Volvo produces first cars containing recycled Cobalt mapped by Blockchain

Volvo Cars announced that it has produced first vehicles that use recycled Cobalt mapped by blockchain at its plant in Zhejiang, Chinese.

The Swedish carmaker said that it had tracked Cobalt from a Chinese recycling plant over a period of two months to June 27.

With the increasing adoptions of EVs, customers are increasingly worried about the source of rare minerals used in batteries such as Cobalt. Carmakers have been facing increasing pressure to prove that the raw materials used in the cars are not sourced from producers selling conflict minerals or using child labour.

The blockchain was developed by UK based company, Circulor and the technology was provided by Oracle. Volvo is working toward implementing this technology across wider platforms in the company. The battery was manufactured by CATL using recycled Cobalt.

Volvo also announced that it has joined a separate project to monitor Cobalt originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Other companies involved in the project include giants like Ford, IBM, LG Chem and Chinese supplier Huayou Cobalt. RCS Global, a responsible sourcing group, will be overseeing the project.