Your Online Digital Architecture (YODA)

Summary: impacts and findings

Energy data comes in various formats, is held by numerous parties, and can vary in quality. This project worked to address these challenges – providing a pathway to open data for all.

The Your Online Digital Architecture (YODA) project developed and built a prototype of a data exchange to connect stakeholders with energy data.

Project aims and approach

In this project, Siemens aimed to deliver a digitally-integrated, modern energy data access system, YODA, that would support a common data architecture concept to connect stakeholders with data.

Underpinning the vision was an open data platform built on the requirements of users, and based on a sector-specific standard of metadata so that data would have commonality and could be exchanged effectively.

The project team developed the framework in line with the Data Best Practice Guidance, and curated an industry baseline of the data license landscape and how these are used by stakeholders.

The solution used a multi-level, metadata framework based on hypernetwork theory. This provided a scalable method of data modelling and management, ensuring the platform could integrate cross-sector data sets, enriching the user queries and associated insight. The team also developed a complementary business model to support this technical approach.

In developing the project, Siemens worked in partnership with the Energy Systems Catapult and the National Innovation Centre for Data.

For Phase 1, Discovery, the project team used the working title of establishing a digitally integrated modern energy system. In this phase they validated and developed the concept and core architecture for the data exchange.

For Phase 2 (Alpha) the project had six elements:

• User stories – looking at potential users’ needs and mapping them against the functionality of the planned system
• Data discovery – reviewing the energy data landscape and what is available
• Developing a working prototype – building the core functionality for accessing key data sources, with a user interface
• Giving innovative SMEs access to core data sets, and a brokerage service to connect data requestors with providers
• Exploitation plan – defining value propositions and business models

Partners

Siemens plc

Dates

June 2020 to November 2020

Achievements and barriers

The Your Online Digital Architecture (YODA) project planned, developed and built a prototype of a data exchange to connect stakeholders with energy data.

As part of the project the team ran a competition for SMEs accessing the prototype data exchange platform, which confirmed the importance of better access to energy data for developing innovations that will accelerate the low-carbon transition.

Note on competition progress:

The Modernising Energy Data Access competition had three phases:

Phase 1, Discovery – successful projects gained funding for a six-week feasibility study

Phase 2, Alpha – funding for a three-month prototype project, and

Phase 3, Beta – funding for six months to develop the solution

To arrive at the most promising solution to meet the aims of the competition, three projects were funded for Phase 1, reduced to two for Phase 2, and one for Phase 3.

The Your Online Digital Architecture project progressed through Phase 1 and Phase 2 but was not selected for Phase 3.