Three UPC projects boost data spaces in strategic sectors such as agri-food and mobility

Apr 11, 2025

The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech (UPC) has secured funding for three research projects aimed at developing and applying data spaces in strategic sectors such as agri-food and mobility.

Three UPC projects boost data spaces in strategic sectors such as agri-food and mobility

The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) has secured funding for three research projects under the call "Demonstrators and Use Cases of Data Spaces", promoted by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service. With a total allocation of more than 4 million euros, these projects aim to develop and apply data spaces in strategic sectors such as agri-food and mobility.

This call supports two lines of action. On the one hand, demonstrator centres, conceived as technological platforms for the development of pilots and proof-of-concept initiatives in the field of data exchange. On the other hand, use cases, which promote practical applications of these technologies with real impact on the business ecosystem.

The three UPC-funded projects are:

UPCxels. Agri-food data space complemented with multi-sectoral data and data analytics services based on Artificial Intelligence, led by researcher Alberto Cabellos, member of the IDEAI-UPC (Intelligent Data sciEnce and Artificial Intelligence Research Group). The UPCxels demonstrator project is conceived as an open, multi-sectoral platform with the goal of creating a shared Data Space for various domains, with a strong emphasis on the agri-food sector. The project has received funding totalling €933,732.
Agríxel_ES. Agricultural information standard aimed at AI-based services for use cases in agri-food, led by researcher Cecilio Angulo, member of the IDEAI-UPC (Intelligent Data sciEnce and Artificial Intelligence Research Group). Agrixel defines two use cases within the agri-food sector: the first focuses on the climate and environmental sustainability of farms, and the second addresses an environmental externality of interest such as the carbon market. The project involves 35 collaborating entities in the agri-food sector (including cooperatives, clusters, tech companies, and public authorities) and represents a major step towards the digitalisation of the sector. The project has been awarded funding totalling €2,418,035.
i-MovE. Interoperability for Efficient, Safe and Equitable Mobility, led by researcher Miquel Àngel Estrada, member of the BIT (Barcelona Innovative Transportation). i-MovE aims to unify multi-sectoral data (from both public and private sources) to generate more accurate information for the mobility sector by creating use cases based on the UPCxels demonstrator. The project has received funding totalling €707,511.