In the short term, cobalt-free batteries are still difficult to become mainstream.
Editor’s note: This article is from “Future Car Daily” (WeChat public ID: auto-time), author: Xiao Cheng Yi.
Author | Cheng Hao
Editor | Li Huanhuan
Volvo will use blockchain technology to ensure the “moral source” of electric vehicle battery raw materials.
On November 6, Volvo Car announced that it will be the first to trace the raw materials of electric vehicle batteries by applying blockchain technology to ensure its source is reliable. At present, Volvo has reached an agreement with its two battery suppliers Ningde Times, LG Chemical and blockchain technology companies to trace the production of cobalt materials in power batteries from this year.
CBS News has reported that more than half of the world’s cobalt is supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but most of the people who exploit these cobalt are child laborers. This is an important reason for the production of traceable cobalt materials.
International Amnesty has revealed three years ago that most of the cobalt mined by child labor is used by some international giants, including Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and Samsung. The non-governmental organization Pact has worked with the above companies to solve the problem, but the number of companies that purchase child-made cobalt mines is so numerous that it is impossible to cure the problem.
At present, cobalt is a precious metal required for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. Although Tesla, Panasonic, Great Wall Motor’s Honeycomb Energy and other companies are conducting research and development of cobalt-free batteries, battery expert Cao Guoqing said in an interview with the First Financial News that at present, it is still difficult to have cobalt-free batteries in the short term. Become the mainstream. “The development of cobalt-free batteries is based on the premise of ensuring safety and quality, and the change in formula ratio will bring certain risks.”
Therefore, Volvo uses the blockchain traceability to avoid the purchase of cobalt in the child-made cobalt mine.
Zhao Qingyu, a key laboratory for blockchain and safety calculation in Shaanxi Province, explained in an interview with Shaanxi Daily that the blockchain is a digital ledger whose structural features prevent records from being tampered with and forged. “Compared to ordinary Internet technology, once the data is on the chain, it will not be changed, it is difficult to fake, and the credibility is strong. This is a process of trust establishment.”
Volvo official said that after the successful pilot this summer, technology companies Circulor and Oracle used blockchain technology throughout the Ningde era supply chain, after which the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN), along with RCS Global and IBM, will Implement this technology in LG Chem’s supply chain.
The data in the Volvo blockchain will include: properties of cobalt source, weight and size,The chain of tubing and the determination of participant behavior are in line with the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) supply chain guidelines.
(I am the future car daily author Cheng Wei, pay attention to intelligent network, auto-driving and sharing travel dynamics, welcome to exchange and broke the news at any time. Please add WeChat tuanzi_C, add please note name, company, position.)
