Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data exchange

Introduction

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) has launched the Data Space Accelerator, a study designed to help particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) join the Catena-X data space in 2026. Depending on the selected use case, participating companies will receive financial support of €15,000 or €30,000 net. The International Data Spaces Association (IDSA), the Catena-X Automotive Network e.V., and Cofinity-X GmbH are responsible for implementing the study.

Learn how to get started with the PCF Use Case (data exchange) as part of the Data Space Accelerator. The use case distinguishes between calculating PCF data on the one hand and exchanging PCF data across company borders on the other hand. The Data Space Accelerator only demands participants to demonstrate PCF data exchange to receive financial compensation. However, participants are actively encouraged to dive deeper in the use case and also get started with PCF calculation if required.

What you need to do?

Get informed: Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data sharing enables transparent and standardized CO₂ reporting across the Catena-X ecosystem, helping companies meet sustainability, compliance, and supply chain requirements through secure exchange via the Eclipse Dataspace Connector (EDC).

Apply for the Data Space Accelerator: Please fill the interest form here. You will receive an email notification once your application has been accepted. Please save your Program ID for future reference.
Register with Cofinity-X: Once accepted, please continue by registering your company to Cofinity-X here to receive access to the dataspace and have a wallet with the corresponding credentials.
Get connected: Choose a suitable PCF solution from the Marketplace. Explore our Marketplace to find a suitable solution.
Share PCF data: To become Dataspace Ready, the DSA participant must prepare PCF Semantic Model v7.0.0 (Jupiter Version) test data for one of their products and ensure it is correctly structured according to the Catena-X standard. Follow the detailed steps below. The participant then must share the EDC URL and BPNL with Cofinity-X to receive a formal PCF data request via an EDC
Receive your certification: Finally, Cofinity-X will consume and check for data correctness, thereby completing the validation process for Data Space readiness. Upon successful validation, the participant is officially recognized as Dataspace Ready and receives the Data Readiness Certificate in the DSA portal.

Below are the detailed steps outlining what you need to do to complete the PCF use case.

To successfully complete the Catena-X Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) use case, you can either use one of the certified applications available in the Cofinity-X marketplace or implement the required backend API methods as described below.

If you choose to use a certified PCF application, follow the instructions provided by your application provider to complete the PCF exchange with Cofinity-X.

Inform the Cofinity-X team when you are ready to receive a PCF request. When your setup is ready, send an email to: [email protected]
Subject:
DSA PCF request
Include the following information:
- EDC URL
- BPNL
- Product ID for which you want to share PCF data
Prepare PCF data for one of the specified product IDs.
The data must comply with the Catena-X PCF JSON schema v7.0.0:
Catena-X PCF JSON Schema v7.0.0
Schema-compliant test data may also be provided.
Once you receive the PCF request from Cofinity-X, respond with your PCF data using the following details:
- EDC URL: https://pcf-dsa-2025-edc.dataspaceos.svc.cofinity-x.com/api/v1/dsp
- BPNL : BPNLCOFINITYEZFA
- Asset ID: pcf-exchnage-endpoint-cofx-dsa
Confirm to Cofinity-X that you have successfully completed the PCF data sharing.

If you are using the Backend API approach, make sure you have the standardized endpoint to receive PCF requests.

Step 1. Create Your PCF Exchange Endpoint

Set up your PCF exchange endpoint in accordance with the Catena-X Standard v2.0.1.
For detailed specifications, refer to: CX-0136 Use Case PCF Specification

1.1 Create an Asset

POST: {{PROVIDER_EDC_MANAGEMENT_API}}/v3/assets


{
  "@context": {
    "edc": "https://w3id.org/edc/v0.0.1/ns/",
    "odrl": "http://www.w3.org/ns/odrl/2/",
    "dcat": "http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#",
    "dct": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/",
    "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#",
    "cx-taxo": "https://w3id.org/catenax/taxonomy#",
    "cx-common": "https://w3id.org/catenax/ontology/common#",
    "aas-semantics": "https://admin-shell.io/aas/3/0/HasSemantics/"
  },
  "@id": "c34018ab-5820-4065-9087-416d78e1ab60",
  "@type": "edc:Asset",
  "edc:properties": {
    "rdfs:label": "PCF Data",
    "rdfs:comment": "Endpoint for PCF data",
    "cx-common:version": "1.1",
    "aas-semantics:semanticId": {
      "@id": "urn:samm:io.catenax.pcf:7.0.0#Pcf"
    },
    "edc:contentType": "application/json",
    "dct:type": {
      "@id": "cx-taxo:PcfExchange"
    }
  },
  "edc:dataAddress": {
    "edc:type": "HttpData",
    "edc:baseUrl": "https://some.url/service",
    "edc:proxyBody": "true",
    "edc:proxyPath": "true",
    "edc:proxyQueryParams": "true",
    "edc:proxyMethod": "true",
    "edc:contentType": "application/json"
  }
}

1.2 Create Access and Usage Policies

Create an open access policy and usage policy.

POST: {{PROVIDER_EDC_MANAGEMENT_API}}/v3/policydefinitions
{
  "@context": {
    "@vocab": "https://w3id.org/edc/v0.0.1/ns/"
  },
  "@id": "a343fcbf-99fc-4ce8-8e9b-148c97605aab",
  "policy": {
    "@context": [
      "https://www.w3.org/ns/odrl.jsonld",
      {
        "cx-policy": "https://w3id.org/catenax/policy/"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "Policy",
    "profile": "cx-policy:profile2405",
    "permission": [
      {
        "action": "use",
        "constraint": {
          "and": [
            {
              "leftOperand": "cx-policy:FrameworkAgreement",
              "operator": "eq",
              "rightOperand": "DataExchangeGovernance:1.0"
            },
            {
              "leftOperand": "cx-policy:Membership",
              "operator": "eq",
              "rightOperand": "active"
            },
            {
              "leftOperand": "cx-policy:UsagePurpose",
              "operator": "eq",
              "rightOperand": "cx.pcf.base:1"
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

1.3 Create a Contract Definition

POST: {{PROVIDER_EDC_MANAGEMENT_API}}/v3/contractdefinitions
{
  "@context": {},
  "@id": "{{ID_CONTRACT_DEF}}",
  "@type": "ContractDefinition",
  "accessPolicyId": "{{ID_POLICY_ACCESS}}",
  "contractPolicyId": "{{ID_POLICY_CONTRACT}}",
  "assetsSelector": {
    "@type": "CriterionDto",
    "operandLeft": "{{EDC_NAMESPACE}}id",
    "operator": "=",
    "operandRight": "{{ASSET_ID}}"
  }
}

Step 2. Notify the Cofinity-X Team

Once your endpoint setup is complete, inform the Cofinity-X Support Team that your PCF exchange endpoint is available and ready to receive PCF data requests.

Send an email to: [email protected]

with the subject:

DSA PCF request

Include the following information in your email: