CoTwin hackathon breaks down barriers for secure data sharing in mobility

On November 13 and 14, entrepreneurs, students and specialists from companies such as Volvo Group, Ericsson, and Lindholmen Science Park took a significant step toward solving this dilemma. 

Forty-two innovators gathered in Gothenburg for the CoTwin Hackathon, a 24-hour initiative aimed at proving that sensitive mobility data can be shared without compromising privacy.  

Breaking the Data Silo  

The hackathon was the latest milestone for CoTwin, a project led by MobilityXlab and Lindholmen Science Park. The initiative aims to build a "collaborative digital twin" platform to unlock the potential of shared mobility data for the benefit of society.  

“The transport industry has many challenges with secure data sharing, which prevents innovation,” Ahmed Ouaddani, project manager for CoTwin stated. “We are bringing together key players to prove that secure data sharing can unlock real-world solutions that lead us to a more efficient and sustainable mobility.”  

Financed by Vinnova and supported by partners including Volvo Group, Ericsson, Lindholmen Science Park, CanaryBit, AstaZero, and the City of Gothenburg, the event functioned as a pressure test for this vision. 

24 Hours to Innovate  

Structured as an intensive innovation boot camp, the event split participants into eight teams. The group was a mix of entrepreneurs, system designers, and business analysts, all tasked with using CoTwin’s core technologies—specifically decentralized and confidential computing. 

To accelerate development, teams were granted access to AI credits from Lovable to build low-fidelity prototypes. Uniquely, organizers allowed teams to retain full intellectual property rights to their creations, incentivizing genuine business viability over theoretical exercises. 

Tangible Solutions  

Despite the tight deadline, the results went beyond concepts. An expert jury, featuring representatives from the partner organizations and WirelessCar, reviewed the pitches. 

The winning solutions demonstrated immediate practical applications. One prototype showcased how vehicles and infrastructure could combine sensor data to identify safety hazards in real-time. Another focused on a new business logic for Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) energy management, a complex system allowing electric cars to stabilize the power grid without exposing user data. 

Other teams utilized anonymized data flows to create digital twin visualizations, offering city planners new tools that remain strictly privacy compliant. 

According to the judges, the prototypes provided solid evidence for the CoTwin value proposition, with several solutions validated as technically and legally feasible for future scale-up.