The renowned automotive brand Volvo will use traceable blockchain materials in its electric vehicle batteries.

Car manufacturer Volvo announced on November 6th that following the launch of its all-electric XC40 recharge model last month, it will use cobalt (a raw material in batteries) on the blockchain for its car batteries.

In fact, this adoption was initially proposed by IBM, the Blockchain-based Ethical Mineral Sourcing project, collaborating with Ford, Volkswagen, LG, and Volvo to conduct a pilot project tracking cobalt in next year's refining process.

According to the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN), an international consortium responsible for procurement built on Hyperledger Fabric, announced yesterday, it has successfully completed a pilot project to prevent abuses in mining practices. Currently, Volvo has reached agreements with its two battery suppliers, China's CATL and South Korea's LG Chem. Volvo officials stated:

We believe that blockchain technology establishing a transparent, reliable shared data network greatly enhances the transparency of the raw material supply chain, as we were previously unable to detect information about the origin of raw materials.

The two suppliers will meet Volvo's production needs for new car models over the next decade, as well as for the Polestar model, using blockchain technology to track the required raw materials.

This Blockchain-based Ethical Mineral Sourcing also allows Volvo to ensure that the materials used in electric vehicle batteries are extracted without exploiting child labor and come from conflict-free areas. This is crucial because sourcing some raw materials from conflict areas implies ethical or even life-threatening issues during the mining process. Martina Buchhauser, Volvo's head of procurement, explained:

With blockchain technology, we can work closely with suppliers to move towards ensuring full traceability of our supply chain and minimizing any related risks to the greatest extent.

Dr. Nicholas Garrett, CEO of RCS Global Group, also mentioned in a statement:

RSBN aims to improve the global ethical supply chain, we have moved beyond the testing phase and reached an important milestone. It has proven that the benefits of this combined technology and assurance model can be extended to participants at various stages of the entire supply chain and other minerals.

Now, the aforementioned RSBN plans to add more battery minerals to its tracking platform, including lithium and nickel, and even gold, not just cobalt, the main raw material for electric vehicles. It is believed that the entire supply chain will soon be impacted by this project and make changes.

Further Reading

• A new blockchain tool is expected to complete financial audits within 30 seconds, significantly improving efficiency
• The Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China signs an agreement with Huawei

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