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 by Global Industry Analysts Inc. 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.
MOBI is working with other ecosystem stakeholders such as the EU Commission and the Global Battery Alliance to create a comprehensive, CARB-compliant framework for an industry-wide secure data management system that can be used to improve the visibility and sustainability of the global battery value chain. 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.
Our members create battery parts, incorporate batteries in their products (e.g., electric vehicles), and sell them globally along with various value-added services. MOBI and our members support initiatives by regulatory agencies, such as the European Union Battery Directive, to improve the life cycle of batteries and spur circular business model innovation. We believe that, when enacted, the directive will transform not only the European but global battery industry. Similar regulation will likely follow in other major markets.
In 2018, MOBI released MOBI VID Standard (a vehicle’s self-sovereign digital twin), the first W3C compliant vehicle identity that can be anchored on a blockchain or similar tamper-evident environment. Beginning in mid-2020, similar to the MOBI VID Standard, we began to create a new and much-needed battery identity standard and the issuance of battery birth certificates to support subsequent battery tracking, measurement, and management.
This indelible battery identity, like the widely known VIN Standard, is designed so that battery packs in vehicles are easily readable and can be decoded by everyone, including the end consumers. At the same time, MOBI has embarked on a battery pack and module track and trace pilot under the leadership of the Supply Chain Working Group.
MOBI is also developing standards related to battery state of health (SOH), one of the key variables to determine performance of the battery. The SOH has several uses. For example, owners can estimate the distance range of electric new and used vehicles. Suppliers can determine when to repurpose batteries for second life and recycle chemicals. Batteries can be swapped without risk of function loss, a major obstacle to widespread adoption of swapping vehicle batteries relative to in vehicle charging. Many of these requirements are an important part of the proposed EU battery directive before batteries are introduced to the European market.
In order to support our members’ compliance with the proposed and future directives, MOBI will continue to develop standards for the industry, work with EU and other regulators to review specifications, create frameworks and guidelines to comply with the specification, perform pilots related to efficient collection of data using multi-party applications that will be critical for the suppliers to estimate greenhouse gas emissions, ethical material sourcing, chemical recycling, and creation of battery passports. MOBI will continue to collaborate with other industry stakeholders and consortia to build battery passports for members of the battery value chain to query the complete history of batteries.
We would like to invite all industry stakeholders to join the MOBI community in our Battery Initiative to create solutions for a comprehensive framework for greater visibility into global battery supply and use to ensure a sustainable and responsible value chain. Stay tuned for the release of our battery identity and SOH standards along with other standards to come! For further information, please contact our Communications Manager, Grace Pulliam (grace@dlt.mobi).