Major European effort to standardise materials ontologies for the future of digital manufacturing

For immediate release: As digital manufacturing accelerates across Europe, the ability to organise, interpret and exchange materials data has become a critical bottleneck. Now, the EU-funded DiMAT project has announced a major step forward in addressing this challenge, contributing its expertise to a new European initiative to standardise terminology and ontology development for materials science, a move that will reshape how industry manages and uses its data – and they want your comments.

At the heart of the challenge lies a simple problem with major consequences: digital tools in materials manufacturing rely on accurate and interoperable data. Yet processes differ widely across sectors, and without shared definitions and concepts, data becomes fragmented and difficult to reuse, which in turn slow down the adoption of advanced digital technologies.

To tackle this issue, experts from DiMAT have joined forces with DIN and Fraunhofer IWM in the newly launched CEN Workshop “Terminology Definition for Domain Ontologies in Materials Science” (CEN/WS OntoWF). The initiative introduces a pioneering bottom-up approach to ontology creation that begins with real industrial use cases and builds outwards, ensuring terminology reflects the needs of actual materials processes rather than abstract, top-down models.

While bottom-up approaches offer speed and practical relevance, they have historically lacked structured guidelines. CEN/WS OntoWF is designed to close this gap by developing a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) that will provide:

· Clear rules for terminology definition

· Defined review and approval workflows

· Practical recommendations for technical implementation

With this framework, it aims to bring much-needed consistency to the development of domain ontologies in materials science, a breakthrough that will benefit digital-manufacturing stakeholders across Europe.

Global efforts to harmonise ontology practices have already gained momentum through ISO/IEC’s recently published standards on top-level ontologies (ISO/IEC 21838 Parts 1–4). Complementary mid-level ontologies such as EMMO and PMDco add further structure. Yet specialised industrial domains still lack tailored ontologies that capture the precise details of materials processes.

This is where DiMAT’s approach is making a difference. By demonstrating a practical, example-driven method for building materials ontologies, the project is helping bridge the gap between high-level global standards and the operational needs of manufacturers. The resulting guidelines, developed collaboratively through the CEN Workshop, promise to:

· Improve data interoperability across digital tools and labs

· Accelerate industrial adoption of AI and simulation technologies

· Enable more efficient integration of data platforms and materials databases

· Support FAIR-compliant data management across the materials lifecycle

For European manufacturers undergoing digital transformation, this marks a significant leap forward.

Unlike traditional standards, which often take years to develop, a CEN Workshop Agreement provides an agile, market-responsive mechanism. CWAs allow experts and stakeholders to reach consensus on emerging needs quickly, a perfect fit for the fast-evolving field of materials digitalisation.

Although not formal European Standards, CWAs often become the foundation for future standardisation work. Their flexibility enables industry to adopt new frameworks early, boosting competitiveness and innovation readiness.

The CEN Workshop brings together 23 experts from across Europe, working in three subgroups covering terminology definition, review and approval workflows and technical implementation. Fraunhofer IWM leads two of these groups, drawing on its extensive experience from the DiMAT Cloud Materials Database (DiCMDB).

And now they want your input. A draft version of the CWA has now been published, marking a crucial phase in the process, which is the opening up of a public commenting period.

External stakeholders, from industry, academia, standards bodies and digital-tool developers, are now invited to submit comments and help shape the final document. Comments may be submitted via the CEN/CENELEC feedback form:
https://www.cencenelec.eu/news-events/news/2025/workshop/2025-11-19-ontologies/
Deadline: 19 December 2025

By supporting the development of a coherent ontology framework for materials science, DiMAT is playing a central role in helping European industry unlock the full potential of digital manufacturing. The project’s contribution to the CEN Workshop signals a new era of collaboration, openness and technical alignment, one that promises faster innovation, more reliable data integration and a more competitive industrial base.

· For more information about DiMAT and its work on ontology development, please contact: Robert Blümel (robert.bluemel@din.de) and Christian Grunewald (christian.grunewald@din.de)