Integration Approaches for Digital Twins in Dataspaces

Digital twins (DTs) based on the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) enable interoperable representations of industrial assets, while dataspaces like those defined by the International Data Spaces (IDS) facilitate sovereign, policy-governed data exchange across organizations. However, integrating AAS-based DTs into dataspaces remains challenging due to manual processes, synchronization issues, and varying implementation strategies. This paper addresses these gaps by first presenting a structured analysis of existing integration approaches and evaluating the user requirements to be met. We then introduce a flexible reference implementation extending the Eclipse Dataspace Connector (EDC), which automates AAS registration into dataspaces. Finally, we conduct a qualitative comparison with state-of-the-art prototypes from initiatives such as Catena-X and Factory-X and demonstrate the application of our integration approach in the MODAI project for sensor-driven manufacturing data sharing. Results indicate that the integration approach reduced manual effort and provides synchronization between digital twins and dataspace.