The project would facilitate the usual procedures of the industry, besides allowing and verifying the origin of the minerals commercialized in the international markets
Volkswagen, the important German car manufacturer, announced on Thursday, April 18th, through a statement posted on its website, that it will officially sponsor a project which seeks to use blockchain technology to get minerals and, at the same time, the correct supply of premium material without damaging the environment excessively.
The statement says that the collaboration will be opened to the entire industry. In addition, the initiative will increase the advantages in this field to improve efficiency, transparency, and sustainability in all mineral extraction and distribution chains.
The project, which is already perfectly designed and in full development, is a platform supported by the IBM blockchain and by Linux Foundation in its Hyperledger Fabric system. Through this tool, users can know directly the origin of the mineral that was extracted. Another characteristic is that the platform will provide detailed information to all interested parties in order to easily verify the origin of the products.
Through the publication, the company confirmed its belief that blockchain technology could facilitate compliance processes, as well as ensure safety standards and procedures protocols.
Previously, in the traditional mining industry system, these processes were conducted through fairly complicated audits and manual procedures which required hiring third-party services. Thus, this new system could automate and simplify the protocols to complement the evaluation, audits and all supply standards that have been developed by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).
In line with this new method in which all the usual mineral supply processes could be simplified, the company mentions in the press release its contribution to the project, expressing its concern and interest in improving industry processes reducing costs and accelerating their supply of the material needed to its operations.
“Joining the project will allow the Volkswagen Group to gain a better insight into the origin of the cobalt used in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and other types of minerals used in vehicle production”, the statement said.
Volkswagen is not the only company that has decided to collaborate with this blockchain project. Huayou Cobalt, Ford Motor Company, IBM, LG Chem, inter alia, have decided to get involved in the development of the alternative solution. Similarly, the RCS Global Group, which is a solid company specialized in the effective provision of data, will provide the necessary support so that all those involved in the project will have access to the information network, in order to track and keep an effective record of the minerals through the supply chain.
Volkswagen is considered one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world and it is recognized as one of the best. In addition, they have a lot of experience in the supply and sustainability of minerals needed for the global industry, which would make possible to achieve the purpose of its new project in an environmentally responsible way.
By María Victoria Rodríguez
