[KITA News] Korea should be prepared to set a digital history tracking system

   

Korea should be prepared to set a digital history tracking system

In response to a circular economy spearheaded by the EU, Korea should also be prepared to set a digital history tracking system
 
- The EU will track history of batteries, including information on production, use and recycling from 2026, which is expected to be expanded to cover all products in the future
- China already has a battery passport platform in place while Germany and Japan in the process of developing a similar platform

 

The EU has announced policies that require a transparent disclosure of digital history of products traded in the region, which can also verify whether environmental regulations are being properly observed in the supply chain. In response to such a move, Korea should also establish a similar digital history tracking system.

 

Institute for International Trade, Korea International Trade Association (KITA,  Chairman: Christopher Koo) published a report on August 24, which is titled “The necessity of introducing a battery history tracking platform in line with the EU’s plan to establish a battery passport.” According to the report, the passport-like scheme will be introduced in 2026, which is projected to be inaugurated by initially implementing the scheme on batteries. In the longer term, this scheme is planned to further cover a vast majority of products that are traded in the EU region, leading to projections that the EU will establish a circular economy platform.

 

The battery passport is a scheme encouraging maximum safety, optimal use and recycling of batteries by digitally recording and sharing information on the full lifecycle of batteries, including production, use, disposal, reuse and recycling. An expanded version of this scheme covering all physical products is called a digital product passport. The aim of introducing these two types of schemes will be centered on allowing consumers to have information on the sustainability of supply chains in advance of making a purchase.

 

In response to the EU’s move to introduce these two types of passports, Germany and Japan are making a pre-emptive move to introduce new policies. Germany is the first country in the EU to develop a battery passport platform. A total of eleven German companies, including BMW, Umicore, BASF, have formed a consortium for a project to develop a battery pass that will enable the collection and sharing of battery information.

 

Japan is also reportedly known to engage in a move to respond to the EU’s battery passport scheme. The Battery Association for Supply Chain (BASC) - a group led by the private sector - started to design its own version of a battery pass, known as “Digital Scheme to Support Battery Supply Chain” from April this year, which aims to maximize flexibility and compatibility with the EU’s battery passport.

 

In the field of establishing a platform for battery history tracking and its reuse history, China is the clear first runner. China has already established EVMAM-TBRAT ？ its own battery history tracking platform in 2018. Through this platform, the country is supervising whether relevant parties comply with the responsibility to recycle EV batteries and whether this responsibility is being fully respected. As of January 2021, more than 4.06 million renewable energy-powered vehicles are registered in this platform. Since August 2021, companies involved in the battery recycling business are required to enter battery information in the platform, which will enable China to collect and compile battery history information in a much speedier fashion.

 

Hee-young Kim, a researcher at KITA proposed, “Korea should also jump in the race of establishing a digital history tracking system in order to materialize the circular economy of batteries.” The researcher also said, “As it is very likely that digital history tracking will not be limited to batteries but rather be expanded to cover all products, the government should provide institutional support to establish a digital history tracking platform” and added, “It is also imperative for companies involved in the supply chain to invest efforts to recycle products and include environmental, social and corporate governance in their daily operations.”

 

[This news is provided by Newsis]

By - KITA.Net (http://kita.org/about/newsView.do?id=&no=2728&searchWrd=&pageIndex=1)