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ReSource and Global Battery Alliance profile first successful electric vehicle battery passport pilots

January 22, 2023

Two of the three electric vehicle battery passports demonstrated by the GBA were successfully developed and issued in collaboration with Albemarle, CMOC, Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), Glencore, LG Energy Solution, RCS Global, Samsung SDI, Tesla, other EV OEMs, Umicore, and Global Battery Alliance, amongst others.

Implementing battery passports to provide traceability and transparency of the EV batteries supply chain from mine to battery is a major step towards improving the sustainability and transparency of automotive, energy, and battery industries, supporting the global green transition. Both pilots were presented by the Global Battery Alliance at the World Economic Forum in Davos on the 18th of January 2023. Further development and implementation of battery passports for EV vehicles is planned based on the results of the pilots.

The first pilot in collaboration with Glencore, LG Energy Solution and Tesla, fully mapped and traced the entire cobalt supply chain (with 100% of the cobalt coming from Glencore’s Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) in the Democratic Republic of Congo) to LG Energy Solution and the electric vehicles factory in China. The ReSource solution traced all of the cobalt used in the battery, issued the battery passport, aggregated, and processed supply chain data and calculated ESG metrics.

The pilot is based on the first successful end-to-end real-time tracking of physical material through the supply chain from mine to EV manufacturer by ReSource and demonstrated their unique solution for tracing and sustainability management of the supply chain and issuing of battery passports.


Link to the battery passport: https://resource.batpas.com/tesla/RSTE2291345831

In the second pilot ReSource and RCS Global Group fully mapped and traced cobalt (ReSource) and lithium (RCS Vine) supply chains from mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (for cobalt) and Chile (for lithium) through each step of the supply chain. The ReSource solution traced 100% of the cobalt used in the battery and calculated intermediate results for the cobalt supply chain that were shared with RCS through interoperability between the ReSource solution and RCS Vine. RCS Global issued the battery passport, aggregated and processed final supply chain data and calculated ESG metrics.

The pilot demonstrated successful interoperability between the ReSource solution and RCS Vine when issuing the battery passport.

Read more in the RCS Global Group press release.

The pilots successfully met the battery passport data and traceability requirements defined in the GBA battery passport rulebooks on Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs), Human Rights, and Child Labor. These rulebooks provide a standardized methodology of data aggregation and define key performance indicators.

Read more about battery passport pilots in the Global Battery Alliance press release and proof of concepts launch page.

ReSource, will be a platform for the EV industry to provide physical tracking of battery metals and manage sustainability risks in a battery supply chain. ReSource is the only solution that announced plans to develop secure and reliable zero-knowledge proof of provenance of battery materials in compliance with both regulatory and commercial requirements. It will be developed by a founding consortium of CMOC, ERG, and Glencore [1] in partnership with industry leaders such as Cobalt Institute, Responsible Minerals Initiative, Tesla, and Umicore.

The Battery Passports developed during the pilots contain a technical specification of the battery, traceability information about battery materials, and a summary of the ESG performance of the battery supply chain.

Mr. Ruiwen Sun, CEO of CMOC, said: “CMOC and its global trading platform IXM are committed to responsible mining, processing, delivering and application of new energy metals. Bringing together all stakeholders across the world with this joint effort, a technologically advanced transparent and responsible supply chain will give end users greater confidence and consciousness when they consume the products made from raw materials supplied by us. We are very proud of the successful pilot of ReSource and looking forward to its large-scale implementation and application to a much broader scope in the new energy metals sector.”

Benedikt Sobotka, Co-Chair of the Global Battery Alliance and CEO of Eurasian Resources Group, founding member of the GBA, said: “This is a major breakthrough in demonstrating the capability of this technology to be a force for good. ReSource is the only solution that plans to provide end-to-end real-time tracking of the battery materials (zero-knowledge proof of provenance). It can aggregate all ESG and tracking data from the EV battery supply chain without disclosing commercially sensitive information. This can and will be a game-changer for the industry, providing the technology for safe, secure supply chains, responsible and sustainable sourcing of materials, and transparency and traceability through a product’s lifetime.”

Jyothish George, Marketing head of copper, cobalt and zinc metals of Glencore, said: “Our partnership with ReSource is based on our ability to provide clear proof of origin to our global customer base. As the world focuses on the ongoing energy transition, this means greater focus is being placed on a transparent supply chain. We are proud that our support for ReSource will enable the first end-to-end tracking of cobalt from mine to market.”

RCS Global Group is a leading supply chain due diligence and ESG service provider for the battery economy, including 8 of the top 10 OEMs and the mining sector. Focusing on natural resource value chains, RCS Global delivers practical solutions and generates key data points allowing clients to improve practices, measure and demonstrate impact. RCS Global has over 100 dedicated, responsible sourcing and responsible mining-focused employees working across the United Kingdom, Germany, China, and Central Africa (DRC and Rwanda).

[1] It is acknowledged that all activities are in respect of the preparation for the anticipated ReSource joint venture initiative. Notwithstanding that, if ReSource is constituted, it will be a joint venture between multiple parties (including IXM, ERG and Glencore), its constitution is subject to global anti-trust approvals being granted. As such, until such time as ReSource is constituted, the joint venture partners in ReSource act individually only in relation to ReSource.

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