MOBI is working with ecosystem stakeholders to define a Battery Self-Sovereign Digital Twin™. One of the most important applications for the Battery SSDT™ is the creation of a global battery passport, a digital credential containing information about the battery’s state of charge, state of health, history, and more.
Growth in the Global Battery Market
Batteries have become a ubiquitous part of modern life. Increasing demand for batteries in consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and supporting the grid has accelerated the global market. A recent study puts the global battery market size of $173.7 Billion by 2026. This estimate does not consider the market size created by the second life use cases. Manufacturers are continually looking to improve battery chemistries and materials to increase energy density, lengthen life, improve safety, lower cost, and enable sustainability through second life and recycling
Reimagining the Battery Value Chain
MOBI is working with ecosystem stakeholders to create an implementation framework, reference architecture, and data schemas for an industry-wide secure data management system that can be used to improve the visibility and sustainability of the global battery value chain. These products are being developed with draft European Battery Regulation and CARB in mind such that the stakeholders can be compliant with these regulations. Our aim is to facilitate seamless communication in production management, maintenance, safety, second and third life uses, and recycling while meeting consumer and regulatory demands.
Battery Self-Sovereign Digital Twins™
In order to ensure the execution of secure, privacy-preserving, trusted IoT transactions and data sharing in a decentralized ecosystem, it is necessary to develop new ways to identify and verify the entities involved. To this end, MOBI and its members are defining trusted identity standards for connected ecosystems in addition to building the Web3 infrastructure needed to facilitate these transactions.
In 2018, MOBI released MOBI VID to define a Vehicle Self-Sovereign Digital Twin™, the first W3C DID-based vehicle identity that can be anchored on a distributed ledger. In mid-2020, we began to focus our efforts on defining a Battery SSDT™ to support trusted battery tracking, evaluation, and management. The Battery SSDT™ stores a combination of static and real-time data to log a battery’s journey throughout its lifetime. Battery SSDTs™ are onboarded and managed on Citopia, with trusted identity and assurance services provided by the Integrated Trust Network (ITN).
Building Trusted Track-and-Trace for the Battery Lifecycle
In addition to releasing the Battery State of Health White Paper and Rechargeable Battery Identification Number (BIN) Technical Specifications, MOBI recently completed a battery track-and-trace pilot leveraging Citopia and the ITN. These initiatives will allow more seamless battery value chains through the creation of a trusted, tamper-evident, universally unique battery identity supported by Citopia and the ITN.
Defining a Global Battery Passport
One of the most important applications for the Battery SSDT™ is the creation of a global battery passport, a digital credential containing key information about the battery’s state of charge, state of health, history, and more.
The availability of this data will enable stakeholders across the value chain to ensure that their assets and operations comply with emerging domestic and international regulations surrounding battery manufacturing, distribution, and recycling, such as the EU Battery Directive. MOBI is continuously collaborating with industry stakeholders and consortia to develop global battery passports to promote quality assurance, safety, and circularity in the global battery value chain.
Battery Pilots Using Citopia and the ITN
Web3 federated networks and decentralized marketplaces are needed to manage Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), SSDTs™, and Verifiable Credentials (VCs) for business automation and trusted data sharing between connected entities. MOBI’s Web3 Infrastructure consists of three member-owned and operated layers enabling usage-based transactions:
- The foundational layer, the MOBI consortium, creates standards to identify connected entities and shared business processes.
- The middle layer, the Integrated Trust Network (ITN), is a layer-two, protocol-agnostic digital infrastructure to provide trusted identity services. The ITN does not have a front-end application.
- The top layer, Citopia, is a federated Web3 marketplace to onboard SSDTs and enable VC issuance for business automation and trustless track-and-trace applications throughout the value chain. Citopia has front-end applications for end users and providers and consists of Citopia vinTRAK, Citopia partsTRAK, and Citopia MaaS.
Track-and-trace on Citopia partsTRAK leverages the MOBI Trusted Trip™ Standard to link a battery’s self-sovereign identity with its time-stamped location and pertinent metadata into a verifiable trip. These trips, along with any transactions made along the way, are executed on Citopia and stored in the batteries’ Self-Sovereign Digital Twins™.
The pilot was successfully demonstrated in May 2022, presenting a workflow to reliably track and trace battery packs/modules in the supply chain. The Supply Chain Working Group is currently exploring use cases for the second release of Citopia partsTRAK.
MOBI Battery Initiative Standards
MOBI is continually developing standards for the industry; working with the EU and other regulators to review specifications and create compliant frameworks and guidelines; and performing pilots to explore new methods of estimating greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring ethical material sourcing, improving recycling processes, and more. Stay tuned for more battery standards!
