be regarded as validated. The validated240935

[0070] 15

[0071] data may be associated with a classifier indicating successful validation of the respective data point, combination of data point(s) or the whole data. The classifier may indicate that the supply chain product dataset(s) passed the one or more applied rule(s). Validating the supply chain product dataset(s) on data point level may ensure that all supply chain product data point(s) required by the data model associated with the product are contained in the gathered supply chain product dataset(s). Validation on data point level may compensate for the simplified supply chain product dataset generation at the provider side which does not require the use of data models.

[0072] In an embodiment, the one or more rule(s) are generated from a rule template including unstructured data associated with instructions related to validation operation(s). The validation operation(s) may relate to one or more data point(s) and / or data point combination(s) to be present within the supply chain product dataset(s). The rule template may be used to generate executable logic that may be executed by the rulebased engine. Use of a rule template may facilitate generation of one or more rule(s) since the instructions for generation of executable logic may be formulated in natural language. The rule template may be a predefined rule template. The rule template may be generated to match semantic model(s) associated with product(s).

[0073] In an embodiment, the one or more rule(s) define data point(s) and / or combination(s) of data point(s) to be present within the supply chain product dataset(s). This may ensure that the supply chain product dataset(s) includes all data point(s) required by the data model of the product, hence avoiding missing supply chain product data point(s).

[0074] In an embodiment, validation of the input material data may further include transforming the supply chain product dataset(s). Transforming the supply chain product dataset(s) may include unit transformation to transform a unit associated with a data point into a unit required by the data model associated with the product. This may allow to shift unit transformation operations to the consumer side, hence allowing to simplify generation of supply chain product datasets at the provider side to ensure reliable provision of supply chain product dataset(s) by various suppliers of the product ecosystem, irrespective of the size of the entity producing the supply chain products.

[0075] In an embodiment, the one or more rule(s) are associated with or derived from at least one data model of the product, in particular, wherein the one or more rule(s) are defined by the mandatory supply chain product data point(s) present within the data model. The data model may be a predefined (e.g. existing) data model. The data model may define the data structure of the digital product passport. The data model may define the value(s) and / or value range(s) for data point(s) to be included in the digital product passport. The data model may define mandatory and optional data point(s) to be included in the digital product passport. The data model may define relationships between different data point(s).240935

[0076] 16

[0077] In an embodiment, validating the gathered input material data by the rule-based engine includes generating executable logic from the one or more rule(s) and transforming the gathered supply chain product dataset(s) by executing the generated executable logic by the rule-based engine subject to rule execution criteria.

[0078] In an embodiment, the supply chain product dataset(s) is validated responsive to fulfilment of one or more rule(s) applied to the supply chain product dataset(s) by the rule-based engine. This may ensure that the gathered supply chain product dataset(s) is only validated if the rule(s) could be successfully applied to the gathered data by the rule-based engine, e.g. if application of the rule(s) did not result in an error, for example due to missing data, wrong data, incomplete data, etc. This may ensure that the digital product passport may be generated by applying the respective data model to the validated supply chain product dataset(s) and respective product data without any errors due to missing or wrong supply chain product dataset(s), hence avoiding incomplete digital product passport(s) which may hamper processing of the product.

[0079] In an embodiment, the storage location is determined based on mapping data including a mapping between supply chain product identifier(s) and associated storage location data or a mapping between supply chain product identifier(s) and associated supply chain product type identifier(s) and storage location data. The storage location may correspond to a database. The database may be a relational or a non-relational database. Use of different storage location (s) allows to improve data security, since validated supply chain product datasets to be used for the generation of digital product passports associated with a specific product type, such as a battery, may be stored within a particular dedicated storage accessible only by the application generation the digital product passports for such specific product type but not for other applications generation digital product passports for other product types.

[0080] The verifiable credential may be a digital representation of a certification, that the supply chain product datasets are generated according to one or more given rule set(s). The verifiable credential may be issued by an issuer. The issuer may be a trusted authority, such as a government authority, an institution, an industry group, a non-profit organization, or a standard setting organization, and stored digitally. It may include cryptographic techniques to ensure authenticity and prevent tampering, such as hash(es) of data included in the verifiable credential and / or electronic signature(s). The verifiable credential may be stored in a digital wallet and may be presented or shared electronically by the holder. The holder may present the verifiable credential itself, or may present data from the digital credential in the form of another data structure, which may be referred to herein as a "presentation”. The holder may present data formats derived from the verifiable credential that are cryptographically verifiable, but do not of themselves contain the verifiable credentials as verifiable presentation. A verifiable presentation may express data from one or more verifiable credentials, and may be packaged in such a way that the authorship of the data is verifiable. If verifiable credentials are presented directly, they may become presentations. The verifiable credential may be implemented according to W3C standards as e.g. described in the Verifiable Credentials Implementation240935

[0081] 17

[0082] Guidelines 1.0, W3C Editor's Draft 03 February 2023, the Verifiable Credentials Data Model v2.0, W3C Candidate Recommendation Draft 18 September 2024 or related documents.

[0083] The proof (also called cryptographic proof hereinafter) included in the verifiable credential may be a securing mechanism used to prove that the data included in the verifiable credential or verifiable presentation was not tampered with. The securing mechanism may be based on digital signatures using private-public keys and / or zero-knowledge proofs.

[0084] The issuer of the supply chain product dataset(s) may be the system generating the supply chain product dataset(s). The issuer of the supply chain product dataset(s) may be the entity associated with the system generating the supply chain product dataset(s), such as the supply chain product producer.

[0085] The method may be executed by one or more computing node(s) associated with an end-of-life product dismantler, scrap yard, shredder, collector and / or dealer.

[0086] In one embodiment, the supply chain product may be associated with a decentral identifier and the supply chain product data may be provided by accessing a digital asset associated to the supply chain product via a decentral network protocol.

[0087] In one embodiment, providing the component dataset may include: providing at least one data model associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product; generating the component dataset by applying the at least one data model to the provided supply chain product data and the decentral identifier(s).

[0088] In a further embodiment, providing the component dataset may include:

[0089] generating the component dataset by transforming the provided supply chain product data using a rule-based engine including one or more rule(s) associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, or one or more rule(s) derived from a data model associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product;

[0090] providing one or more decentral identifier(s) associated with supply chain product;

[0091] providing the generated component dataset and the one or more decentral identifier for access via a decentral network.

[0092] In one embodiment, the rule-based engine may operate on individual data points present within at least part of the provided supply chain product data, multiple data points present within at least part of the provided supply chain product data or the whole provided supply chain product data.

[0093] In a further embodiment, the one or more rule(s) may be generated from a rule template including unstructured data associated with instructions related to transformation operation(s).In a yet further embodiment, the one or more rule(s) may be associated with or may be derived from a semantic model associated with at least one of the supply chain product(s), wherein the one or more rule(s) may be defined by one or more mandatory product data point(s) present within the semantic model.

[0094] Moreover, the one or more rule(s) define aggregation rule(s) for aggregating product data gathered from multiple data sources into a given format, define filters to filter provided supply chain product data, define attribute construction(s) to create or add new attributes to the provided supply chain product data and / or include a trigger condition and a corresponding group of one more action(s).

[0095] In one embodiment, the component dataset may be provided per one or more component(s) based on the one or more decentral identifier(s) associated the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product.

[0096] In a further embodiment, the component dataset may be provided for the supply chain product including one or more component(s) based on the one or more decentral identifier associated with the supply chain product.

[0097] In one embodiment, the generated end-of-life digital asset may be a private end-of-life digital asset for accessing at least a part of the provided component dataset by a private end-of-life digital asset recipient. The private end-of-life digital asset recipient may be associated to a contractual agreement between two or more entities. The private end-of-life digital asset recipient may receive access to the private end-of-life digital asset governed by a formal contract. The dataset owner holds the rights to the data, while the private end-of-life digital asset recipient is granted specific permissions to access, use, or process the data under the terms of the contract. Access to the private end-of-life digital asset may be regulated by policies that are explicitly outlined within the contract, including provisions related to data privacy, security, usage limitations, and compliance with relevant regulations. These policies may serve as a framework to ensure that the private end-of-life digital asset recipient accesses the private end-of-life digital asset in accordance with the dataset owner's requirements and legal obligations. The private end-of-life digital asset recipient may receive access to the dataset for specific purposes outlined in the contract, which may include analysis, research, or operational functions.

[0098] In one embodiment, linking the generated end-of-life digital asset and the provided end-of-life decentral identifier to the component dataset may further comprise linking the digital representation of contract data to end-life digital asset offered within the decentral network, which may allow that data owners flexibly defining contractual obligation(s) with respect to the processing of the digital asset(s) and / or component dataset(s) by data consumer(s) without having to convert contractual obligation(s) included in the contract data according to a data model for generating policy data used to perform data transaction according to a negotiation protocol within the decentral network. This way, the data owner may flexibly tailor the contractual19

[0099] obligation(s) to data included in the digital asset(s) without requiring any additional negotiation(s) and / or fragmented communication channels to negotiate with data consumer(s) all relevant contractual obligation(s) with respect to the processing of digital asset and / or component dataset by such data consumer(s). This may enable efficient and reliable negotiation of the contractual obligation(s), allowing to reliably share the digital asset(s) within the decentral network under full control of the data owner of the digital asset(s). This way, a more reliable and efficient generation of product passport(s) using the accessed digital asset(s) can be ensured, avoiding disruption of the supply of product(s) due to missing or incomplete digital product passport(s) that are required for such product(s) upon sale of such product(s), for example by existing regulation(s). In addition, a higher data quality of the data included in the digital product passport can be ensured, allowing more efficient processing, such as recycling and / or re-use of the product based on the digital product passports.

[0100] In one embodiment, the method may comprise generating the private end-of-life digital asset in response to a request for such private end-of-life digital asset by the private end-of-life digital asset recipient.

[0101] In embodiment, the generated end-of-life digital asset may be a public end-of-life digital asset for accessing at least a part of the provided component dataset by a public end-of-life digital asset recipient. The public end-of-life digital asset recipient may be associated to a contractual agreement between two or more entities. The public end-of-life digital asset recipient may receive access to the public end-of-life digital asset recipient governed by a formal contract. The dataset owner holds the rights to the data, while the public end-of-life digital asset recipient is granted specific permissions to access, use, or process the data under the terms of the contract. Access to the public end-of-life digital asset recipient may be regulated by policies that are explicitly outlined within the contract, including provisions related to data privacy, security, usage limitations, and compliance with relevant regulations. These policies may serve as a framework to ensure that the public end-of-life digital asset recipient accesses the public end-of-life digital asset in accordance with the dataset owner's requirements and legal obligations. The public end-of-life digital asset recipient may receive access to the dataset for specific purposes outlined in the contract, which may include analysis, research, or operational functions.

[0102] Moreover, the method may comprise generating the public end-of-life digital asset in response to a request for such public end-of-life digital asset by the public end-of-life digital asset recipient.

[0103] The formal contract governing the access to the public end-of-life digital asset by the public end-of-life digital asset recipient may be different from the formal contract governing the access to the private end-life digital asset by the private end-of-life digital asset recipient.

[0104] In another embodiment, one or more authorization rule(s) provide access to the private digital asset for the private end-of-life digital asset recipient. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more authorization rule(s) provide access to the public digital asset for the public end-of-life digital asset recipient.20

[0105] Moreover, the method comprising assigning to at least a part of the end-of-life digital asset one or more confidentiality level(s) indicating the degree of confidentiality of the end-of-life digital asset using a rulebased engine including one or more rule(s) associated with confidentiality level(s), wherein based on the confidentiality level(s) access may be granted to at least one of: the private end-of-life digital asset recipient, and the public end-of-life digital asset recipient. The confidentiality level(s) define end-of-life digital to be published in the decentral network and end-of-life digital asset(s) not to be published in the decentral network.

[0106] Furthermore, end-of-life digital asset(s) may include property data associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, the supply chain product producer, the supply chain product declaration data, the supply chain product report data, the supply chain product due diligence, the supply chain product safety data , technical specification of the supply chain product, technical specification of the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, emission data associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, recyclate content data associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, biobased content data associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, renewable content data associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, production data associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, certificate of analysis data associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, certificates associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, lifecycle data associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, storage instructions data associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, instructions associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, assembly instructions associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, disassembly instructions data associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, operating conditions associated with the supply chain product and / or the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, status data of the supply chain product and / or the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, or a combination thereof.

[0107] In one embodiment, the apparatus for generating an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product may comprise a digital twin registry configured to store the one or more end-of-life digital asset(s) associated to one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product. The one or more stored end-of-life digital asset(s) may be private end-of-life digital asset(s). Additionally or alternatively, the one or more stored end-of-life digital asset(s) may be public end-of-life digital asset(s).240935

[0108] 21

[0109] In one embodiment, for the method for controlling access via a decentral network to an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product, the entity may be a private end-of-life digital asset recipient, and access may be granted to a private end-of-life digital asset. Additionally or alternatively, the entity may be a public end-of-life digital asset recipient, and access may be granted to a public end-of-life digital asset. Access to the digital asset may be granted, for instance, based on the formal contract governing the access as explained herein. Access to the end-of-life digital asset may be requested by a participant of the decentral network on behalf of the holder of the digital credential.

[0110] In one embodiment, authenticating the received request may include verifying the digital credential and / or the data included in the digital credential and / or comparing data included in the digital credential to data indicating entities and / or companies allowed to access the end-of-life digital asset, or to data indicating entities and / or companies not allowed to access the end-of-life digital asset.

[0111] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0112] In the following, the present disclosure is further described with reference to the enclosed figures. The same reference numbers in the drawings and this disclosure are intended to refer to the same or like elements, components, and / or parts.

[0113] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a participant network of a supply chain product ecosystem associated with a decentral peer-to-peer for transfer of data associated with materials and products used within the supply chain product ecosystem including raw materials, chemical product(s), discrete product(s), end-product(s), end-of-life product(s) and recycled material(s).

[0114] FIG. 2A-2c illustrate an example of a supply chain product and one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, and digital asset associated to the one or more components of the supply chain product.

[0115] Fig. 3 illustrates dismantling of a supply chain product by end-of-life product dismantling service and providing of end-of-life digital asset via a DT registry on response to a trigger.

[0116] Fig. 4 illustrates a decentral system for accessing data associated with product(s) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0117] FIG. 5A-5B illustrates a block diagram of a system for generating component dataset(s) associated with product(s) and providing generated dataset(s) for access by decentral data consuming nodes in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0118] Fig. 6 illustrates a decentral system for accessing data associated with product(s) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0119] FIG. 7A-7B illustrates a block diagram of a system for generating component dataset(s) associated with product(s) and providing generated dataset(s) for access by decentral data consuming nodes in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.240935

[0120] 22

[0121] FIG. 70 illustrates a diagram showing an example of gathering product data and transforming at least part of the provided supply chain product data using a rule-based engine in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0122] FIG. 8 illustrates a decentral system for accessing data associated with product(s) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0123] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a system architecture including an orchestration component, a plurality of data providing and / or consuming components acting as tenants of the orchestration component and decentral network components acting as decentral data providing and / or consuming nodes.

[0124] DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a participant network of a supply chain product ecosystem associated with a decentral peer-to-peer network for transfer of data associated with materials and produced products used within the supply chain product ecosystem.

[0125] The participant network 130 of the supply chain product ecosystem associated may be associated with a decentral peer-to-peer network decentral network 134 for exchange of data associated with or related to raw material(s), chemical intermediate product(s), chemical product(s), discrete product(s), end-product(s), recycled material(s) and / or their respective production. The participant network 130 may include one or more network participants 102 to 114 associated with decentral participant nodes 116 to 128. The network participants may be part of an industry or may be part of different industries. The network participants may be part of a supply chain product ecosystem including chemical products. The supply chain product ecosystem may include production chains to produce one or more end-product(s). The supply chain product ecosystem may include recycling chain(s) to recycle at least part of an end-of-life product resulting from the use of the end-product(s). The supply chain product ecosystem may include re-use chain(s) to re-use at least a part of the end-of-life product(s).

[0126] The supply chain product ecosystem may include a raw material producer 104, a chemical product producer 102, a chemical product user 106, an end-product producer 108, an end-product user 110, an EOL product collector 112 and a recycler 114. The supply chain product ecosystem illustrated in FIG. 1 is a mere example and may include more network participants or less. For example, the supply chain product ecosystem may include a chain of chemical product producers instead of only one chemical product producer 102. The participant network 130 may include a chemical supply chain. The supply chain product ecosystem may allow the use of recycled materials resulting from recycling of end-of-life products to produce new products, such as chemical products. The supply chain product ecosystem may be associated with the supply chain production and / or recycling and / or re-use of physical products. The supply chain product may be a chemical product, an intermediate chemical product, a component, a component assembly, an end-product, an end-of-life product or a recycled material.The participant(s) of the participant network 130 may be associated with the supply chain production of products and / or recycling and / or re-use of products. The decentral network participant 102 to 114 may refer to a manufacturer of physical products, such as raw material producer 104, chemical product producer 102, chemical product user 106, end-product producer 108, a user of physical goods, such as end-product user 110, and / or a participant of a recycling chain associated with the physical product, such as EOL product collector 112 and recycler 114. The network participant may be associated with a participant node 116 to 128 and a decentral participant identifier related to associated participant node(s) 116 to 128. The participant node may be associated with an endpoint for accessing the participant node. The decentral participant identifier may uniquely identify the decentral network participant within the decentral network 134. The decentral participant identifier in combination with the endpoint may uniquely identify the participant node within the decentral network 134.

[0127] The participant(s) of the participant network 130 may be connected via material flows. The material flow may be a loop material flow 136. The loop material flow 136 may be a closed loop material flow. A closed loop material flow may refer to a material loop where recycled material is used to produce the same end-products the recycled material is obtained from via recycling. The loop material flow 136 may be an open loop material flow. An open loop material flow may refer to a material loop where recycled material is used to produce different end-products than the one the recycled material is obtained from. The material flow may be a linear material flow (e.g. not including recycling). The material flow 136 may correspond to the flow of product from one participant of the participant network 130 to the downstream participant of the participant network 130. The material flow 136 may refer to a continuous or a discontinuous flow of product. The flow of product may include any means of transportation suitable to transport the supply chain product from a participant to the downstream participant. The means of transportation may include pipes, containers, barrels, packages. The material flow 136 may be associated with raw materials used to produce the chemical product, such as virgin raw materials 158. The raw materials may be provided to chemical product producer 102 for producing chemical product(s) and / or intermediate chemical product(s) (not shown). The loop material flow 136 may be associated with chemical product(s) 156. The chemical product(s) may be provided from chemical product producer 102 to chemical product user 106 for producing discrete product(s). In contrast to chemical production, the discrete products being produced are distinct units sold as individual products. The loop material flow 136 may be associated with recycled material 160. The recycled material may be provided from recycler 114 to chemical product producer 102 to produce chemical product(s).

[0128] At least part of the participants of the participant network 130 may be associated with decentral participant network nodes 116 to 128. The decentral participant nodes 116 to 128 may be under control of the respective decentral participant associated with the respective decentral participant node 116 to 128. The decentral participant nodes 116 to 128 may form decentral network decentral network 134. The decentral network decentral network 134 may be a peer-to-peer communication network. The decentral peer-to-peer network24

[0129] decentral network 134 may be configured to perform data transactions 132 according to at least one network protocol. The data transactions 132 may be based on at least one transaction protocol including authentication and / or authorization mechanism(s). Based on the authentication and / or authorization mechanism(s) a peer-to-peer communication between decentral network nodes 116 to 128 associated with network participants 102 to 114 may be established. The one or more authentication mechanism(s) may be associated with or linked to a decentral identifier. The one or more authentication mechanism(s) associated with the decentral identifier may be accessible by the decentral participant nodes 116 to 128 as described in the context of FIG. 3. The decentral configuration allows for more efficient use of computing resources and strengthens control by the data owners of the decentral network by allowing for data sovereignty.

[0130] Data transactions between decentral network participant nodes 116 to 128 may be based on the decentral identifier associated with respective data to be accessed. The decentral identifier may be uniquely associated with the physical entity of the supply chain product and associated product data. The decentral identifier may uniquely identify the respective product within the decentral network. The decentral identifier may be associated with further decentral identifier(s), such as decentral identifier(s) of product(s) used to produce the supply chain product. This may allow to track the supply chain product(s) used to produce a supply chain product, such as an end-product. The decentral identifier may be included in a digital access element associated with the supply chain product.

[0131] The dataflow 132 (e.g. transactions, depicted by dashed lines) between decentral network participant nodes 116 to 128 may be directly or indirectly associated with the material flow 136 (depicted by bold solid lines) between the network participants 102 to 114. For instance, data flow 132 may be directly associated with material flow 136 if data associated with a material provided from the raw material producer 104 to the chemical product producer 102 is accessed by decentral participant node 118 associated with said chemical product producer 102. For instance, data flow 132 may be indirectly associated with material flow 136 if data associated with a chemical product produced by chemical product producer 102 is accessed by decentral participant node 128 associated with recycler 114.

[0132] The decentral participant nodes 116 to 128 may be decentral computing nodes. The decentral computing node may be any device or system that includes at least one physical and tangible processor, and a physical and tangible memory capable of having thereon computer-executable instructions that are executed by a processor. The memory may take any form of volatile or non-volatile storages and may depend on the nature and form of the computing node.

[0133] At least part of the decentral participant nodes 116 to 128 may be configured as decentral data providing nodes. At least part of the participant nodes 116 to 128 may be configured as decentral data consuming nodes. A participant of the decentral participant network 130 may be associated with a decentral data providing node and / or a decentral data consuming node depending on whether data is provided to25

[0134] downstream participants and / or consumed from upstream participants. For instance, chemical product producer 102 may be associated with a decentral data providing node configured to provide chemical product data to a downstream participant (e.g. chemical product consumer 106 and / or OEM 108). In addition to or alternatively, chemical product producer 102 may be associated with a decentral data consuming node configured to access data associated with material produced by an upstream participant (e.g. material supplier 104).

[0135] The decentral network 134 may include further decentral network nodes (not shown in FIG. 1). The further decentral network nodes may not be associated with or operated by a participant 102 to 114 of the supply chain product ecosystem. The further decentral network nodes may provide services for the network participants 102 to 114. The further decentral network nodes may be decentral infrastructure service nodes. The decentral infrastructure service nodes may provide services for decentral participant nodes 116 to 128, such as verifying the identity of the decentral network participant nodes 116 to 128 prior to performing a data exchange, providing decentral participant identifier(s) and / or providing endpoint(s) of participant node(s). The decentral network participant nodes 116 to 128 may be associated with or include certificate(s), such as X.509 certificate(s). The certificate(s) may be associated with decentral infrastructure service node(s) including e.g. a certificate issuing service and / or a dynamic provisioning service providing dynamic attribute tokens (e.g. OAuth Access Tokens). This way the decentral network participant nodes 116 to 124 may be associated with a unique identifier embedded in a X.509 certificate that identifies the respective decentral network participant node 116 to 128. The information required to verify the certificate may be provided via an authentication registry associated with the certificate issuing service and / or the dynamic provisioning service. For instance, in the IDSA Reference Architecture Model, Version 3.0 of April 2019, a decentral data providing node associated with a data owner of data and a decentral data consuming node associated with a data consumer requesting access to such data may use the Certification Authority (CA) and the Dynamic Attribute Provisioning Service (DAPS) to verify the identity of the counter node prior to performing exchange of the data (not shown in FIG. 1).

[0136] FIG. 2A schematically depicts an example of a supply chain product including one or more components. In simple terms, FIG. 2A depicts a car 202 including a plurality of components, inter alia, such as component 204 to 226. The car 202 may be end-product. The car 202 may an end-of-life product. An end-of-life product is a supply chain product, such as an end-product, that has reached the end of its usable life cycle and is no longer functional, viable, or feasible to repair or use for its intended purpose. The end-of-life product may also comprise one or more component(s) that may have reached an end-of-life status. The end-of-life product may also refer to a second life product, a second life of the supply chain product and / or a second life of the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. The second life product refers to the supply chain product after its useful lifecycle of its original intended purpose, wherein one or more component(s) of the supply chain product may be repurposed, refurbished and / or recycled after it has reached the ends of its initial usable lifecycle. The second life product allows extending the life of the one or more component(s)240935

[0137] 26

[0138] through a plurality of means such repairing, upgrading, transforming and / or reusing the one or more component(s) into another product and / or a new product, and hence reducing generation of waste. The end-of-life product may comprise one or more component(s) that may have reached a second life status.

[0139] The end-of-life product may be subjected to a dismantling process, such as the dismantling of the car 202 conceptually depict in FIG. 2A, which may be performed in the context of circular economy related processes. This approach is particularly beneficial as it allows to minimize waste and make the most of resources, contrasting sharply with the traditional linear economy. Dismantling of car 202 furthermore allows to reuse, recycling, and recovery one or more components 204 to 226 facilitating, for instance, products, materials, and resources to remain in use for as long as possible.

[0140] An end-of-life product refers to a supply chain product that has reached the end of its usable lifecycle and is no longer functional as originally intended, viable or economically feasible to repair or use for its intended. In particular, an end-of-life product may no longer operate as intended, either due to physical wear and / or tear, and / or technological advancement that renders the supply chain product obsolete. Moreover, limited available of physical and / or economical resources may hinder that an end-of-life product and / or one or more components of the end-of-life product be repaired or refurbished, making disposal or recycling a more viable option. Hence, end-of-life products typically may enter waste management system, wherein dismantling into its component is possible for further recycling, reuse, recovery, or disposal in an environmentally responsible manner. Additionally or alternatively, end-of-life products and / or their components may also be repurposed, rather than simply being discarded as waste.

[0141] In the context of FIG. 2A, car 202 may also be referred to as a car that has reached the end of its usable life. Hence, the car 202 may also be referred to as an end-of-life vehicle (ELV), which means that car 202 is no longer functional or economically viable to repair. Dismantling process is an essential step in managing such products, as it involves disassembling the vehicle to recover valuable components and materials. The dismantling process is particularly advantageous, as it allows not only conservation of resources but also minimizes environmental impact associated with end-of-life products and waste disposal.

[0142] The term "dismantling" may refer to the systematic process of taking apart a supply chain product, such as car 202 to facilitate identification and potential reuse, recovery, and / or recycling of its individual components. Taking as example car 202, dismantling may allow for the extraction of one or more components such as engine 204, battery 206, tires 208, body 210, and also a more granular extraction of components such as cylinders 212, Engine control unit (ECU) 214, sensors 216, doors 218, bumpers 220, windows 222 and other components not shown in FIG. 2A including, but not limited to, parts of tires, internal components of batteries, and electronics, each of which has different potential for reuse, recycling, or recovery. Hence, dismantling of car 202 is crucial for maximizing recovery, reuse or recycling of materials and components that would otherwise be lost in the waste stream.240935

[0143] 27

[0144] For instance, engine 204 is a critical part of any vehicle and represents a significant opportunity for both reuse and recovery. Refurbished engines can often be resold or reused in other vehicles, allowing them to continue functioning instead of being discarded. Moreover, due to chemical composition of engines, for example, metal components from the engine, such as aluminum and steel, can be melted down and repurposed for new manufacturing processes. Hence, dismantling of engines is particularly beneficial as it does not only conserve resources but also reduces energy and materials needed to produce new metalcontaining and / or metal-based products.

[0145] Moreover, tires 208 and / or one or more of their components may also be reused and recycling. Tires 208 can often be retreaded, which involves replacing the worn tread with new rubber, effectively extending their life and usability. This process aligns with the principles of reuse, as it allows tires to be used again without needing to produce new materials. Additionally, when tires are no longer usable, they can be recycled. The rubber can be processed into new products, such as playground surfaces, asphalt, and / or new tires. Furthermore, energy recovery can be achieved through processes like incineration or pyrolysis, where tires are burned to generate energy and / or pyrolysis oil.

[0146] Battery 206 is another key component that may be extracted from car 202. Batteries battery 206 may include a plurality of types of batteries such as rechargeable batteries. Batteries 206 may also include lead-acid batteries, commonly found in vehicles, which can be refurbished and used in other applications. Moreover, lithium-ion batteries, increasingly used in electric vehicles, can be processed to recover valuable metals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Additionally or alternatively, remaining energy stored in batteries can be utilized in various applications.

[0147] Electronic components such as ECU 214 and / or sensors 216 can often be salvaged for reuse, allowing functional parts to be integrated into other devices or vehicles. In terms of recycling, circuit boards can be processed to extract precious metals like gold, silver, and copper, which can be recovered and reused in new electronic products. Data recovery from electronic devices can also be performed, ensuring that important information is not lost during the dismantling process.

[0148] Therefore, dismantling of end-of-life products such as car 202 is significantly advantageous, as it contributes to focusing on reuse, recycling, and recovery of components of the end-of-life product, reducing the need for and / or dependency on virgin resources and minimizing the environmental impact associated with resource exploitation.

[0149] Moreover, dismantling end-of-life vehicles helps divert waste from landfills, contributing to a more sustainable waste management system. By maximizing the recovery of materials and components, we can minimize the amount of waste generated, reducing the environmental footprint of the automotive industry.240935

[0150] 28

[0151] This aligns with global sustainability goals, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and minimizing pollution.

[0152] FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C schematically depict digital assets associated to end-of-life product such as car 202 and one or more component(s) of end-of-life product such as engine 204, body 210, cylinders 212, sensors 216, battery 206 and door(s) 218.

[0153] FIG. 2B conceptually depicts car 202 and components engine 204 and body 210 for which digital assets are available.

[0154] FIG. 2C conceptually depicts components cylinders 212, sensors 216, door(s) 218 and battery 206 of car 202 for which digital assets are available.

[0155] The digital asset may include a supply chain product identifier, which may be referred to as product ID. Which may be a unique identifier assigned to the entire product such as to the entire car 202. This ID typically reflects key details about the car, such as the make, model, year, and specific configurations or features. For example, a supply chain product ID might look like CAR-001.

[0156] Moreover, the digital asset may also include a component identifier, which may be referred to as component ID, which is unique identifiers assigned to individual parts or components of the car. Each component, such as the engine, transmission, battery, or tires, has its own ID to facilitate tracking and management. For example, a Component ID for an engine EN-001 , for a card body might look like BD-001, etc.

[0157] FIG. 2B and 2C conceptually depict data tree structure for car 202, effectively illustrating the relationship between the car and its components. At the root, the car is identified by its product ID. Branching out are the main components, such as the engine, body, battery, tires, doors and bumpers each associated with its component ID. Further down the hierarchy, sub-components of these major parts are also given unique IDs. For example, the engine consists of cylinders 212, and sensors 216, each identified with specific component IDs.

[0158] Moreover, supply chain product data may be provided for the supply chain product, for instance, a car data, based on an identifier associated with the supply chain product. Furthermore, component dataset may also be provided for the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product based on an identifier associated with the one or more component(s) and / or the supply chain product.

[0159] FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram showing an example of gathering and generating end-of-life data output in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. More particularly, FIG. 3 depicts decentral end-of-life product (EOL) recipient 308 including an end-of-life product dismantling service 316 associated with240935

[0160] 29

[0161] an end-of-life product dismantler (not shown) comprising one or more computing node(s). The EOL recipient may also be referred to as EOL product recipient.

[0162] Furthermore, the diagram of FIG. 3 illustrates an example of generating an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product and associated with a digital twin (DT) registry 310. In particular, the generation of a private end-of-life digital asset 312 and a public end-of-life digital asset 314 is conceptually shown. The end-of-life product may be a supply chain product after its useful lifecycle, .i.e., the end-of-life product is a supply chain product that has reached the end of its usable life cycle and is no longer functional, viable, or feasible to repair or use for its original intended purpose, and thus, the end-of life product is a supply chain product to at least partially be recycled, recovered, and / or reused, for instance, refurbished. The end-of-life product may also refer to a second life product, a second life of the supply chain product and / or a second life of the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. The second life product refers to the supply chain product after its useful lifecycle of its original intended purpose, wherein one or more component(s) of the supply chain product may be repurposed, refurbished and / or recycled after it has reached the ends of its initial usable lifecycle. The second life product allows extending the life of the one or more component(s) through a plurality of means such repairing, upgrading, transforming and / or reusing the one or more component(s) into another product and / or a new product, and hence reducing generation of waste.

[0163] The end-of-life digital asset may include one or more decentral identifier(s) and one or more locator(s). A locator refers to a mechanism or identifier used to find and access digital resources, identities, or services within a decentral network. Additionally, the end-of-life may also include data such as the component dataset, and / or data generated based on the component dataset.

[0164] Data associated to an end-of life product flow is provided to an enterprise resource planning system (ERP system) 324 associated to, for example, one or more node(s) 126 associated to, for instance, an EOL product collector 112. The ERP system 324 may be associated to a scrap yard. The ERP system 324 may be associated to a shredder. The ERP system 324 may be associated to component dealer. Subsequently, an end-of-life product dismantling service 316 associated to an end-of-life product dismantler. In simple terms, end-of-life product dismantling service 316 is configured to execute a systematic dismantling of the end-of-life product such as car 202 of FIG. 2A and / or one of more components of the end-of-life product, such as the components of car 202 as described in FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C. The end-of-life product dismantling service 316 is configured to streamline the dismantling process, ensuring that components of the end-of-life of product are recovered, reused, recycled, or disposed.

[0165] A dismantler refers to an entity or individual responsible for disassembling or breaking down complex structures, systems, or components into their individual parts, in volving inter alia but not limited to, careful removal, sorting, and categorization of one or more component(s) for purposes such as recycling, reuse or recover. For instance, the dismantler may be a car dismantler, performing dismantling processes associated240935

[0166] 30

[0167] with the automotive lifecycle. The dismantler may systematically take apart the car into its one or more component(s) such as engine, transmission, body, panels, electrical systems, and interior fittings, wherein the one or more components) may be removed for recycling, reuse and / or recover. The dismantler can be a participant in a decentral network such a decentral network 134.

[0168] The end-of-life product is subjected to intake and assessment. Data associated to product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product are provided by one or more computing node(s) associated with the end-of-life dismantler, for generating an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product. The provided component dataset may also include one or more decentral identifier(s) associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. Afterwards, a digital representation of the end-of-life product and / or one or more components of the end of like product is generated and allocated in DT Registry 310, which may include private end-of-life digital asset 312 and / or public end-of-life digital asset. In one embodiment, a digital asset of one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product may be generated. The digital asset may include the digital representation of the one or more components of the end-of-life product. The digital asset may include data associated to the one or more components of the end-of-life product such as, but not limited to, supply chain product and / or component type, manufacturer, model, condition, chemical composition, standards, certification, and further relevant documentation, such as proof of ownership. The end-of-life product dismantling service 316 may then performed an initial assessment to determine parameters and / or properties associated to the one or more component(s) and / or associated to reuse, recover or recycle purposes. In a further embodiment, the end-of-life product dismantling service 316 may also be configured to perform an automated diagnostics and / or inspections of the one or more component(s).

[0169] The computing node 126 may create the digital twin(s) for the end-of-life (EOL) product(s) and / or the one or more component(s) of the EOL product(s). The computing node 126 may also manage access to the created digital twin(s). The digital twin(s) may also be provided as a digital representation. The digital twin and / or the digital representation may be provided as a digital asset. The digital asset may be an end-of-life digital asset. The computing node 126 may generate the digital asset(s). The digital asset may be associated to one or more component(s) of the EOL product(s). The digital asset may be provided for accessing at least art of provided supply chain product data of the one or more components of the supply chain product(s). Moreover, one or more EOL decentral identifier(s) may be provided. Additionally or alternatively, the generated EOL digital asset and the provided EOL decentral identifier(s) many be linked to the component asset. The linked data may be accessed by a data consuming node 128, upon request and authorization, as EOL digital asset(s). The EOL digital asset may be stored in the DT registry 310.

[0170] An EOL product processing services 326 of, for example, recyclers 114 may request end-of-life digital asset through a computing node 128 to, for instance, a computing node 126 of an EOL product collector 112. The EOL product processing service 326 may, inter alia, comprises processing services such as recycling service 328, reusing services 330 and / or recovering service 332. These services may be associated to one or more240935

[0171] 31

[0172] recyclers 114, i.e., an EOL product processing service 326 of a recycler 114 may include one or more of the recycling service(s) 328, reusing service 330 and / or the recovering service 332, and that one or more recyclers 114 may be associated to a single EOL product processing service 326 such as recycling service 328 or reusing service 330 or recovering service 332. In such a case, a pre-defined EOL product processing service 326 for a pre-defined EOL digital asset recipient, which may also be referred to as private end-of-life digital asset recipient, private EOL digital asset recipient, pre-defined (PD) private recipient or simply as private recipient. Thus, the decentral EOL recipient 308 recipient 308 provides through the DT Registry 310 a private end-of-life digital asset 312. A private end-of-life digital asset is an end-of-life digital asset direct to a private recipient. A dataset recipient refers to an individual, organization or system that receives, accesses, or utilizes a dataset for a plurality of purposes. The dataset recipient may be a participant of a decentral network such as decentral network 134. A private recipient is a dataset recipient associated to a contractual agreement between two or more entities. The private recipient receives access to the private end-of-life digital asset governed by a formal contract. The dataset owner holds the rights to the data, while the private recipient is granted specific permissions to access, use, or process the data under the terms of the contract. Access to the private end-of-life digital asset is regulated by policies that are explicitly outlined within the contract, including provisions related to data privacy, security, usage limitations, and compliance with relevant regulations. These policies serve as a framework to ensure that the private recipient accesses the private end-of-life digital asset in accordance with the dataset owner's requirements and legal obligations. The private recipient receives access to the dataset for specific purposes outlined in the contract, which may include analysis, research, or operational functions. The private end-of-life digital asset recipient may be a confidential digital asset recipient. The private end-of-life digital asset recipient may be a restricted digital asset recipient. The private end-of-life digital asset recipient may be a non-public digital asset recipient. The private end-of-life digital asset recipient may be a digital asset recipient with legitimate interest.

[0173] Additionally or alternatively, a non-predefined EOL digital asset recipient 318 may also request EOL digital asset. The non-predefined EOL digital asset recipient may also be referred to as a public dataset recipient 318 or simply as public recipient 318. The public recipient 318 may, for instance, be a recycler 114 which through a computing node 128 request end-of-life digital asset to a computing node 126 of an EOL product collector 112. In this case, a public end-of-life digital asset 314 is provided by the DT Registry 310. The public recipient 318 may then use the public end-of-life digital asset 314 as input for one or more public EOL product processing services 336. The public recipient is an individual, organization, or system that accesses public end-of-life digital asset the public datasets without any pre-existing formal contractual agreement in place. Unlike a private recipient, who operates under a pre-defined (or pre-existing) contractual agreement with the end-of-life digital asset owner, a public recipient may need to submit a request or application to obtain access to the public end-of-life digital asset, and subsequently, a commercial agreement or contract may be established with the end-of-life digital asset owner.240935

[0174] 32

[0175] The EOL digital asset(s) may be generated based on the component dataset. Once the EOL digital asset(s) may be generated, the one or more component(s) of the component dataset allocated in the generated EOL digital asset(s) may no longer be available for generation of another EOL digital asset(s). For instance, when one or more component(s) of the component dataset is allocated into a private end-of-life digital asset, the one or more component(s) is no longer available for generation of other private end-of-life digital asset(s) nor public end-of-life digital asset(s). Similar, when one or more component(s) of the component dataset is allocated into a public end-of-life digital asset, the one or more component(s) is no longer available for generation of other public end-of-life digital asset(s) nor private end-of-life digital asset(s). Furthermore, a communication may be generated that the one or more component(s) already allocated to a digital asset is no longer available for generation of other digital asset(s). Moreover, the communication may be provided through the decentral network to one or more computing node of the decentral network.

[0176] The private end-of-life digital asset recipient may be associated to an entity such as a scrap yard, shredder, dismantler, collector, dealer. The public end-of-life digital asset recipient may be associated to an entity such as a scrap yard, shredder, dismantler, collector, dealer.

[0177] Both the public EOL product processing service 336 product processing service 336 and the EOL product processing service 326 lead to material outlet associated to one or more components of the end-of-life product flow.

[0178] The private recipient, the public recipient 318, the private end-of-life digital asset 312, and the public end-of-life digital asset 314 are detailed in FIG. 5A to FIG. 7B.

[0179] The end-of-life product dismantling services 316 may also provide a step-by-step guidance, detailing how to disassemble the supply chain product safely and effectively, providing, providing for instances visual data, diagrams, and / or dynamic data, which may allow the dismantler to systematically remove and / or extract one or more components of the end-of-life product, which may then digitally recorded in the end-of-life product dismantling service 316.

[0180] The component dataset may be provided per one or more component(s) based on the one or more decentral identifier(s) associated to the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. The component dataset may be per component based on one or more respective decentral identifier(s), particularly per component based on one or more respective and uniquely related decentral identifier(s), one or more component(s) based on one respective decentral identifier, particularly one or more component(s) based on one, uniquely related respective decentral identifier, per component based on respective decentral identifier, particularly per component based on respective decentral identifier uniquely associated with the component.240935

[0181] 33

[0182] The EOL digital asset may be provided per one or more component(s) based on the one or more decentral identifier(s) associated to the one or more component(s) of the EOL product. The EOL digital asset may be per component based on one or more respective decentral identifier(s), particularly per component based on one or more respective and uniquely related decentral identifier(s), one or more component(s) based on one respective decentral identifier, particularly one or more component(s) based on one, uniquely related respective decentral identifier, per component based on respective decentral identifier, particularly per component based on respective decentral identifier uniquely associated with the component.

[0183] Once dismantled, the one or more components are allocated for reuse, recycle and / or recovery via an asset generation system detailed in FIG. 5A to FIG. 7B.

[0184] FIG. 4 schematically depicts an asset generator service 406, a decentral network 134 and system boundary 422. The system boundary 422 may product an outbound product 418 using one or more input material(s) 414. The supply chain product may comprise or be any product produced by the supply chain production 416 and provided at any exit point of the supply chain production 416. The input material may include starting material used in a supply chain production process performed within production 416 to produce the supply chain product. An input material can be used in any process step of the supply chain production process. This means, the intermediate supply chain product of the one production plant of production 416 can correspond to the input material of a subsequent production plant of production 416. Input material may include recycled material. The input material may comprise or be any input material entering the supply chain production 416. The input material may comprise or be any input material provided at any entry point of the supply chain production 416.

[0185] The supply chain product may be produced via one or more process steps from the input material(s) 414 within production 416. The process steps may involve chemical reactions and / or physical processes and / or assembly processes involving the assembly of different discrete input material(s) and / or processes involving chemical input materials and discrete input materials, such as filling processes. The input material may be used in one or more of such production step(s). The input materials 414 may enter the system boundary 422 of the supply chain production 416 at the entry point, such as a supply chain production plant or a material storage associated with the supply chain production 416. The amount of input material entering the system boundary 422 of the supply chain production 416 may be measured, for example using sensor 420a. Sensors 420a include sensors configured to measure an amount of input material, such as a weight and / or a volume. Chemical and / or physical properties of the input material may be measured, for example using sensor 420b, upon passing system boundary 422 of the supply chain production 416. The measured data may be used to determine at least one chemical and / or physical property of the respective input material. Examples of chemical properties include heat of combustion, enthalpy of formation, toxicity, chemical stability in a given environment, flammability, oxidation state(s), ability to corrode, combustibility, acidity and basicity, chemical composition, recyclate content used for producing or manufacturing the input material, bio-based content240935

[0186] 34

[0187] used for producing or manufacturing the input material, renewable content used for producing or manufacturing the input material, biodegradability, and / or pH value. Examples of physical properties include absorption, brittleness, boiling point, capacitance, color, concentration, density, ductility, distribution, efficacy, elasticity, electric charge, electrical conductivity, electrical impedance, electric potential, flow rate, fluidity, hardness, heat capacity, inductance, intrinsic impedance, luminance, luminescence, luster, mass, melting point, opacity, permeability, permittivity, plasticity, pressure, radiance, resistivity, reflectivity, refractive index, solubility, specific heat, strength, stiffness, temperature, tension, thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, viscosity, volume and / or wave impedance.

[0188] An operating system 428 of the supply chain production 416 may monitor and / or control the supply chain production 416 based on operating parameters of the different processes. The operating system 428 may receive production demand data associated with the supply chain production planning for the supply chain production 416. The supply chain production demand data may be produced from target production capacities for one or more supply chain product(s) produced by the supply chain production 416. The supply chain production demand data may be produced from pre-defined production capacities or data-driven models that relate production capacities to market demand data or quantities consumed at the consumption location. The supply chain production demand data may include target capacities for supply chain products produced by the supply chain production 416. The operating system 428 may further receive a bill of materials associated with supply chain products to be produced. The bill of materials may include material data associated with the input materials used to produce the supply chain product, process data associated with the supply chain production chain for producing the supply chain product and / or supply chain product data associated with the supply chain product, such as a supply chain product specification data or data on the amount of supply chain product to be produced.

[0189] Based on the received production demand data and the bill of materials, material demand data may be determined. The material demand data may include data on the amount of input material required to produce the target capacities of supply chain product. The material demand data may include input material identifiers associated with input materials required to produce the supply chain product and data on amounts of input material for respective input materials. The material demand data may include one or more material specifier(s) per input material identifier signifying the material specification. The material demand data may include data on the material amount per input material identifier signifying the amount of material to be supplied. The material demand data may specify the supply chain production chain(s) of the supply chain production 416. The material demand data may include a bill of materials for one or more production chain(s) of the supply chain production 416. The material demand data may include one or more recipe(s) specifying one or more material(s) for production process(es) of the supply chain production 416. The determined material demand data may be provided for access by a supplier system associated with a supplier outside the physical system boundary of the supply chain production 416. Material supply may be triggered by the supplier system accessing the material demand data.35

[0190] The amount of supply chain product(s) resulting from processes performed within production 416 may be measured using a sensor, such as sensor 420b. The measured data may be stored in one or more databases associated with operating system 428. Moreover, processes performed within production 416 may be monitored using sensors, such as sensors 420b, and the generated monitoring data may be stored in one or more databases associated with operating system 428. The monitoring data may be interrelated with a digital supply chain product identifier associated with the respective supply chain product. Physical and / or chemical properties of produced supply chain products may be measured by sensors, such as sensors 420a. Physical and / or chemical properties may include the properties previously described. The measured and / or determined chemical and / or physical properties of the produced supply chain products may be stored in one or more databases associated with operating system 428. The measured and / or determined chemical and / or physical properties of the produced supply chain products may be interrelated with a digital supply chain product identifier associated with the respective supply chain product.

[0191] The produced supply chain products 418 may be provided at one or more exit points of the supply chain production 416. The supply chain product 416 may exit the system boundary 422 of the supply chain production 416.

[0192] The operating system 428 may include asset generation system 412. The operating system 428 may be associated with asset generation system 412 (not shown). Asset generation system 412 may be configured to generate supply chain data (e.g. asset(s)) associated with supply chain product(s) produced by production 412.

[0193] FIG. 4 is briefly explained referring to production of a supply chain product 418 by a system boundary 422. However, this is merely exemplary. Similarly, FIG. 4 may refer to end-of-life product, i.e., a supply chain product 418 and / or an end-product (not shown in FIG. 4) after it has reached the end of its usable lifecycle. In this case, the asset generation system 412 may include, in addition to an asset generation service 506, a data transfer service 532, an asset DB 512, at least one of: a Publishing service 514, and a DT Registry 310.

[0194] The asset generation system 412 may generate end-of-life digital asset(s) in response to receiving a trigger. The trigger may be associated with or may include trigger data. The trigger data may include data associated with product data produced by production 416. The trigger may be generated by trigger generator 424. Trigger generator 424 may be part of, for example, of EOL product collected by an EOL product collector 112 or may be present within a storage location storing the EOL product and / or one or more component(s) of the EOL product, such as a warehouse of the EOL product collector 112. Trigger generator 424 may include sensor(s) configured to detect EOL product(s) and / or one or more components of the EOL product(s). The sensor(s) may be configured to detect an identification element physically attached to the produced supply chain product or the packaged supply chain product. The sensor data may be used by trigger36

[0195] generator 424 to generate trigger data including data associated with the produced supply chain product. Data associated with the produced supply chain product may include a digital supply chain product identifier associated with the produced supply chain product. The trigger may be generated by a user, for example using a front-end application allowing to generate trigger data. The front-end application may display data associated with produced supply chain products, such as supply chain product name(s), supply chain product quantities, supply chain product identifiers, etc. The data associated with the supply chain product may be gathered from the one or more databases storing such data. The user may select supply chain product(s) displayed by the front-end application. In response to selecting supply chain product(s), a back-end application connected to the front-end application may generated the trigger data by collecting digital supply chain product identifier(s) associated with the selected supply chain product(s). The collected digital supply chain product identifier(s) be used to generate the trigger data.

[0196] The asset generator service 406 may then generate EOL product associated to one or more component(s) of the EOL product(s). The asset publisher service 530 may then provide digital representation (DR) asset data the DT Registry 310.

[0197] FIG. 5A illustrates a block diagram of a system 412 for generating end-of-life digital asset(s) associated with one or more components of end-of-life product(s) and providing generated end-of-life digital asset(s) for access by decentral data consuming nodes in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The end-of-life product may be a chemical product, an intermediate chemical product, a component or a component assembly. The end-of-life product may be for instance be car 202 and / or one or more component(s) of car 202 as described in FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C such as engine 204, battery 206, tires 208, body 210. Battery 206 may, for example, also include a battery cell, a battery module and / or a battery pack. The asset generation system 412 may be configured to perform the method illustrated in FIG. 10A-11.

[0198] The trigger or trigger data may be received by data gathering unit 508of asset generator service 406. Data gathering unit 508 may be connected to a data base (DB) 502. The DB 1 502 may include one or more databases (not shown). The databases may be distributed data sources. The distributed data source may be a data lake comprising product data from a plurality of distributed data sources. A distributed data source may be a collection of data stored at different sites of a computer network. Each site might expose a degree of autonomy, providing services for the execution of local applications, but also participating in the execution of a global application. For instance, a distributed data source may be a distributed database. A distributed database can be created by splitting and scattering the data of an existing database over different sites or by federating together multiple existing databases. Each data source may contain only a fragment of the data associated with the supply chain product. This leads to a fragmentation of said data. Two common types of data fragmentation are horizontal fragmentation, wherein (possibly overlapping) subsets of data tuples are stored at different sites; and vertical fragmentation, wherein (possibly overlapping) sub-tuples of data tuples are stored at different sites. More generally, the data associated with the supply chain product240935

[0199] 37

[0200] may be fragmented into a set of relations (tables of a relational database, distributed across multiple sites). The one or more distributed data sources may contain product data associated with produced products. The supply chain product data may include product identifier(s), property data associated with the supply chain product, the supply chain product name, the supply chain product producer, product declaration data, product safety data, emission data associated with the supply chain product, recyclate content data associated with the supply chain product, biobased content data associated with the supply chain product, production data associated with the supply chain product, certificate of analysis data associated with the supply chain product, certificates associated with the supply chain product, life cycle data associated with the supply chain product, storage instruction data associated with the supply chain product, assembly instructions associated with the supply chain product, operating conditions associated with the supply chain product or a combination thereof. At least one of the distributed data sources may contain data instances that relate to the supply chain product for which the system 428 is configured to generate the supply chain data. The DB 1 502 may be owned or controlled by the data owner of the data associated with product data. The DB 1 502 may be associated with the data owner of the supply chain product data. Data gathering unit 508 may be configured to gather product data based on received trigger data (e.g. data associated with produced products and / or EOL products) from the DB 1 502. The provided supply chain product data may include property data associated with the supply chain product, the supply chain product name, the supply chain product producer, product declaration data, product safety data, emission data associated with the supply chain product, recyclate content data associated with the supply chain product, biobased content data associated with the supply chain product, production data associated with the supply chain product, certificate of analysis data associated with the supply chain product, certificates associated with the supply chain product, lifecycle data associated with the supply chain product, storage instruction data associated with the supply chain product, assembly instructions associated with the supply chain product, operating conditions associated with the supply chain product or a combination thereof.

[0201] The supply chain product data gathered by data gathering unit 508 may be provided to data provider unit 510. Data provider unit 510 may be configured to provide the received supply chain data to a database for storage, such as asset DB 512. The asset(s) may include or be associated with the digital EOL product identifier associated with the EOL product. This may allow to retrieve the asset based on the digital EOL product identifier. Asset DB 512 may be configured to store EOL digital asset(s) generated by data provider unit 510. Asset DB 512 may be configured to provide supply chain data to data transfer service 402.

[0202] Data provider unit 510 may further be configured to provide data included in the generated EOL digital asset(s), such as the digital EOL product identifier, to asset publisher service 530.

[0203] Asset publisher service 530 may be configured to generate group access data associated with the respective EOL digital asset. The group access data may identify access control groups including decentral participant identifier(s) associated with decentral network participants permitted to access at the respective EOL digital asset. The group access data may include a group access data identifier. The group access data may further240935

[0204] 38

[0205] identify one or more authorization rule(s) defining access to and / or usage of the supply chain product data. Asset publisher service 530 may further be configured to generate a contract template including the digital EOL product identifier and the group access data identifier. The contract template may hence be associated with the EOL digital asset as well as respective group access data. The contract template may further include access data associated with asset DB 512. The access data may include a locator or pointer to the asset DB 512 storing the respective supply chain product data. This may allow to access the respective EOL digital asset based on data included in the contract template, e.g. the digital EOL product identifier and the access data. The group access data and contract template may be generated by asset publisher service 530 per data included in the supply chain product data, for example per digital supply chain product identifier. The generated group access data and contract template may be provided to decentral data providing node 126 connected to asset generation system 412.

[0206] Decentral data providing node 126 may be part of a decentral network, such as decentral network 134 described in the context of FIG. 1. Decentral data providing node 126 may be configured to provide EOL digital asset(s) in response to a request received from decentral data consuming node(s). Decentral data providing node 118 may be configured to control access to EOL digital asset(s) based on associated group access data and contract template generated by asset publisher service 530. Decentral data providing node 126 may be associated with a participant of the supply chain product ecosystem, such as a producer of product(s) and / or EOL product collector(s).

[0207] Data transfer service 532 may be configured to gather EOL digital asset(s) from asset DB 512 in response to a request from decentral data providing node 126. Data transfer service 532 may be configured to fetch asset metadata from asset DB 512 based on data received from decentral data providing node 126. Data transfer service 532 DB 1 502may be configured to parse the fetched metadata to determine group access data associated with the respective EOL digital asset and / or the storage location of the respective EOL digital asset. Data transfer service 532 may be configured to gather respective EOL digital asset(s) from asset DB 512 based on the fetched metadata. Data transfer service 532 may be configured to provide the gathered EOL digital asset(s) to decentral data providing node 126.

[0208] The system may not comprise a decentral registry storing access elements allowing access to the EOL digital asset(s) stored in asset DB 512. Hence, EOL digital asset(s) may not be located by querying the decentral network using the digital EOL product identifier but may only be accessed directly from decentral data providing node 126 using the digital EOL product identifier. Hence, location data pointing to the dedicated storage storing the EOL digital asset as well as the EOL product identifier may be required to access the respective EOL digital asset. The location data in combination with the digital EOL product identifier of the EOL digital asset may result in a unique identifier allowing to uniquely identify a given EOL digital asset within the decentral network.240935

[0209] 39

[0210] Data transfer service 532 receives instructions from publishing services Publishing service 514. Particularly, publishing decision service 516 is configured to determine whether one or more pre-defined component(s) exist. If a pre-defined component 522 exists, publishing decision service 516 determines whether a predefined private recipient exists. When a PD private recipient 524 exists, asset public asset publisher service 530 generates private DR assets, which are transferred to a private dt registry 534. Then, as described above, the data consuming node triggering the request may access to it through data providing node 126. Publishing service 514 is also associated to a publishing Ul 518.

[0211] FIG. 5B illustrates a block diagram of a system 412 for generating end-of-life digital asset(s) associated with one or more components of end-of-life product(s) and providing generated end-of-life digital asset(s) for access by decentral data consuming nodes in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure as described in FIG. 5A. FIG. 5B further depicts when the data consuming node triggering the request is not a pre-defined private recipient, i.e., the data consuming node triggering the request is a public recipient 318, and there is a PD component, i.e., end-of-life digital assets for the component exits. Here, publishing decision service 516 of Publishing service 514 prompts asset publisher service 530 to generate public DR assets which are transfer to public DT registry 536, which can then be accessed through the data provider computing node 126.

[0212] FIG. 6 schematically depicts an asset generator service 406, a decentral network 134 and system boundary 422. The system boundary 422 may produce a supply chain product 418 using one or more input material(s) 414. Further details regarding system boundary 422 are described in FIG. 4.

[0213] Moreover, FIG. 6 depicts an operating system 428 in addition including an asset generator service 406 receiving one or more rules from a rule DB 716. The rule DB 716 is associated with a rule-based engine (not shown in FIG. 6 but detailed in FIG. 7C). The rule DB 716 may include one or more retrievable rule(s). The one or more rule(s) may be present within a rule template. The one or more(s) may may be stored in one or more data storage(s) such as rule DB 716. The one or more rule(s) template(s) may be provided to rule DB 716 by one or more user(s). The one or more rule(s) may correspond to unstructured data associated with instructions related to transformation operation(s). The rule template(s) may correspond to unstructured data associated with instructions related to transformation operation(s). The one or more rule(s) or the rule template may be included in a file provided by the one or more user(s). The one or more rule(s) or the rule template(s) may be associated with product type identifier(s) and / or product data identifier(s), such as end-of-life product type identifier(s) and / or an end-of-life product data identifier(s). The rule DB 716 is further detailed in FIG. 7A.

[0214] FIG. 6 may also refer to end-of-life product, i.e., a supply chain product, such as a supply chain product and / or an end-product, after the supply chain product has reached the end of its usable lifecycle. In this case, the asset generation system 412 may include, in addition to an asset generation service 506, a data40

[0215] transfer service 532, an asset DB 512 including at least one of: a Publishing service 514, and a DT Registry 310.

[0216] The asset generation system 412 may generate end-of-life digital asset(s) in response to receiving a trigger. The trigger may be associated with or may include trigger data. In FIG. 6, trigger data that may include data associated with supply chain product data produced by production 416 is depicted. However, the trigger may be associated, for instance, with computing node 128, and thus, trigger data may include data associated with end-product data and / or EOL product data. The trigger may be generated by trigger generator 424. Trigger generator 424 may be part of, for example, EOL product collected by an EOL product collector 112 or may be present within a storage location storing the EOL product and / or one or more component(s) of the EOL product, such as a warehouse of the EOL product collector 112. Trigger generator 424 may include sensor(s) configured to detect products such as EOL product(s) and / or one or more components of the EOL product(s). The sensor(s) may be configured to detect an identification element physically attached to the supply chain product or attached to one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. The sensor data may be used by trigger generator 424 to generate trigger data including data associated with the supply chain product. Data associated with the supply chain product may include a digital product identifier associated with the supply chain product. The trigger may be generated by a user, for example using a frontend application allowing to generate trigger data. The front-end application may display data associated with products, such as product name(s), product quantities, product identifiers, etc. The data associated with the supply chain product may be gathered from the one or more databases storing such data. The user may select product(s) displayed by the front-end application. In response to selecting product(s), a back-end application connected to the front-end application may generated the trigger data by collecting digital product identifier(s) associated with the selected product(s). The collected digital product identifier(s) may be used to generate the trigger data.

[0217] The asset generator service 406 may then generate EOL product associated to one or more component(s) of the EOL product(s). The asset publisher service 530 may then provide digital representation (DR) asset data the DT Registry 310.

[0218] FIG. 7A illustrates a block diagram of a system 412 for generating end-of-life digital asset(s) associated with one or more components of end-of-life product(s) and providing generated end-of-life digital asset(s) for access by decentral data consuming nodes in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The end-of-life product may be a chemical product, an intermediate chemical product, a component or a component assembly. The end-of-life product may, for instance, be car 202 and / or one or more component(s) of car 202 as described in FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C such as engine 204, battery 206, tires 208, body 210. Battery 206 may, for example, also include a battery cell, a battery module and / or a battery pack. The asset generation system 412 may be configured to perform the method illustrated in FIG. 10A-10B.41

[0219] The asset generation system 412 may generate component dataset(s) in response to receiving a trigger. The trigger may be associated with or may include trigger data. The trigger data may include data associated with the supply chain product produced by production 416. The supply chain product may be a supply chain product that has reached the end of its usable lifecycle and is no longer functional, viable, or feasible to repair or use for its intended purpose. The trigger may be generated by trigger generator 424. Trigger generator 424 may be part of, for instance, an end-of-life dismantling line or may be present within a storage location, such as a warehouse of the EOL product collector 112. Trigger generator 424 may include sensor(s) configured to detect product(s) and / or one or more component(s) of product(s). The sensor(s) may be configured to detect an identification element physically attached to the supply chain product or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. The sensor data may be used by trigger generator 424 to generate trigger data including data associated with the supply chain product and / or EOL of life product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the EOL product. Data associated with the supply chain product may include a digital product identifier associated with the supply chain product. The trigger may be generated by a user, for example using a front-end application allowing to generate trigger data. The front-end application may display data associated with products, such as product name(s), product quantities, product identifiers, etc. The data associated with the supply chain product may be gathered from the one or more databases storing such data. The user may select product(s) and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product displayed by the front-end application. In response to selecting product(s) and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, a back-end application connected to the front-end application may generated the trigger data by collecting digital product identifier(s) associated with the selected product(s) and / or one more component of the supply chain product(s). The collected digital product identifier(s) be used to generate the trigger data.

[0220] The trigger or trigger data may be received by data gathering unit 508 of asset generator service 406. Data gathering unit 508 may be connected to a data source layer 708. The data source layer 708 may include one or more databases, such as DB 1 502, DB 2 712 and DB 3 714. The databases may be distributed data sources. The distributed data source may be a data lake comprising supply chain product data from a plurality of distributed data sources. A distributed data source may be a collection of data stored at different sites of a computer network. Each site might expose a degree of autonomy, providing services for the execution of local applications, but also participating in the execution of a global application. For instance, a distributed data source may be a distributed database. A distributed database can be created by splitting and scattering the data of an existing database over different sites or by federating together multiple existing databases. Each data source may contain only a fragment of the data associated with the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. This leads to a fragmentation of said data. Two common types of data fragmentation are horizontal fragmentation, wherein (possibly overlapping) subsets of data tuples are stored at different sites; and vertical fragmentation, wherein (possibly overlapping) subtuples of data tuples are stored at different sites. More generally, the data associated with the supply chain product may be fragmented into a set of relations (tables of a relational database, distributed across multiple240935

[0221] 42

[0222] sites). The one or more distributed data sources may contain product data associated with products. The supply chain product data may include product identifier(s), property data associated with the supply chain product, the supply chain product name, the supply chain product producer, product declaration data, product safety data, emission data associated with the supply chain product, recyclate content data associated with the supply chain product, biobased content data associated with the supply chain product, production data associated with the supply chain product, certificate of analysis data associated with the supply chain product, certificates associated with the supply chain product, life cycle data associated with the supply chain product, storage instruction data associated with the supply chain product, assembly instructions associated with the supply chain product, operating conditions associated with the supply chain product or a combination thereof. The mentioned examples data may also be provided in relation to one or more components(s) of the supply chain product(s). At least one of the distributed data sources may contain data instances that relate to the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product for which the system 422 is configured to generate the component dataset(s). The data source layer 708 may be owned or controlled by the data owner of the data associated with product data. The data source layer 708 may be associated with the data owner of the supply chain product data. Data gathering unit 508 may be configured to gather product data based on received trigger data (e.g. data associated with recycler 114) from the data source layer 708. The provided supply chain product data may include property data associated with the supply chain product, the supply chain product name, the supply chain product producer, product declaration data, product safety data, emission data associated with the supply chain product, recyclate content data associated with the supply chain product, biobased content data associated with the supply chain product, production data associated with the supply chain product, certificate of analysis data associated with the supply chain product, certificates associated with the supply chain product, life cycle data associated with the supply chain product, storage instruction data associated with the supply chain product, assembly instructions associated with the supply chain product, operating conditions associated with the supply chain product or a combination thereof.

[0223] The supply chain product data gathered by data gathering unit 508 may be provided to data transforming data transforming unit 710. Data transforming unit 710 may be configured to generate component dataset(s) by transforming product data gathered by data gathering unit 508 based on one or more rule(s) retrieved from rule DB 716. The transforming step may be performed in relation to the supply chain product data of the supply chain product and / or one or more components of the supply chain product. Transforming may include filtering the provided supply chain product data, aggregating product data gathered from multiple data sources into a given format, attribute construction to create or add new attributes to the supply chain product data based on existing attributes, discretization to convert continuous product data values into sets of data intervals with specific values, generalization of provided supply chain product data to convert low-level data attributes into high-level data attributes, manipulation to change or alter provided supply chain product data and / or normalization to converts product data into another format to limit the occurrence of duplicated data. The rule(s) may define key-value pair(s) to be included in the generate product data. The240935

[0224] 43

[0225] rule (s) may define value(s) to be included in the generated product data. The rule(s) may define unit(s) for data point(s) and / or one or more conversion(s) to convert a unit associated with a data point into another unit. The rule(s) may define key-value pair(s) for property data, product identifier data, product name data, supply chain product producer data, product declaration data, product safety data, emission data, recyclate content data, biobased content data, biodegradability data, production data, certificate of analysis data, certificate data, life cycle data, storage instruction data, assembly instruction data and / or operating condition data. A rule may define key-value pairs for per data category. A rule may define key-value pairs for at least two different data categories. A data category may signify property data, declaration data, safety data, emission data, recyclate content data, biobased content data, biodegradability data, production data, certificate of analysis data, certificate data, storage instruction data, assembly instruction data or operating condition data. Gathered data may be aggregated and filtered to extract the value(s) matching the key(s) defined in the rule(s) from the aggregated data. The generated supply chain product data may include one or more data points. The supply chain product data may include one or more key-value pairs. The generated component datasets may include at least a part of the provided supply chain product data and / or data of one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. The generated component dataset(s) may include product property data point(s), product identifier data point(s), product name data point(s), product producer data point(s), product declaration data point(s), product safety data point(s), product emission data point(s), product recyclate content data point(s), product biobased content data point(s), product biodegradability data point(s), product production data point(s), product certificate of analysis data point(s), product certificate data point(s), product life cycle data point(s), product storage instruction data point(s), product assembly instruction data point(s) and / or product operating condition data point(s). The component dataset(s) may include at least a part of the provided supply chain product data in tabular form. Use of rule(s) associated with a supply chain product such as end-product and / or one or more component(s) of the end-product and / or product allows to ensure that product data point(s) required according to a semantic model, such as an aspect model, associated with the supply chain product are contained in the component dataset, hence avoiding missing data point(s) during generation of a supply chain product passport associated with the supply chain product using said semantic model. The transformation allows to aggregate the gathered supply chain product into a given data format, such as a tabular format, without the use of complex semantic models, hence facilitating generation and sharing of component dataset(s) within the supply chain product ecosystem. Such sharing may enable more efficient production and / or recycling processes based on the shared product data, for instance, product composition data. The tabular format can be readily consumed via a decentral network by a consumer backend configured to verify the consumed data and to persist verified consumed data to data storages for generation of product passports. Verification by the consumer side ensures that the supply chain product passport contains all data required by a semantic model used to generate such passport, hence allowing to reduce the complexity associated with the dataset generation at the provider side by avoiding the use of complex semantic models during generation of the component dataset(s). This may enable reliable sharing of product data of supply chain product(s) irrespective of the existence of semantic models for such products since the rule(s) required to transform the provided supply240935

[0226] 44

[0227] chain product data may be readily derived from existing semantic model associated with the supply chain product.

[0228] Data transforming unit 710 may further be configured to provide the generated supply chain data (hereinafter also referred to as asset(s)) to data provider unit 510. Data provider unit 510 may be configured to provide the received component dataset(s) to a database for storage, such as asset DB 512. The asset(s) may include or be associated with the digital product identifier associated with the supply chain product. This may allow to retrieve the asset based on the digital product identifier. The asset(s) may be persisted by data transforming unit 710 in asset DB 512. Asset DB 512 may be configured to store component dataset(s) generated by data transforming unit 710. Asset DB 512 may be configured to provide supply chain data to data transfer service 532.

[0229] Data provider unit 510 may further be configured to provide data included in the generated component dataset(s), such as the digital product identifier, to asset publisher service 530.

[0230] Asset publisher service 530 may be configured to generate group access data associated with the respective component dataset. The group access data may identify access control groups including decentral participant identifier(s) associated with decentral network participants permitted to access at the respective supply chain product data. The group access data may include a group access data identifier. The group access data may further identify one or more authorization rule(s) defining access to and / or usage of the component dataset. Asset publisher service 530 may further be configured to generate a contract template including the digital product identifier and the group access data identifier. The contract template may hence be associated with the component dataset as well as respective group access data. The contract template may further include access data associated with asset DB 512. The access data may include a locator or pointer to the asset DB 512 storing the respective component dataset. This may allow to access the respective component dataset based on data included in the contract template, e.g. the digital product identifier and the access data. The group access data and contract template may be generated by asset publisher service 530 per data included in the component dataset, for example per digital product identifier. The generated group access data and contract template may be provided to decentral data providing node 126 connected to asset generation system 412.

[0231] Decentral data providing node 126 may be part of a decentral network, such as decentral network 134 described in the context of FIG. 1. Decentral data providing node 126 may be configured to provide component dataset(s) in response to a request received from decentral data consuming node(s). Decentral data providing node 126 may be configured to control access to component dataset(s) based on associated group access data and contract template generated by asset publisher service 530. Decentral data providing node 126 may be associated with a participant of the supply chain product ecosystem, such as an EOL product collector 112.240935

[0232] 45

[0233] Data transfer service 532 may be configured to gather supply chain data from asset DB 512 in response to a request from decentral data providing node 126. Data transfer service 532 may be configured to fetch asset metadata from asset DB 512 based on data received from decentral data providing node 126. Data transfer service 532 may be configured to parse the fetched metadata to determine group access data associated with the respective component dataset and / or the storage location of the respective component dataset. Data transfer service 532 may be configured to gather respective component dataset(s) from asset DB 512 based on the fetched metadata. Data transfer service 532 may be configured to provide the provided component dataset(s) to decentral data providing node 126.

[0234] The system may not comprise a decentral registry storing access elements allowing access to the component dataset(s) stored in asset DB 512. Hence, component dataset(s) may not be located by querying the decentral network using the digital product identifier but may only be accessed directly from decentral data providing node 126 using the digital product identifier. Hence, location data pointing to the dedicated storage storing the component dataset as well as the supply chain product identifier may be required to access the respective component dataset. The location data in combination with the digital product identifier of the component dataset may result in a unique identifier allowing to uniquely identify a given component dataset within the decentral network.

[0235] FIG. 7B illustrates a block diagram of a system 412 for generating end-of-life digital asset(s) associated with one or more components of end-of-life product(s) and providing generated end-of-life digital asset(s) for access by decentral data consuming nodes in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure as described in FIG. 7A. FIG. 7B further depicts when the data consuming node triggering the request is not a pre-defined private recipient, i.e., the data consuming node triggering the request is a public recipient 318, and there is no PD component, i.e., end-of-life digital assets for the component does not exist. Here, the asset generator service a described in FIG. 7A generate the component dataset associated to the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. Subsequently, the publishing decision service 516 of Publishing service 514 prompts asset publisher service 530 to generate public DR assets which are transfer to public DT registry 536, which can then be accessed through the data provider computing node 126.

[0236] FIG. 7C illustrates a diagram showing an example of gathering product data and transforming at least part of the provided supply chain product data using a rule-based engine in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Transforming at least a part of the gathered supply chain product data may result in generation of supply chain data as described in the context of FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B.

[0237] Data transforming unit 710 may include rule-based engine 766. The rule-based engine 766 may operate on individual data point(s), multiple data point(s) and / or the provided supply chain product data. The rule-based engine 766 may operate on data gathered per digital product identifier individually. This allows to transform240935

[0238] 46

[0239] provided supply chain product data per product, hence allowing a more granular transformation of the supply chain product data. Rule based engine 766 may receive a request to transform provided supply chain product data. The request may contain at least a part of the provided supply chain product data. Product data may be gathered by data gathering data provider unit 510 from a data source layer 708. Rule based engine 766 may be configured to determine product identifier(s) associated with the supply chain product data and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. For instance, rule-based engine 766 may parse the received product data to determine the respective product identifier(s). The rule-based engine 766 may have access to one or more rule(s). The rule-based engine 766 may include one or more rule(s). The one or more rule(s) may be present within a rule template. The one or more rule(s) may be stored in a data storage, such as rule DB 716. The one or more rule(s) or rule template(s) may be provided to rule DB 716 by a user. The one or more rule(s) may correspond to unstructured data associated with instructions related to transformation operation(s). The rule template(s) may correspond to unstructured data associated with instructions related to transformation operation(s). The one or more rule(s) or the rule template may be included in a file provided by the user. The one or more rule(s) or the rule template(s) may be associated with product type identifier(s) and / or product data identifier(s). Rule based engine 766 may generate a request to obtain one or more rule(s) from rule DB 716. The request may contain the respective product identifier(s).

[0240] One or more rule(s) associated with the supply chain product data to be transformed (e.g. one or more applicable rule(s)) may be provided to rule-based engine 766 in response to the request. The one or more rule(s) may be associated respectively with EOL product(s) and / or one or more EOL component(s) of the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product associated with the supply chain product data to be transformed, e.g. the supply chain product associated with the supply chain product data to be transformed may be include a supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product rendered as EOL product and / or one or more EOL component of the supply chain product, respectively. The supply chain product may be including one or more component(s). The supply chain product may be an assembly of one or more component(s). The supply chain product may be an endproduct. The supply chain product may be a chemical product. The supply chain product may be a supply chain product. The one or more rule(s) may be associated with or derived from a semantic model of the supply chain product. Hence, the one or more rule(s) may ensure that data point(s) for such products required according to the semantic model may be included in the generated component dataset. The one or more rule(s) may be defined by the mandatory product data points present within the semantic model. The one or more rule(s) may be generated based on the mandatory product data points present within the semantic model. This may ensure that product data required by the semantic model is included in the generated component dataset. The one or more rule(s) may be associated with product identifier(s) and / or product type identifier(s). A mapping table may be used to map product identifier(s) to corresponding product type identifier(s). The supply chain product type identifier(s) may be associated with product type(s). The mapping table may be stored in a separate database (not shown). Rule based engine 766 may be configured to gather240935

[0241] 47

[0242] product type identifier(s) based on determined product identifier((s) and to request rule(s) based on the gathered product type identifier(s). This may allow to gather rule(s) associated with product type identifier(s) based on product identifier(s), hence avoiding generation of rule(s) per product identifier and reducing the number of rule(s) that need to be generated, stored and maintained in rule DB 716.

[0243] The one or more rule(s) may define aggregation rule(s) for aggregating product data gathered from multiple data sources into a given format. The given format may be a tabular representation. Aggregation may hence result in filling provided supply chain product data into a tabular format. The one or more rule(s) may define filters to filter provided supply chain product data. The filters may be associated with or relate to the semantic model of the supply chain product. The filters may define data point(s) to be included in the generated component dataset. For instance, a filter may define one for more product property data point(s), product identifier data point(s), product name data point(s), product producer data point(s), product declaration data point(s), product safety data point(s), product emission data point(s), product recyclate content data point(s), product biobased content data point(s), product biodegradability data point(s), product production data point(s), product certificate of analysis data point(s), product certificate data point(s), product life cycle data point(s), product storage instruction data point(s), product assembly instruction data point(s) and / or product operating condition data point(s). A filter may define data point(s) per data category. A filter may define data point(s) for at least two different data categories. A data category may signify property data, declaration data, safety data, emission data, recyclate content data, biobased content data, biodegradability data, production data, certificate of analysis data, certificate data, storage instruction data, assembly instruction data or operating condition data. This may ensure that product data required by the semantic model is included in the generated component dataset. The one or more rule(s) may define attribute construction(s) to create or add new attributes to the provided supply chain product data. The one or more rule(s) may define manipulation(s) to convert product data point(s). For instance, data point(s) present within the provided supply chain product data may be converted from one unit into another unit. This may ensure that the generated component dataset includes data points associated with a unit required by the semantic model of the supply chain product. The one or more rule(s) may include a trigger condition and a corresponding group of one more action(s). The trigger conditions may involve a set of variables, sometimes called "working memory”, which may contain data (sometimes called "facts” or "data tuples”) representing the states of pertinent real-world items. The one or more action(s) may include attribute construction, filters and / or manipulations. A given product identifier and / or product type identifier may be associated with rule(s) defining aggregation, rule(s) defining filters, rule(s) defining attribute construction, rule(s) defining manipulations and / or rule(s) including a trigger condition and action(s). The rule(s) may be associated with a given order.

[0244] Rule based engine 766 may be configured to initialize the rule engine (see operation 770). Initialization of the rule engine may include generating rule data executable by a processor included in rule-based engine 766. The rule data may include or correspond to executable logic. This may allow to transform rule(s) or rule template(s) present in unstructured data form into code that can be executed by the processor. Execution of240935

[0245] 48

[0246] the code may result in applying the executable rule data to the provided supply chain product data (see operation 772) to transform the supply chain product data according to the obtained rule(s). Execution of the logic may result in matching provided supply chain product data to condition(s) included in the executable logic, evaluating the condition(s) with matched product data and triggering execution of rule actions based on condition evaluation results. Transforming the supply chain product data may include filtering provided supply chain product data. Filtering the provided supply chain product data may include comparing individual data points present within the provided supply chain product data to data points defined by the filter(s) to determine product data points to be included in the component dataset. Transforming the supply chain product data may include comparing attributes of the gathered or filtered product data to attributes defined in rule(s) to determine whether new attributes must be created or added to the gathered or filtered product data. Additionally or alternatively, transforming may include comparing attribute(s) included in the gathered or filtered product data or product data including added or created attribute(s) to attribute(s) included in the modification rule(s). The modification rule(s) may include a trigger condition which may be associated with one or more action(s), for example unit conversion, if the trigger condition is satisfied and / or error handling if application of filters results in empty data points due to lack of data points in the provided supply chain product data. The trigger condition may be satisfied if the attribute(s) included in the gathered or filtered product data or product data including added or created attribute(s) are not matching attribute(s) defined in the modification rule(s). Operations performed by rule-based engine 766 may be determined by rule(s) gathered from rule DB 716. For instance, rule(s) gathered from rule DB 716 may determine whether rulebased engine 766 operates on individual data point(s) and / or multiple data point(s) and / or the whole provided supply chain product data.

[0247] Rule based engine 766 may be configured to determine whether the provided supply chain product data can be transformed by one or more applied rule(s) (see operation 704), e.g., in the case that no end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) exist, as explained in FIG. 7A-7B. Provided supply chain product data may not be transformed or only partially transformed (e.g. transformation may result in at least one error associated with applying one or more obtained rule(s) to the provided supply chain product data) if the provided supply chain product data does not include data point(s) required according to one or more obtained rule(s). Rule based engine 766 may provide the generated component dataset to asset DB 512 responsive to the provided supply chain product data being successfully transformed (e.g. responsive to generation of a component dataset by applying one or more obtained rule(s) without resulting in an error. The component dataset may refer to a structured repository of information that details the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product(s). The component dataset may include attributes such as specifications, material composition, dimensions, mass, cost, supplier identification, and performance metrics for each component. The component dataset may serve to monitor availability of component(s) and inventory levels. The component dataset may allow ensuring transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain. Accurate records of each component's source and lifecycle, organizations can effectively manage supplier relationships, anticipate supply chain disruptions, and implement sustainable practices240935

[0248] 49

[0249] such as material recovery and reuse. As supply chains grow increasingly complex, the integration of component datasets into supply chain management systems enhances decision-making processes, improves operational efficiencies, and contributes to the overall effectiveness and sustainability of supply chain operations.

[0250] If at least a part of the provided supply chain product data could not be transformed, rule-based engine 766 may proceed to operation 774. In operation 774, rule-based engine 766 may generate message data indicating that at least part of the provided supply chain product data could not be transformed. The message data may include an indication which data point(s) of the provided supply chain product data could not be transformed. The message data may be provided to a display device configured to display data received from rule-based engine 766. The display device may comprise a graphical user interface 776. The display device may display the message in response to receiving message data from rule-based engine 766. This allows to trigger correction or updating of data point(s) identified as not matching one or more of the obtained rule(s). After correction or updating of respectively identified data point(s), gathering and transformation of updated or corrected product data may be initiated.

[0251] FIG. 8 illustrates a decentral system for accessing data associated with EOL products accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The EOL product may be car 202 and / or one or more component(s) of the car 202 such as engine 204, body 210, battery 206. Moreover, battery 206 may, for instance include a battery component such as a battery cell, a battery module or a battery pack. The EOL product may also be an end-product produced using a supply chain product such as a chemical product or an intermediate chemical product. The decentral system may be a decentral peer-to-peer decentral network 134 of FIG. 1.

[0252] The EOL product may be associated with EOL digital asset(s). The EOL digital asset(s) may be generated as the component dataset explained above. The EOL digital asset(s) may be stored in asset DB 512 associated with data transfer service 532. Asset DB 512 may be associated with a decentral provider node 126. The decentral provider node may be associated with a decentral network participant. The decentral network participant may be the EOL product collector 112. The decentral network participant may be the data owner of the EOL digital asset(s) stored in asset DB 512. The EOL digital asset(s) may represent at least a part of a digital twin of the physical entity of the EOL product and / or one or more component(s) of the EOL product. The EOL product and / or the one or more component(s) of the EOL product may correspond to a supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, respectively. The digital twin may be a digital representation of the physical entity. The digital twin may hence represent a digital version of said physical entity. Once created, the digital twin may be used to represent the physical entity of the EOL product in a digital representation of a real-world system. The digital entity of the EOL product and / or one or more component(s) of the EOL product may further include one or more EOL decentral identifier(s). The digital representation and / or the EOL decentral identifier may be linked to a EOL digital asset of one or more component(s) of the EOL product stored, for instance, in the asset DB 512.240935

[0253] 50

[0254] The decentral system may be used to gather product data associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. The supply chain product material data may correspond to component dataset(s) stored in asset DB 512 such as EOL digital asset(s).

[0255] The decentral system may include one or more decentral participants, such as a data consumer and a data provider. The data consumer and the data provider may be connected via a decentral network, such as a decentral peer-to-peer network (see for example FIG. 1). The data provider may provide data, such as product data, associated with a supply chain product to data consumer. The data consumer may request product data, such as the EOL product data, from the data provider. The data provider may correspond to an entity collecting and / or gathering EOL products, such as cars. The data consumer may correspond to an entity using the EOL product(s) such as recyclers 114. The data provider may be associated with a data provider environment 816. The data consumer may be associated with a data consumer environment 810. The environments may include one or more node(s). The node(s) may be connected via peer-to-peer communication channels to allow data transfer between the nodes, as described in the context of FIG. 1. The decentral system may include more environments or less than illustrated in FIG. 8. The data consumer environment 810 may include one or more storage(s) such as general storage 814 and / or storage application 818.

[0256] The participants of the decentral network may be associated with decentral participant identifiers. Each participant of the decentral network may be associated with one or more decentral participant identifier(s). The decentral participant identifier may comprise any identifier uniquely associated with a participant of the decentral network and / or with a supply chain production site of the participant of the decentral network. The decentral participant identifier may include letters and / or numbers. The decentral participant identifier may include one or more Universally Unique Identifier(s) (UUID(s)) and / or one or more Decentralized Identifier(s) (DID(s)). The decentral participant identifier may be associated with or may include a verifiable claim or credential. The verifiable claim may be issued by a central or decentral identity issuer making one or more claims about a subject, such as an entity being a trustworthy participant of the decentral network. For instance, the issuer may make a claim about a consumer (e.g. the entity operating data consuming network node(s)) or a provider (e.g. the entity operating data providing network node(s)) the decentral participant identifier is associated with. The verifiable claim may include those claim(s) as well as proof instructions to prove that claim(s) have not been tampered with and were indeed issued by the claim issuer. The verifiable claim may also include duration information metadata that defines a length of time (period) that the verifiable claim is valid for use or that defines a specific number of times that the verifiable claim is authorized for use. The verifiable claim may also include a DID of the claim issuer and / or the subject, such as an entity. The verifiable claim may be signed by the claim issuer. The claim issuer may provide the verifiable claim to a claim holder, such as the entity, for presentation to any relying party that relies upon the veracity of those claims, such as a decentral data provider. The signature of the verifiable claim may be validated with a public240935

[0257] 51

[0258] key associated with the claim issuer to determine that the respective entity is a trusted entity within the decentral network. The verifiable credential may be presented by a decentral data consuming network node and may be used by a decentral data providing network node to verify that the decentral participant associated with the decentral data consuming network node is a trusted entity within the decentral network prior to providing access to data, such as EOL product data, hence ensuring that the EOL product data can be exchanged in a secure and controlled manner within the decentral network.

[0259] Data consumer environment 810 may include a consumer node 128 (e.g. decentral data consuming network node 128) and a consumer backend 812. Consumer backend 812 may include or correspond to the system. Consumer node 128 may be configured to communicate with consumer backend 812. Consumer node 128 may be configured to receive data from the consumer backend 812. Consumer node 128 may be configured to receive data from provider node 126. Consumer node 128 may be configured to request data from provider node 126. Consumer node 128 may be configured to receive data from the consumer backend 812 and configured to receive and / or request data from provider node 126. Consumer node 128 may be configured to gather product data (also denoted as input material data hereinafter) stored in asset DB 512 associated with the provider node 126 of the data owner. Consumer backend 812 may be configured to send a request for data to consumer node 126. Consumer backend 812 may be configured to process product data received from consumer node 128.

[0260] Data consumer environment 810 may be associated with a participant of the supply chain product ecosystem, such as product ecosystem illustrated in FIG. 1. For instance, data consumer environment 810 may be associated with a supply chain product producer, such as a recycler 114, a chemical product producer 102 or chemical product consumer 106, receiving input material(s) and producing product(s) using the input material(s).

[0261] Data consumer environment 810 may be associated with an entity performing methods according to embodiments of the present invention. The entity performing such methods may be a participant of the supply chain product ecosystem. The entity performing such methods may not be a participant of the supply chain product ecosystem but may function as a service provider providing verified product data for generation of product passports. The service provider may gather product data from various provider environment(s) associated with product data of product associated to one or more component(s). The service provider may process the provided supply chain product data. The service provider may provide the processed product data for generation of product passports.

[0262] Data provider environment 816 may include provider node 126, data transfer service 532 and asset DB 512. Data provider environment 816 may include the asset generation system 412. Data provider environment 816 may be associated with a data owner, such as an EOL product collector 112 collecting the EOL product(s). Data provider environment 816 may include asset DB 512 storing EOL digital asset(s) of EOL product(s). Asset DB 512 may be a dedicated storage associated with the data owner. The data owner may240935

[0263] 52

[0264] own such dedicated storage. The data owner may have access to such dedicated storage. Provider node 126 may be configured to provide data, such as EOL digital asset(s) stored in asset DB 512. Provider node 126 may be configured to perform authentication and authorization step(s) prior to providing EOL product data. Provider node 126 may be coupled to data transfer services 532 configured to gather EOL digital asset(s) from asset DB 512 in response to a request received from consumer node 128 and to provide the gathered EOL digital asset(s) to provider node 128.

[0265] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a system architecture including an orchestration component, a plurality of data providing and / or consuming components acting as tenants of the orchestration component and decentral network components acting as decentral data providing and / or consuming nodes.

[0266] Orchestration component

[0267] The orchestration component may be communicatively connected to one or more tenants configured for data providing and / or consuming. The orchestration component may be communicatively connected to one or more orchestration databases storing orchestration data and / or configuration data bases storing configuration data. Orchestration data may relate to the orchestration of data pipelines configured by the one or more tenants configured for data providing and / or consuming. Configuration data may relate to the configuration of decentral network protocols and / or data models.

[0268] The orchestration component may be configured to orchestrate data pipelines configured by the one or more tenants. The data pipelines may be configured for generating end-of-life digital assets to be provided and / or consumed via one or more decentral network protocols. The data pipeline may relate to a local data source associated with the tenant.

[0269] The orchestration component may receive and / or send requests to the one or more tenants configured for generating data pipelines for generating end-of-life digital assets to be provided and / or consumed via one or more decentral network protocols. The requests may relate at least to the tenant identifiers, data pipeline identifiers and / or data pipeline specifications. The requests may not relate to the supply chain product data associated with the supply chain product and stored in the supply chain product data base associated with each tenant. Based on the tenant identifiers the orchestration component may identify the tenant the request was received by and / or is to be send to. Based on the pipeline identifiers and / or specifications the tenant receiving requests may identify the data pipeline the request was received for. The staged data transfer concept utilizing the orchestration component may be more apparent based on the following two scenarios as examples:

[0270] Consumer pipeline scenario

[0271] For example, a consumer may request a specific data transfer from a provider. The consumer may include a consumer tenant in a local compute environment of the consumer and a decentral network node connecting240935

[0272] 53

[0273] such environment to the decentral network. The consumer tenant may generate a data pipeline configured to provide product data by one or more provider tenant(s). The consumer tenant may generate a data pipeline including data pipeline identifier, data pipeline specification and decentral identifier(s) of data providing node(s) requested to provide product data via the decentral network protocol. The data pipeline specification may relate to the data pipeline identifier and may include a target data storage for storing the end-of-life digital asset to be provided, a data model for providing the supply chain product data by the data providing node(s) of the decentral network, a data model for mapping the supply chain product data provided through the end-of-life digital asset via the decentral network, one or more validation rules for validating the provided supply chain product data provided through the end-of-life digital asset via the decentral network and / or decentral identifiers of data providing node(s) to provide the end-of-life digital asset including product data. The data pipeline identifier and at least parts of the data pipeline specification including the data model for providing the supply chain product data and / or decentral identifiers of data providing node(s) may be provided to the orchestration component.

[0274] Based on the decentral identifiers the orchestration component may retrieve tenant identifiers related to the respective decentral identifier(s) from the orchestration data base storing pairs of decentral identifiers and respective tenant identifiers. Based on the retrieved tenant identifier(s) the orchestration component may send one or more request(s) for product data to the respective provider tenants. The request may include the decentral identifier of the consumer node of the decentral network associated with the consumer tenant and at least part of the provided data pipeline specification such as the data model for providing the supply chain product data. Based on such request(s) provider tenant(s) may accept the request for data by the consumer tenant. The provider tenant(s) may generate the end-of-life digital assets including the supply chain product data as specified by the received data model. The provider tenant(s) may provide the generated end-of-life digital asset for access by the consumer node associated with the consumer tenant through or via the decentral network.

[0275] Provider pipeline scenario

[0276] Further for example, a provider may request or offer consumption of a specific data transfer from a consumer. The provider may include a provider tenant in a local compute environment of the provider and a decentral network node connecting such environment to the decentral network. The provider tenant may generate a data pipeline configured to provide product data to one or more consumer tenant(s). The provider tenant may generate a data pipeline including data pipeline identifier, data pipeline specification and decentral identifier(s) of data consuming node(s) requested to consume product data via the decentral network. The data pipeline specification may relate to the data pipeline identifier and may include a source data storage storing the supply chain product data, a data model for providing the supply chain product data by the data providing node(s) of the decentral network, and / or decentral identifiers of data consuming node(s) to consume the end-of-life digital asset including the supply chain product data. The provider tenant(s) may generate the end-of-life digital assets including the supply chain product data as specified by the received240935

[0277] 54

[0278] data model. The provider tenant(s) may provide the generated end-of-life digital asset for access by the consumer node associated with the consumer tenant through or via the decentral network.

[0279] The data pipeline identifier and at least parts of the data pipeline specification including the data model for providing the supply chain product data and / or decentral identifiers of data consuming node(s) may be provided to the orchestration component. Based on the decentral identifiers the orchestration component may retrieve tenant identifiers related to the respective decentral identifier(s) from the orchestration data base storing pairs of decentral identifiers and respective tenant identifiers. Based on the retrieved tenant identifier(s) the orchestration component may send one or more request(s) for consuming product data to the respective consuming tenants. The request may include the decentral identifier of the provider node of the decentral network associated with the provider tenant and at least part of the provided data pipeline specification such as the data model for providing the supply chain product data. Based on such request(s) consumer tenant(s) may accept the request for data by the provider tenant.

[0280] Depending on the envisaged product data transfer to be executed via the decentral network the orchestration component orchestrates the data pipeline setup in the local environments of the tenants associated with decentral network nodes. The communication of the actual product data is hence not executed via the orchestration component and the orchestration component does not have access to such product data. Hence the supply chain product data is transferred only in peer-to-peer communication between nodes of the decentral network. The orchestration component only ensures that the supply chain product data transferred via the decentral network adheres to the formats and content the provider and / or recipient of such data expect. This way the supply chain product data associated with the supply chain product is kept under full control of the data owner, such as the supply chain product producer.

[0281] The setup of the local computing environment and the decentral network environment illustrated in Fig. 9 are mere examples and shall not be considered limiting. Different numbers of tenants with or without associated decentral network node are feasible. Also, different functionalities including the generation of data pipelines configured for data providing or consuming may be executed by a single or multiple tenant(s).

[0282] The present disclosure has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments and examples as well. However, other variations can be understood and effected by those persons skilled in the art and practicing the claimed invention, from the studies of the drawings, this disclosure and the claims.

[0283] Any steps presented herein can be performed in any order. The methods disclosed herein are not limited to a specific order of these steps. It is also not required that the different steps are performed at a certain place or in a certain computing node of a distributed system, i.e. each of the steps may be performed at different computing nodes using different equipment / data processing.240935

[0284] 55

[0285] FIG. 10A illustrates a flow chart of an example method for generating end-of-life digital asset(s) associated with one or more component(s) of a supply chain product after its lifecycle in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method illustrated in FIG. 10B may be implemented by the system illustrated in FIG. 4 to FIG. 5B.

[0286] The method of FIG. 10A relates to the example where component dataset including product data and one or more decentral identifier(s) may be available, and thus, the method may include providing said component dataset. The component dataset may be provided per one or more component(s) based on the one or more decentral identifier(s) associated to the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. The component dataset may be per component based on one or more respective decentral identifier(s), particularly per component based on one or more respective and uniquely related decentral identifier(s), one or more component(s) based on one respective decentral identifier, particularly one or more component(s) based on one, uniquely related respective decentral identifier, per component based on respective decentral identifier, particularly per component based on respective decentral identifier uniquely associated with the component.

[0287] Moreover, the method of FIG. 10B may include generating an end-of-life digital asset of one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product by generating a digital representation for accessing at least part of the provided supply chain product data of the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product providing an end-of-life decentral identifier, the end-of-life digital asset including the end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product. The digital representation may be provided per one or more component(s) based on the one or more end-of-life decentral identifier(s) associated to the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. The digital representation may be provided per component based on one or more respective end-of-life decentral identifier(s), particularly per component based on one or more respective and uniquely related end-of-life decentral identifier(s), one or more component(s) based on one respective end-of-life decentral identifier, particularly one or more component(s) based on one, uniquely related respective end-of-life decentral identifier, per component based on respective end-of-life decentral identifier, particularly per component based on respective end-of-life decentral identifier uniquely associated with the component.

[0288] Furthermore, the method of FIG. 10A may include the generated digital representation and end-of-life decentral identifier to the end-of-life digital asset of one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product. Additionally or alternatively, the method may include providing the end-of-life digital asset of the one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product for access by a decentral data consuming node, such a consuming node of decentral network 134, under control of or controlled by a decentral data providing node associated with data owner of the digital representation linked to end-of-life digital asset of the one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product.240935

[0289] 56

[0290] FIG. 10B illustrates a flow chart of an example method for generating end-of-life digital asset(s) with one or more component(s) of a supply chain product after its lifecycle in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method illustrated in FIG. 10B may be implemented by the system illustrated in FIG.

[0291] 6 to FIG. 7B.

[0292] The method of FIG. 10B relates to the example where component dataset including product data and one or more decentral identifier(s) may not be available, and thus, such a data must be generated before providing said component dataset. Here, data associated with the supply chain product may be provided (see block 1012). The data may be provided by a computing system connected to the system performing the method of FIG. 10B, such as an asset generation system 646. The data may be provided by a user via a communication interface to the system performing the method of FIG. 10B, such as an asset generation system 406. The data may be provided to data gathering unit 508 of asset generation system 412. The provided data may be generated in response to receiving a trigger. Data associated with the supply chain product may include digital product identifier(s). The digital product identifier(s) may include product name, product number, LOT number, batch number or a combination thereof.

[0293] Product data may be gathered based on the provided data (see block 1014). The supply chain product data may be gathered from a data source layer, such as data source layer 708 described in the context of FIG.

[0294] 6A and FIG. 6B. The supply chain product data may be gathered from data source layer 708 based on digital product identifier(s) included in the data provided in block 1012. The supply chain product data may be gathered by data gathering unit 508. The supply chain product data may include product identifier data, property data associated with the supply chain product, product name data, product producer data, product declaration data, product safety data, emission data associated with the supply chain product, recyclate content data associated with the supply chain product, biobased content data associated with the supply chain product, biodegradability data associated with the supply chain product, production data associated with the supply chain product, certificate of analysis data associated with the supply chain product, certificate data associated with the supply chain product, life cycle data associated with the supply chain product, storage instruction data associated with the supply chain product, assembly instructions associated with the supply chain product and / or operating conditions associated with the supply chain product.

[0295] A component dataset may be generated by transforming the provided supply chain product data using a rulebased engine including one or more rule(s) associated with a supply chain product produced from the supply chain product (see block 1016). Transforming the provided supply chain product data by the rule-based engine may include identifying one or more rule(s) applicable to the provided supply chain product data (see bloc 1026). The provided supply chain product data may be transformed by data transforming unit 710. The applicable rule(s) may be identified based on an identifier associated with each applicable rule matching or being related to a supply chain product identifier included in the provided supply chain product data. The identifier associated with each applicable rule may include a supply chain product identifier matching the240935

[0296] 57

[0297] supply chain product identifier included in the provided supply chain product data. The identifier associated with each applicable rule may include a supply chain product type identifier related to the supply chain product identifier included in the provided supply chain product data. The supply chain product type identifier related to the supply chain product identifier included in the provided supply chain product data may be determined based on mapping data, for instance, as described in the context of FIG. 7C.

[0298] Executable logic may be generated from the one or more applicable rule(s) (see block 1028). The executable logic may be generated by data transforming unit 710. Executable logic may include machine code, interpretable code, bytecode, and / or code that runs on a virtual machine. The logic included in the applicable rule(s) may be encoded in the executable logic. The logic included in the applicable rule(s) may be mirrored in the executable logic. Upon finalizing the generation of the executable logic, data transforming unit 710 may sent a response to data gathering unit 508 indicating finalizing the generation of the executable logic.

[0299] Component dataset may be generated by transforming the provided supply chain product data by executing the generated executable logic by the rule-based engine subject to rule execution criteria (see block 1030). Data gathering unit 508 may sent a request to data transforming unit 710 to transform the supply chain product data based on the executable logic generated for the applicable rule(s). Rule execution criteria may include rule execution order, exemptions and conditions. For instance, the rule designated in the condition is executed first as it triggers the execution or exemption action in the execution of the rule with which it is associated. The generated component dataset(s) may be provided from data transforming unit 710 to data provider unit 510.

[0300] It may be verified whether the provided supply chain product data could be transformed according to one or more applicable rule(s) (e.g. one or more rule(s) gathered from rule DB 716 based on the provided supply chain product data) (see block 1018). Verification may be performed as described in the context of FIG. 7C. If the provided supply chain product data could be transformed according to the applicable rule(s), e.g. application of such rule(s) did not result in any error, the method may proceed to block 1022. Otherwise, message data may be generated and provided, for example as described in the context of FIG. 7C.

[0301] The generated component dataset may include at least a part of the provided supply chain product data. The part of the supply chain product data may be defined by the one or more applied rule(s). The part of the supply chain product data may be in tabular form. The generated component dataset may include product property data point(s), product identifier data point(s), product name data point(s), product producer data point(s), product declaration data point(s), product safety data point(s), product emission data point(s), product recyclate content data point(s), product biobased content data point(s), product biodegradability data point(s), product production data point(s), product certificate of analysis data point(s), product certificate data point(s), product life cycle data point(s), product storage instruction data point(s), product assembly instruction data point(s) and / or product operating condition data point(s).240935

[0302] 58

[0303] The generated component dataset may be provided for access via a decentral network under control of the data owner of the component dataset. This may include storing the generated component dataset in a data storage. Use of rule(s) associated with a supply chain product produced from such product(s) allows to ensure that product data point(s) required according to a semantic model, such as an aspect model, associated with the supply chain product are contained in the component dataset, hence avoiding missing data point(s) during generation of a supply chain product passport associated with the supply chain product using said semantic model. The transformation allows to aggregate the provided supply chain product data into a given data format, such as a tabular format, without the use of complex semantic models, hence facilitating generation and sharing of component dataset(s) within the supply chain product ecosystem. Such sharing may enable more efficient production and / or recycling processes based on the shared product data, for instance product composition data. The tabular format can be readily consumed via a decentral network by a consumer backend configured to verify the consumed data and to persist verified consumed data to data storages for generation of product passports. Once the component dataset has been generated, the method may continue the steps as described in FIG. 10A.

[0304] FIG. 11 illustrates a flow chart of an example method for providing end-of-life digital asset associated with product(s) via a decentral network to a data consumer for generation of digital end-of-life product passport(s) associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product. The supply chain product may correspond to product after its lifecycle as explained above.

[0305] The end-of-life digital asset may be associated with policy data including processing rule data associated with a processing of the end-of-life digital asset by the data consumer. The policy data may include contract data and / or commercial agreement data. The end-of-life digital asset may further be associated with contract data defining contractual obligation(s) between the data owner (e.g. data provider) of the end-of-life digital asset and the data consumer. The contract data may be linked to the end-of-life digital asset. The contract data may be associated to the supply chain product and / or one or more component(s) of the supply chain product.

[0306] End-of-life digital asset owner may receive a request to access the end-of-life digital asset from the data consumer via the decentral network. The data consumer may consume the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product(s) as EOL product components. The data consumer may produce end-product(s) being produced from the EOL product, e.g. the supply chain product(s) may be consumed by an upstream participant of the data consumer for production of input material and / or supply chain product(s) used by the data consumer to produce the end-product. The data consumer may directly utilize the one or more components of the EOL product. The request may be received at a decentral data providing node associated with the data owner, such as node 126. The request may be received from a decentral data consuming node associated with the data consumer, such as node 128. The end-of-life digital asset may be stored in a240935

[0307] 59

[0308] database associated with the decentral data providing node. The end-of-life digital asset may be stored in a database for access by data consumer(s). Access to the database may be controlled by the data owner. The request may include decentral identifier(s) associated with the end-of-life digital asset and agreement data associated with such decentral identifier(s). The agreement data may include an agreement identifier associated with the agreement data. The request may further include the decentral participant identifier associated with the data consumer requesting access to the end-of-life digital asset.

[0309] The decentral identifier(s) may be associated with or linked to the end-of-life digital asset. The decentral identifier(s) may be associated with a digital representation for accessing the end-of-life digital asset (e.g. a digital representation of the digital twin of the supply chain product). The digital representation may include a representation pointing to the database storing the end-of-life digital asset. The representation may include a URI or URL of the database and / or the decentral data providing node associated with the database. The digital representation may be stored in a decentral registry, such as decentral registry 310.

[0310] The received request may be authenticated using one or more authentication mechanism(s). This step may be optional. The authentication mechanism may directly or indirectly relate to the decentral identifier and end-of-life digital asset. In an example of indirect relation, the authentication mechanism may relate to a certificate mechanism. For example, on access request by the data consuming node, a dynamic access token may be generated based on the certificate mechanism. Such dynamic access token may be used to open peer-to-peer communication channel between the data consuming node and the data providing node. One common certificate is for instance the X.509 certificate. Through the authentication mechanism data access by a data consuming node can be controlled in a secure manner and integrity of the data providing node can be ensured. This allows for more reliable, controlled and secure data exchange or sharing of the end-of-life digital asset.

[0311] If the request is not authenticated, the peer-to-peer connection between the data providing node and the data consuming node may be terminated and not end-of-life digital asset may be provided. If the request is authenticated, the received request may be authorized based on the decentral identifier(s) and the agreement data. The agreement data may be generated in response to a verification of the contract data and a validation of the policy data and optionally the contract data. The agreement data may be generated by the data provider of the end-of-life digital asset in response to receiving an indication by the data consumer on agreeing to the processing rule(s) included in the policy data and contract data associated with the end-of-life digital asset. The data may indicate an agreement of the data consumer on processing rule(s) included in the policy data and the contract data associated with the end-of-life digital asset.

[0312] Authorizing the request may include verifying the agreement data. The request may be authorized by the data providing node. Verifying the agreement data may include comparing the agreement data included in the received request to existing agreement data. The existing agreement data may be stored in a database240935

[0313] 60

[0314] associated with the data providing node. Verifying the agreement data may include comparing the agreement identifier included in the received request to existing agreement identifiers. Authorizing the request may further include selecting policy data associated with the end-of-life digital asset based on the decentral identifier(s) and applying the selected policy data. Applying the policy data may include determining whether the data consumer is allowed to access the end-of-life digital asset, for example based on the decentral participant identifier contained in the received request. Based on the agreements, authorization is granted either to private end-of-life digital asset and / or public end-of-life digital asset as detailed above. If the request is authorized, e.g. if the agreement data is matching existing agreement data and if application of the selected policy data to the end-of-life digital asset results in end-of-life digital asset allowed to be accessed by the requesting data consumer, the data providing node may provide the end-of-life digital asset according to the selected policy data. The end-of-life digital asset may be provided according to the selected policy data via the decentral network. If the request is not authorized, the peer-to-peer connection established with the data consuming node may be terminated and no end-of-life digital asset may be provided.

[0315] By validating received requests for access to end-of-life digital asset based on agreement data and policy data associated with the end-of-life digital asset to be accessed, the data owner of the end-of-life digital asset may ensure that only authorized participants of the decentral network having agreed to processing rule(s) defined by the data owner in the policy data and the contract data for such end-of-life digital asset can access such material data. This way, the end-of-life digital asset can be exchanged in a secure yet reliable manner under full control of the data owner of the end-of-life digital asset. This allows the data owner to retain data sovereignty over the end-of-life digital asset while at the same time enabling the data owner to share the end-of-life digital asset with authorized participants of the decentral network for generation of digital product passport(s). This way, a more reliable and efficient generation of product passport(s) using the accessed end-of-life digital asset is ensured, avoiding disruption of the supply of product(s) due to missing or incomplete digital product passport(s) that are required for such product(s) upon sale of such product(s), for example by existing regulation(s). In addition, a higher data quality of the data included in the digital product passport can be ensured, allowing more efficient processing, such as recycling, re-use and / or recover of the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product based on the digital product passports.

[0316] As used herein "determining” also includes "initiating or causing to determine”, "generating” also includes "initiating and / or causing to generate” and "providing” also includes "initiating or causing to determine, generate, select, send and / or receive”. "Initiating or causing to perform an action” includes any processing signal that triggers a computing node or device to perform the respective action.

[0317] In the claims as well as in the description the word "comprising” or "including”, or similar wording does not exclude other elements or steps and shall not be construed limiting to the elements or steps lined out. The indefinite article "a” or "an” does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several entities or items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in the240935

[0318] 61

[0319] mutual different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used in an advantageous implementation, or further elements may be included.

[0320] Providing in the scope of this disclosure may include any interface configured to provide data. This may include an application programming interface, a human-machine interface such as a display and / or a software module interface. Providing may include communication of data or submission of data to the interface, in particular display to a user or use of the data by the receiving entity.

Claims

24093562CLAIMS1. A method for generating an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product, the end-of-life product being a supply chain product after its lifecycle including one or more component(s), the method comprising:providing- from one or more database(s) - supply chain product data associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product including supply chain product identifier(s); providing - based on the provided supply chain product identifier(s) - a component dataset associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product;generating - based on the provided component dataset - the end-of-life digital asset of the one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product by generating a digital representation for accessing at least a part of the provided component dataset and providing an end-of-life decentral identifier associated with the generated end-of-life digital asset;linking the generated end-of-life digital asset and the provided end-of-life decentral identifier to the component dataset;providing the generated end-of-life digital asset for access by a decentral data consuming node under control of or controlled by a decentral data providing node associated with data owner of the end-of-life digital asset.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the supply chain product is associated with a decentral identifier and the supply chain product data is provided by accessing a digital asset associated to the supply chain product via a decentral network protocol.

3. The method of the preceding claim, wherein providing the component dataset includes:providing at least one data model associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product;generating the component dataset by applying the at least one data model to the provided supply chain product data and the decentral identifier(s).

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the component dataset includes:generating the component dataset by transforming the provided supply chain product data using a rule-based engine including one or more rule(s) associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, or one or more rule(s) derived from a data model associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product;providing one or more decentral identifier(s) associated with supply chain product; providing the generated component dataset and the one or more decentral identifier for access via a decentral network.240935635. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the component dataset is provided per one or more component(s) based on the one or more decentral identifier(s) associated the one or more component(s) of the supply chain product.

6. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the generated end-of-life digital asset is a private end-of-life digital asset for accessing at least a part of the provided component dataset by a private end-of-life digital asset recipient.

7. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the generated end-of-life digital asset is a public end-of-life digital asset for accessing at least a part of the provided component dataset by a public end-of-life digital asset recipient.

8. An apparatus for generating an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product, the end-of-life product being a supply chain product after its lifecycle including one or more component(s), the apparatus comprising:a data providing interface configured to provide at least one component dataset including supply chain product data with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product including supply chain product identifier(s);optionally a rule-based engine including one or more rule(s) associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product, or one or more rule(s) derived from a data model of an end-of-life product associated with the supply chain product;an end-of-life data generator configured to generate the end-of-life digital asset based on the provided at least one component dataset and to provide the generated end-of-life digital asset to the decentral network;9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus comprises a digital twin registry configured to store the one or more end-of-life digital asset(s) associated to one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more stored end-of-life digital asset(s) are at least one of: private end-of-life digital asset(s), and public end-of-life digital asset(s).

11. A method for controlling access via a decentral network to an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product, the end-of-life product being a supply chain product after its lifecycle including one or more component(s), wherein the access is controlled by a data owner of the end-of-life digital asset via a data providing node associated with the data owner, the method comprising:24093564receiving via the decentral network a request to access the end-of-life digital asset, wherein the request includes a decentral identifier associated with the end-of-life digital asset and at least one digital credential certifying identity entity requesting access to the end-of-life product digital asset,authenticating the received request based on at least one the digital credential,optionally authorizing the received request,based on the authentication and optionally authorization, providing the end-of-life digital asset associated with the decentral identifier via the decentral network.

12. The method of the preceding claim, wherein the entity is a private end-of-life digital asset recipient, and access is granted to a private end-of-life digital asset.

13. The method of any of claims 11 or 12, wherein the entity is a public end-of-life digital asset recipient, and access is granted to a public end-of-life digital asset.

14. An apparatus for controlling access via a decentral network to an end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product, the end-of-life product being a supply chain product after its lifecycle including one or more component(s), wherein the access is controlled by a data owner of the end-of-life digital asset via a data providing node associated with the data owner, the apparatus comprising:a data supply chain product data providing interface configured to provide supply chain product data including supply chain product identifier(s), and / or a component dataset associated with one or more component(s) of the supply chain product;a digital asset generator configured togenerate end-of-life digital asset(s) of the one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product by generating a digital representation for accessing at least a part of the provided component dataset and providing an end-of-life decentral identifier associated with the generated end-of-life digital asset, andlink the generated end-of-life digital asset and the provided end-of-life decentral identifier to the component dataset;a data providing interface configured to provide the end-of-life digital asset linked to providing the end-of-life decentral identifier and the component dataset for access by a decentral data consuming node under control of or controlled by a decentral data providing node associated with data owner of the end-of-life digital asset.2409356515. Use of the end-of-life digital asset associated with one or more component(s) of an end-of-life product generated according to the method of any of claims 1 to 7 or by the apparatus according to any of claims 8 to 12 for providing generating one or more product passport(s) associated with one or more component(s) of the end-of-life product.

Images