News

The Athena Research Center participated in the successful conclusion of the EU-funded UNDERPIN project, which officially wrapped up with its final plenary meeting on 25 November 2025, followed by a public event at the GAIA-X “Shaping the Future of Dataspaces” conference on 26 November 2025 in Athens. The project began in December 2023 and was funded under the Digital Europe Programme (Grant Agreement No. 101123179). UNDERPIN was coordinated by Motor Oil Hellas, while the participation of the Athena Research Center was carried out through the Information Management Systems Institute (IMSI).

 

Over the course of two years, UNDERPIN successfully transformed the European vision for industrial data spaces into reality, delivering a Manufacturing Data Space designed to serve critical sectors such as oil and gas, renewables, and discrete manufacturing.

The final event in Athens was not simply a wrap-up of project activities but a testament to what coordinated, cross-border collaboration can achieve when guided by clear objectives, a strong consortium, and a shared commitment to Europe’s digital sovereignty. From its very start, UNDERPIN was in a mission to develop something useful, reusable, and impactful. The project progressed from requirement gathering and architectural design to full deployment, industrial use-case validation, and the development of a business and sustainability framework that enables future operation beyond the project’s lifetime.

 

At a time when Europe is defining its data governance and digital infrastructure for decades to come, UNDERPIN’s contribution is significant. Data spaces are not theoretical constructs; they are the building blocks of Europe’s digital autonomy. They provide companies with a secure, trusted environment to exchange data while maintaining control and ownership. UNDERPIN’s Data Space proves that this vision is not only achievable but also technically and legally viable.

 

In industrial terms, UNDERPIN showed how real data - coming from compressors in refineries or sensors in wind farms - can be securely shared, semantically harmonised, and enriched through AI to improve predictive maintenance, reduce unplanned downtime, and increase the sustainability of heavy industrial operations. Moreover, the project addressed digital product passport needs. The consortium worked closely with standardisation bodies, IDSA, DSSC, and relevant communities to ensure alignment with Europe’s broader data strategy.

 

 

Project name: UNDERPIN - Pan-European data space for holistic asset management in critical manufacturing industries
ATHENA Scientific Coordinator: Dr. Stelios Sartzetakis (IMSI)
Project Website: https://underpinproject.eu/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/underpinproject/