Chem-X Hosted by DAW: Launch of the First Digital Material Passport for Chemicals

The development of Digital Material Passports (DMPs) for the chemical industry is gaining momentum. From September 30 to October 2, more than 50 representatives from Chem-X partner companies gathered at DAW. At the heart of the Chem-X project is the development of a standardized data model for the Digital Material Passport (DMP), which will enable raw material data to be provided in a digital format in the future. This, in turn, will make it easier for building material manufacturers such as DAW to create Digital Product Passports (DPPs). DPPs provide transparent access to product and sustainability information, including carbon footprint data and the share of recycled raw materials. They also support the efficient integration of quality and sustainability information into digital planning processes such as Building Information Modeling (BIM).

“With Chem-X, we are creating the foundation for a standardized exchange of raw material data across the chemical value chain for the first time. For us as a manufacturer of paints and building products, this is particularly important because we understand the requirements of our customers in the construction industry. In the future, manufacturers will need to provide significantly more product information in digital form. The Digital Product Passport will play a central role in this transformation. By participating in Chem-X, we can actively shape these data models and use the DPP to make relevant sustainability information easily accessible to our customers,” said Dr. Jörg Leuninger, Chief Innovation Officer of DAW SE.

The Chem-X initiative is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy through NextGenerationEU funding and brings together leading partners including BASF, Catena-X, coad, Cofinity-X, Covestro, Evonik, Henkel, Merck, SAP, Siemens, Spherity, Together for Sustainability (TfS) AiBSL, WACKER, Sika, and DAW.

DAW Contributes the Construction Industry Perspective

As the consortium partner representing the construction sector, DAW contributes the perspective of downstream value chains to Chem-X. This ensures that market requirements are directly reflected in the development of the data models. The company is developing concrete use cases to test how Digital Product Passports can be applied in the construction sector. At Hannover Messe 2026, DAW already showcased its CHEM2PAINT use case, demonstrating how raw material data can be used to create a Digital Product Passport for paints. The resulting information is made transparently available to planners, contractors, and building owners in both human-readable form and as structured digital data for automated transfer.

“The past two years have demonstrated how much can be achieved when companies across an entire value chain work toward a shared goal. The strong commitment and broad expertise of all partners in the Chem-X consortium have been key contributors to the project’s success. From the outset, our objective was to develop solutions that are not only technically feasible but also deliver real value and practical applicability in industrial environments,” said Dr. Nicole Borho, Portfolio Sustainability Manager at DAW SE.

Practical Validation of the Digital Material Passport

The meeting in Ober-Ramstadt focused on finalizing the first shared data model for Digital Material Passport Version 1.0 and on testing future processes for cross-company data exchange under real-world conditions. The Chem-X project will continue through the end of November 2026. Its goal is to establish the foundation for interoperable data spaces that enable the standardized exchange of material data across the chemical value chain. Beginning in 2027, the open-source-based data models will be available for practical use by a broad range of industry stakeholders.

For more information, visit www.daw.de and www.chem-x.de.