Volvo Cars is pioneering a groundbreaking initiative by launching the world’s first EV battery passport for its flagship EX90 SUV, which is about to start production. This passport records the origins of raw materials, components, recycled content, and carbon footprint, providing unprecedented transparency.
Developed over five years by Volvo, owned by China’s Geely, in partnership with UK startup Circulor, which utilises blockchain technology to map supply chains, the battery passport is a significant step towards sustainability and traceability.
While battery passports will become mandatory for electric vehicles sold in the European Union from February 2027, showing the composition of batteries and the origin of key materials, their carbon footprint, and recycled content, Volvo has taken the lead by introducing the passport nearly three years ahead of the regulations. This move aligns with the automaker’s goal of producing only fully-electric cars by 2030.
Volvo’s head of global sustainability, Vanessa Butani, emphasised the company’s commitment to transparency with car buyers, stating, “It’s really important for us to be a pioneer and a leader.”
The EX90 SUV, equipped with a battery passport, is set to begin production soon at Volvo’s plant in Charleston, South Carolina, and will be delivered to customers in Europe and North America starting in the second half of the year. Owners will be able to access a simplified version of the passport using a QR code on the inside of the driver’s door.
Butani confirmed that the passport will be gradually rolled out to all of Volvo’s EVs, while a more comprehensive version will be provided to regulators. Additionally, the passport will include up-to-date information on the EV battery’s state of health for 15 years, crucial for assessing used EV values, at a cost of around USD10 per car, according to Circulor CEO Douglas Johnson-Poensgen.
Circulor’s system traces battery materials from the mine to individual cars, leveraging suppliers’ production systems to track materials throughout the supply chain and verifying suppliers’ monthly energy bills and renewable energy sources to calculate the total carbon footprint.
The passport has necessitated changes in how Volvo traces parts through its manufacturing process to understand the origins of every component in every vehicle, a departure from traditional practices, as Johnson-Poensgen explained, “Car manufacturing has never been about which rock went into which component and which got connected to which car. It’s taken a long time to figure that out.”
While there is no such mandate in the United States yet, automakers are showing interest due to the potential need to prove their eligibility for EV subsidies under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
Volvo has invested in Circulor, along with Jaguar Land Rover and BHP, the world’s largest listed miner. Johnson-Poensgen noted a rush among automakers to create battery passports and warned that many may find it challenging to meet the EU’s 2027 deadline if they start now.