Skip to main content

Empower-X Governance Model

1. General Principles​

Empower-X is built on an Organisational Governance Model designed to coordinate decision-making and define strategic and operational objectives within the energy data space, ensuring equitable participation of all actors and the technical, regulatory and operational sustainability of the ecosystem.
A Data Space Authority will be established, responsible for:

  • operating and maintaining the governance framework,
  • managing participant onboarding and offboarding,
  • resolving disputes,
  • supervising regulatory compliance,
  • ensuring operational coherence across the ecosystem.

Throughout the lighthouse phase, Zertifier will act as the Data Space Authority.
As the ecosystem matures, the governance model will progressively evolve towards shared governance, involving municipalities, energy operators, energy communities, mobility actors, technology providers and research organisations. In later phases, organisational models enabling a neutral, sustainable entity aligned with European data-space federation standards will be evaluated.

2. Data-Sharing Governance​

Data-sharing governance regulates access to datasets, services, algorithms and compute capabilities within the energy data space.
As the Governance Authority, Zertifier will:

  • define the initial participation criteria,
  • establish publication rules for datasets and services,
  • supervise access, usage and permission policies,
  • ensure compliance with GDPR, DGA, the Data Act, energy regulation and sector-specific norms.

Initial Participants​

The initial phase will involve:

  • members of the DS4SSCC-DS4PED consortium,
  • the City of Rubí and actors associated with the PED pilot,
  • local energy communities,
  • charging operators, mobility platforms and energy providers involved in the pilot.

These participants have formally expressed their commitment through agreements and letters of support.
The onboarding of new participants will prioritise:

  • contributions relevant to energy, mobility and smart-city use cases,
  • providers leveraging Compute-to-Data and data sovereignty mechanisms,
  • actors contributing data or services with strong monetisation, interoperability or innovation potential.

3. Rules for Data and Service Usage​

Usage conditions must:

  • align with the needs of the energy and urban sectors,
  • respect GDPR, DGA, the Data Act, energy regulation and municipal norms,
  • use expressive and auditable policies based on smart contracts,
  • enable full traceability via Web3, VCs and DLT.

Policies will define:

  • who may access each resource,
  • under which conditions,
  • with which algorithms (e.g., forecasting, flexibility, certification),
  • with which reuse, expiry or aggregation restrictions.

4. Two-Level Governance Structure​

Empower-X governance is organised at two complementary levels:

4.1. Global Governance​

Based on the rules of the Ocean Enterprise Collective and aligned with:

  • the Gaia-X Trust Framework,
  • the CEEDS Blueprint,
  • IDS/EDC interoperability standards.

Global Governance is responsible for:

  • defining interoperability rules across federated data spaces,
  • managing Compute-to-Data and Data Room standards,
  • ensuring traceability and verifiability via Web3 and DLT,
  • maintaining compatibility with energy, urban and mobility ecosystems.

This governance is shared by the federators, i.e., operators and participants of the interconnected data spaces.
Zertifier participates actively in Gaia-X governance forums, ensuring alignment with European specifications for the federation of energy data spaces.

4.2. Empower-X Governance (Lighthouse Level)​

This level defines the specific operational rules of the lighthouse within the DS4SSCC-DS4PED project (Rubí pilot).

Main Roles​

Ecosystem Promoter:
Zertifier, responsible for designing the governance model, managing onboarding and coordinating operations.
Data Space Authority:
Zertifier, guaranteeing regulatory compliance, dispute resolution and operational integrity.
Data Space Operators:

  • Zertifier (verifiable identities, Web3, marketplace, smart-contract governance),
  • HPC/Cloud providers offering Compute-to-Data or Data Rooms aligned with the DGA,
  • Municipal and urban operators (e.g., the City of Rubí),
  • Energy providers, mobility platforms and authorised aggregators.

Service Providers and Consumers:
Consortium entities, energy and mobility operators, energy communities and developers of smart services.

Key Indirect Actors​

Open-source communities supporting federation and core components:

  • Gaia-X
  • Ocean Enterprise Collective
  • Ocean Protocol
  • Eclipse Dataspace Components (EDC)
  • Smart Data Models and SAREF

These communities provide the standards and modules required for interoperability, semantics, secure computation and auditability.

5. Organisational Model​

The demonstrator adopts a network-based organisational model, built on:

  • participant consensus,
  • reciprocity in data and service exchange,
  • a collective benefit and urban-impact orientation.

The governance model will evolve through three phases:

  1. Leadership Phase (initial model)
    Zertifier acts as the central coordination authority.
  2. Shared Governance Phase
    Municipalities, energy operators, urban platforms and energy communities progressively assume strategic decision-making roles.
  3. Maturity Phase
    A Network Administrative Organization (NAO) or equivalent neutral entity may be established.

6. Leadership Governance Model (Initial Phase)​

During the funded lighthouse phase, Empower-X will operate under a centralised leadership model.

6.1. Organisational Interoperability​

  • Open admission to any energy, urban or mobility actor meeting technical requirements.
  • Priority for providers enhancing or expanding PED use cases.

6.2. Business Models​

  • Contractual freedom enabled by smart contracts,
  • Full autonomy to define pricing, permissions, usage conditions and service models.

6.3. Inter-Data-Space Relations​

  • Native connection to the Ocean Enterprise Collective,
  • Cross-sector interoperability (energy, mobility, climate, buildings) enabled by Gaia-X specifications.

6.4. Semantic Interoperability​

  • Use of Gaia-X Trust Framework vocabularies,
  • CEEDS Blueprint, SAREF and Smart Data Models ontologies,
  • FAIR-aligned and NGSI-LD-compatible descriptions.

6.5. Data Sovereignty​

  • Usage policies based on smart contracts,
  • Fine-grained control over access, execution and reuse,
  • Progressive integration with Gaia-X policy languages.

6.6. Formats​

  • Use of Verifiable Credentials (VCs) for identities and datasets,
  • Interoperable metadata models compliant with EDC/IDS and W3C.

6.7. Compliance​

  • Compliance services compatible with the Gaia-X Digital Clearing House (GXDC),
  • Automated auditing through DLT and verifiable logs.

6.8. Technological Interoperability​

  • Architecture based on federated digital data infrastructure,
  • Use of open-source components from the Ocean Enterprise and Gaia-X ecosystems,
  • Guaranteed end-to-end sovereignty, traceability and auditability.