This year, Volvo will release the world’s first battery “passports”. The Swedish automaker is launching battery passports starting with flagship electric crossover EX90 long before this kind of documentation becomes mandatory in Europe. The passport must confirm the origin of the raw materials in the battery, details of the recycled content and the carbon footprint.
Interestingly, the passport will also include information about the health of the battery, which will help reassure buyers when the cars hit the used car market and make it easier to estimate the value of a used electric car.
Volvo owners will be able to access a basic version of the passport by scanning a QR code on the driver’s door, while a more detailed version will be shared with authorities and presumably available to dealers.
Passport technology will later be implemented for the entire line of electric cars. The innovation will add $10 to the cost of the car. Passports for batteries are developed by the British startup Circulor. They enable the tracking of battery materials from the vehicle directly to the mine from which they were excavated.
Sales of the Volvo EX90 were supposed to begin in 2023, but the three-row electric car is expected to arrive in the company’s dealerships only this fall.