The Swedish company Volvo is launching the first battery passport for electric vehicles in the world that records the origins of raw materials, components, recycled content and carbon footprint for its flagship EX90 SUV, which is about to begin production.
The passport was developed by Volvo, today owned by the Chinese giant Geely, in association with the startup British Circulor, which uses technology blockchain to map companies’ supply chains. Its development took more than five years.
While in Argentina the mandatory blue ID card was eliminated, battery passports will be mandatory for electric vehicles sold in the European Union from February 2027 and will show the composition of the batteries, including the origin of key materials, their carbon footprint and recycled content.
Volvo’s global sustainability director Vanessa Butani told Reuters that the introduction of the passport almost three years before the regulations come into force was aimed at being transparent with car buyers, as the automaker aims to produce only fully electric cars by 2030.
“It’s really important for us to be pioneers and leaders,” Butani said.
All the information in a QR
He WATER EX90 with battery passport will soon begin production at Volvo’s plant in Charleston, South Carolina, in the United States and will be delivered to customers in Europe and North America from the second half of the year.
Volvo owners can access a simplified version of the passport using a QR code located on the inside of the driver’s door. Butani said the passport would be gradually rolled out to all Volvo electric vehicles.
It was reported that a more complete version of the passport will be provided to regulators.
The passport allows you to have critical information on the origin of the raw materials and components of the vehicle.It will also include updated information on the health status of the electric vehicle battery, vital to evaluate the values of used battery models, for 15 years. This “documentation” will cost about $10 per car, said Circulor CEO Douglas Johnson-Poensgen.
Circulor’s system tracks battery materials from the mine to individual cars, taking advantage of suppliers’ production systems to track materials throughout the supply chain and verifying suppliers’ monthly energy bills. and how much of its energy comes from renewable sources to calculate total carbon. fingerprint.
If Volvo incorporates a supplier into its production process, Circulor you will need to audit it to keep the information up to dateJohnson-Poensgen said.
The passport has also required changes to the way Volvo tracks parts through its manufacturing process to understand the origins of each part of each vehicle.
Volvo will only offer electric models from 2030.“Car manufacturing has never been about which stone was in which component and which connected to which car,” Johnson-Poensgen said. “It’s taken a long time to realize that.”
Although for now the passport for electric cars will only be mandatory in Europe, car manufacturers are showing interest in applying similar documentation because it is possible that This information allows them to qualify to receive subsidies for electric vehicles.
Volvo has invested in Circulor, as have Jaguar Land Rover and BHP, the world’s largest listed miner.
Johnson-Poensgen said there was urgency among carmakers to create battery passports, and that even if they started now, many could find it difficult to meet the EU’s 2027 deadline.