Web3 consortium champions renewable energy with Global Battery Passport push

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Nonprofit Web3 consortium MOBI has rolled out a minimum viable product (MVP) for a Global Battery Passport (GBP) designed to track battery life cycles as the world pivots toward renewable energy sources.

According to a statement, MOBI’s MVP has shown immediate promise in achieving its objectives, but a commercial product is still two years away. MOBI is teaming up with DENSO Corporation (NASDAQ: DNZOF), Honda (NASDAQ: HMC), Mazda (NASDAQ: MZDAF), Nissan (NASDAQ: NSANF) and Anristu (NASDAQ: AITUF) for the second experiment stage after racking impressive results in the first phase.

The push for a GBP comes amid global regulations seeking to encourage uniformity in the battery ecosystem, with the European Union and United States regulators pushing for “digital recordkeeping.”

To achieve this, MOBI’s solution will lean on blockchain to track battery life cycles, with company CEO Tram Vo praising the technology’s transparency and immutability. The offering will record the date of manufacture for batteries, the present state of health, ownership history and its composition.

Rather than build in silos, MOBI said it would proceed with an open-standard approach, placing interoperability at the core to encourage the free flow of battery information between industry stakeholders. Using blockchain will allow MOBI to eliminate the need for expensive “one-off integration” by stakeholders while encouraging “cross-industry interoperability.”

“Today’s global battery value chain is complex and it’s difficult to simultaneously ensure efficiency, scalability, safety, circularity, and regulatory compliance,” said Vo. “To balance these priorities, we need to enhance battery lifecycle management by creating a shared ecosystem with SSI framework for secure coordination and selective disclosure of sensitive data.”

The first-of-its-kind offering can be described as a decentralized marketplace that possesses protocols for self-sufficient data and self-sovereign identity (SSI).

While stage one showed the capabilities of an Integrated Trust Network (ITN) for cross-validation of battery data, stage two will seek to show the functionalities of the decentralized marketplace. For participants, the use cases are endless and encompass carbon credit management and even insurance calculations.

Blockchain’s tango with batteries

In May, the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) revealed plans to use blockchain for battery certifications in Mainland China. The offering, designed specifically for lithium batteries, will replace paper-based processes while promoting transparency for battery information.

The certificates will be crucial in shipping lithium batteries while stifling fraud typically associated with paper-based documents.

“This has only been made possible by GSBN’s blockchain network and through it, its access to top testing laboratories and certification providers in China, and one of the world’s top exporters of goods with lithium-ion batteries,” said Dirk Van de Velde, Chief Health, Safety, Security and Environment Officer at MSC.

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