By IHS Markit Automotive
Volvo Cars said in a statement that it will use blockchain technology to achieve global traceability of cobalt materials in batteries.
The company has reached an agreement with China's Ningde Times and South Korea's Lejin Chemical, two global battery suppliers, and the world's leading blockchain technology company to implement traceability of cobalt materials starting this year. As part of the agreement, the two suppliers will supply batteries for the next generation of Volvo and Polestar models produced within the next decade, including the recently announced pure electric vehicle XC40 Recharge. Martina Buchhauser, Volvo Car Purchasing Director, said: "Blockchain technology allows us to work closely with our suppliers and continue to move towards a fully traceable supply chain and reduce related risks."
Purchasing cobalt materials is often a problem for automakers, as more than half of the world's cobalt supply comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many of the Congo's cobalt mines are so-called "artisanal" mines, meaning that they are mined by miners who are not formally employed by mining companies. Car manufacturers must do their best to ensure that the cobalt materials used in batteries are sourced from reliable sources.
Earlier this year, Volkswagen announced that it will join an ethical procurement alliance that will use blockchain technology to track and verify minerals of ethical origin. Blockchain is a digital ledger that contains a series of records that are interconnected through cryptographic methods. Volvo Cars said that the data covered by the blockchain includes attributes such as the origin, size and weight of cobalt, the chain of custody, and information to determine that participants' behavior complies with OECD supply chain guidelines. Technology companies Circulor and Oracle have operated blockchain technology throughout the entire supply chain in the Ningde era, and the "trusted procurement" blockchain network (RSBN) and "trusted procurement" experts RCS Global and IBM are working at Promote this technology in the supply chain. At the same time, Volvo Cars will become the first car manufacturer to use blockchain technology to achieve global traceability of cobalt materials in batteries.