Libelium leads Spain’s Data Spaces under the SEDIA initiative

Libelium drives SEDIA and Red.es data space projects—GeoSpaceData, LDT-DS and AI4DS—to strengthen data sovereignty and enable sustainable cities.

October 14, 2025

Libelium spearheads the creation of Data Spaces in Spain: innovation, sustainability and digital sovereignty

The future is built on data

Today, cities generate millions of data points—from air quality sensors to traffic cameras and energy systems. But the real question isn’t how much data we produce; it’s how we share it to make better decisions.

Data Spaces are Europe’s answer to this challenge: secure, interoperable ecosystems where public administrations, companies and research centres collaborate without losing control over their information.

Spain, a pioneer in Europe’s data strategy

According to the European Data Market Study 2021-2023, published by the European Commission in May 2024, Spain’s data economy reached €44.8 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to €72.4 billion by 2030, representing 5.22% of the country’s GDP.
This growth reflects the transformative potential of data to drive innovation, efficiency and economic development.

To stay ahead, Spain has launched a €500 million national plan to create sectoral Data Spaces in tourism, health, industry, mobility and the environment.

The State Secretariat for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (SEDIA) has entrusted Libelium to lead three strategic projects: GeoSpaceData, LDT-DS, and AI4DS.

“At Libelium, we have long championed the activation and acceleration of European Data Spaces to address environmental—and, frankly, political—challenges. As long as our digital infrastructure depends on the U.S., our democratic rules will remain exposed to external political and economic pressure.”

Alicia Asín, CEO of Libelium

Three projects reshaping how we manage our cities

1) GeoSpaceData: geointelligence for sustainability

This project aims to develop a reference Data Space for advanced geointelligence and 3D modelling, integrating data from satellites, drones, IoT sensors and administrative databases.

Its goal is to overcome the fragmentation of geospatial data and enable advanced services for environmental management, urban planning and mobility.

Libelium leads the initiative and will transfer governance to the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC) Citiverse.

Focus: Integration of satellite, drone, IoT and administrative data.
Use cases: Include Flood prediction, asbestos detection, mobility planning, underground digital twins, and energy-efficiency mapping.
Pilot cities: Elche, Cartagena, Valencia, Madrid, San Javier, Granada, Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia.
Budget: €870,000.

2) LDT-DS (Local Digital Twin Data Space): building local digital twins

A local digital twin is a virtual replica of a city that allows the simulation of urban scenarios—a sort of SimCity with real impact.

The LDT-DS project aims to create a Data Space for Local Digital Twins, focusing on urban sustainability and data-driven governance.

Led by Libelium, it addresses today’s information silos through a shared infrastructure that allows cities, companies and researchers to access and exchange interoperable, high-quality data securely and under federated governance.

Use cases: Evaluate the impact of traffic on air quality and assess building energy efficiency.
Pilot cities: Valencia, Las Rozas, Cartagena, Granada and Málaga.
Budget: €3.7 million.

3) AI4DS: artificial intelligence for data spaces

AI4DS (Artificial Intelligence for Data Spaces) was created to simplify the design and configuration of Data Spaces.
Led by Libelium, this no-code/low-code PaaS platform acts as a smart configurator and assistant for creating, connecting, and managing Data Spaces. It translates natural-language instructions into technical configurations ready for deployment, covering architecture, connectors and governance.

In short, AI4DS is an AI-powered assistant for finding, accessing and linking data within a Data Space.

Purpose: Accelerate the creation of interoperable, secure and sovereign Data Spaces.
Use cases: Extract advanced insights, build predictive models, and make proactive, data-driven decisions across sectors.
Budget: €500,000.

But what exactly is a Data Space?

Europe faces a critical challenge in the data and AI economy, where its competitiveness and sovereignty are threatened by the rapid progress of the U.S. and China.

Data Spaces emerge as a strategic response—secure, federated ecosystems that enable trustworthy data exchange. Their design prioritises governance and data sovereignty, allowing organisations (public bodies, SMEs, research entities) to maintain complete control over their information while co-creating value.

They are key to addressing complex challenges such as climate change, urban planning and environmental monitoring, enabling data-driven collaboration at scale.

Impact: data sovereignty and sustainability

These projects extend beyond digital infrastructure; they transform the way Europe manages and governs data.

Reinforce European digital sovereignty, reducing dependence on U.S. or Chinese infrastructure. The goal is no longer to accumulate data but to collaborate securely to create shared value.
Accelerate progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
Create frameworks where data is no longer trapped in silos, but is connected, reusable, and impactful. The data already exists—we just need to connect it.

Libelium’s role

With more than 15 years of experience in IoT and data platforms, Libelium transforms information into actionable intelligence for governments and enterprises.

Its iris360 platform powers these national and European projects, helping cities become more sustainable, resilient and data-driven.

iris360 provides data catalogues, connectors and governance modules to build distributed and federated Data Space ecosystems, following the FAIR principles: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable.