Stockholm, June 4, 2024 – Volvo Cars is launching the world’s first battery passport for electric vehicles (EVs), which will track the origin of raw materials, components, recycled content, and carbon footprint. The passport will be available for its upcoming EX90 SUV model, which will start production soon.
Volvo, a subsidiary of Chinese automaker Geely, developed the passport in collaboration with UK startup Circulor, which uses blockchain technology to map supply chains. The development took over five years.
Starting in February 2027, battery passports will be mandatory for EVs sold in the European Union, detailing the battery’s composition, including the origin of key materials, their carbon footprint, and recycled content.
According to Vanessa Butani, head of global sustainability at Volvo, the introduction of the passport nearly three years ahead of the regulations is an effort to be transparent with buyers, as the automaker aims to produce only fully electric cars by 2030.
“It’s really important for us to be a pioneer and a leader,” Butani said.
The EX90 SUV with the battery passport is set to begin production soon at Volvo’s Charleston, South Carolina, plant and will be delivered to customers in Europe and North America from the second half of the year.
Volvo car owners can access a simplified version of the passport using a QR code on the inside of the driver’s door.
Butani added that all Volvo EVs will eventually have a passport.
A more complete version of the passport will be provided to regulators. It will also include updated information on the battery’s “health” and will cost around $10 (€9.22) per car, said Circulor CEO Douglas Johnson-Poensgen.
Circulor’s system tracks battery materials from the mine to individual cars. It uses suppliers’ manufacturing systems to track materials throughout the chain and checks suppliers’ monthly energy bills to see how much of their energy comes from renewable sources and calculate the total carbon footprint.
If Volvo chooses a supplier, Circulor will need to audit it to ensure the information is up to date, Johnson-Poensgen said.
The passport has also required changes in how Volvo tracks parts in its manufacturing process to record the origin of each part in each vehicle.
Additional Notes:
- The Volvo battery passport is a digital record that tracks the origin of raw materials, components, recycled content, and carbon footprint of an EV battery.
- The passport is being launched ahead of EU regulations that will require battery passports for all EVs sold in the bloc from February 2027.
- Volvo says the passport is an effort to be transparent with buyers and support its goal of producing only fully electric cars by 2030.
- The passport will be available for the upcoming Volvo EX90 SUV and will eventually be rolled out to all Volvo EVs.
