Auto Identity News

7 blockchain firms join Bosch led GAIA-X consortium for vehicle identity

bosch car charging

GAIA-X, the 300 EU member association for trusted data, has a new Bosch-led project, GAIA-X 4 moveID. It aims to use decentralized vehicle identities for data exchange, including for locating charging spots, billing, and autonomous driving. The 19-member consortium includes Airbus, Continental and seven blockchain or web3 startups, Chainstep, peaq, Datarella, 51nodes, Ocean Protocol / BigChainDB, Fetch.ai, and deltaDAO.

Half of the project’s €28 million ($28m) funding comes from the German government. It aims to develop standards and technology concepts so that data can be securely exchanged for mobility applications.

“An integrated and transparent system architecture for the exchange of data on the road that incorporates different products and players simply isn’t available today,” said Peter Busch, project manager at the consortium leader Bosch. “Open standards are needed so that users, for example, can find all available charging stations or pay for charging processes.” 

Autonomous cars need to exchange data with their environment, particularly for regulating traffic. This involves Zoning, which will be trialed in a Germany-France-Luxembourg test area. Other infrastructure will include charging spots, traffic lights and parking lots. According to Bosch, connected parking is a €10 billion ($10bn) global opportunity.

Bosch previously worked with 51nodes as part of German digital identity cooperative IDUnion. And Fetch.ai has been a Bosch partner for smart IoT devices. Together with Siemens, in 2019 Bosch ran a Smart E-Mobility Challenge.

Meanwhile, the major player in vehicle identity is MOBI which produced the first Vehicle Identity standard. Several participants in the GAIA-X 4 moveID are also MOBI members, such as Continental, Bosch, peaq and Ocean Protocol. We contacted Bosch to clarify whether the latest initiative overlaps with MOBI, but they said Bosch is no longer a MOBI participant.

The other members of the GAIA-X 4 moveID initiative are:

  • Materna Information
  • Denso Automotive Deutschland 
  • WOBCOM
  • ecsec
  • HTW Saar (University of Applied Sciences)
  • Atos
  • Zeppelin University
  • ITK Engineering
  • Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center)

Update: The article was updated to clarify that Bosch is no longer a MOBI member


Image Copyright: Bosch