Volvo is once again taking the lead in safety and innovation, this time in the electric vehicle field. Its latest luxury electric SUV, the EX90, will be the first mass-produced electric car with a so-called “battery passport.” This new feature is designed to enhance transparency and improve trust in the EV industry,

Electric Cars Need Battery Passports

EV batteries are a pretty contentious subject. Never mind their often sub-par performance, the chemicals that go into making them often come with less than a clean bill of health. We all know about serious issues surrounding mining rare earth metals needed for the batteries, sometimes destroying the whole notion of “green” motoring. Volvo is here to fix it with a simple idea.

A battery passport is a digital document that provides detailed information about an electric vehicle’s battery. It includes information about the origin of the material and the battery itself, chemical composition, production date, and the all-important health status. All of that information is crucial for future recycling and reuse of the battery, but it also helps to determine the fair value of a used electric vehicle.

How will it work? Volvo will place a QR code in the driver’s side door that can be scanned to quickly reveal all the information. The battery data will be linked to the vehicle’s VIN, giving access to all the battery information and showing the battery’s environmental impact for a complete picture.

A Passport To Transparency

The battery passports promise to address EV batteries’ social and environmental impact. They can help potential buyers make informed choices about the vehicles they purchase. Providing transparency about the origin and detailed chemical composition information can ensure the batteries are correctly recycled or even reused at the end of their life. This should reduce the need for mining new raw materials, further reducing the environmental impact of EV production.

The European Union is far ahead in the battery passport regulations. From 2027, every electric vehicle sold in the EU will be required to have one — no passport, no sale. The EU hopes its stance will help drive the global adoption of this technology as automakers introduce passports across various markets.