Australia’s Vulcan to track carbon emissions used in EV lithium-ion batteries

Australian lithium producer Vulcan Energy has announced plans to trace and measure the emissions across its European lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, a move the company bills as a world-first for the lithium sector.

Vulcan, which is aiming to become the world’s first producer of zero carbon lithium for EV batteries, announced on Tuesday that it will use technology from London-based traceability company Circulor, which already boasts major customers such as Volvo Cars, Daimler, Polestar, and Jaguar Land Rover.

The technology allows companies to trace raw materials like lithium as well as track and manage the embedded CO2 emissions in their upstream supply chain for their EVs, for both reputational and compliance purposes.

Vulcan will begin using Circulor’s traceability software in future contracts with European OEMs so as to help them meet their sustainability objectices for material traceability and CO2 transparency.

“This collaboration between Circulor and Vulcan will allow us to develop the world’s first fully traceable, transparent and zero carbon lithium product extracted and consumed in Europe,” said Dr Francis Wedin, Vulcan’s CEO.

“The EV battery market in Europe is evolving fast with many new players establishing themselves in the market, and with a clear advantage for those who can prove sustainable practices,” said Douglas Johnson-Poensgen, Circulor’s CEO.

“We are pleased to be supporting Vulcan in meeting Europe’s needs for the electric vehicle transition, from a zero-carbon source, for many years to come. Together, we will set a new benchmark for the responsible sourcing of raw materials to enable sustainable mobility for the future.”

Vulcan also received its own reputational boost last week, after announcing that former Tesla Head of Battery and Energy Supply Chain, Annie Liu, had joined the company as a non-executive director.

“This collaboration between Circulor and Vulcan will allow us to develop the world’s first fully traceable, transparent and zero carbon lithium product extracted and consumed in Europe,” said Dr Francis Wedin, Vulcan’s CEO.

“As well as showing Vulcan’s commitment to a transparent supply chain with net zero carbon footprint, it is another industry-leading move by Vulcan that sets the way forward for the raw materials industry to improve and align to OEMs’ goal of producing truly sustainable EVs.”