Circularise and Porsche collaborate with Borealis, Covestro and Domo Chemicals to enable the traceability of plastics in the automotive sector

‍Stuttgart/The Hague/Vienna/Leverkusen/Ghent, November 3, 2020 - Circularise, the blockchain  supply chain transparency provider, as part of the Startup Autobahn innovation program, recently launched a project with Porsche and its pioneering material suppliers – Borealis,  Covestro and Domo Chemicals – to enable the traceability of plastics on blockchain and to  ensure that the use of sustainable materials in Porsche cars can be proven. By digitizing  materials Circularise was able to create a digital thread through the whole supply chain,  enabling material traceability, tracking the CO2 footprint and other sustainability metrics like  water savings. 

Getting information from supply chains has always been a challenge. Not only because of the  inherent complexity of the supply chains and the multitude of suppliers, but also due to concerns  around trust, privacy and confidentiality. That is why blockchain is offering such a fitting solution to transparency challenges in supply chains. “We believe transparency should not come at the  cost of reduced privacy and confidentiality. That is why we developed our patent pending  technology for creating verified statements on public blockchains without revealing any  underlying sensitive data. While this raw data is very valuable in a B2B setting, consumers  demand a more distilled and interactive version. We are proud to present exactly that in  collaboration with Porsche and some of their pioneering suppliers,” says Mesbah Sabur.  

Porsche has a large number of suppliers providing parts to its cars but it doesn’t stop the  company looking for more information about the materials that go into its cars. According to  Antoon Versteeg, Project Lead Innovation Research at Porsche, “We need to know more details  on the parts and materials being used in our products, that means information on production  processes deep down the supply chain, statements of recycled content and more. With the help  of Circularise, as well as with the help of their partners we were able to trace for a number of  specific cases plastics from raw material production to the final car.”

A number of suppliers who can deliver sustainably produced materials for the automotive  industry were involved in this project to realise the final outcome. Each batch of material was  digitized on the blockchain receiving a digital copy called digital twin. The digital twin carries all  relevant information regarding the batch, such as its environmental footprint and origin. This  digital thread created transparency between project partners leading to an improved supply  chain collaboration.  

This also offers great advantages to the material manufacturers. According to Thomas Nuyts,  Director of Global Product Management at Domo Chemicals, “as leader in the production of  sustainable polyamides, we at Domo can only gain by making the supply chain more  transparent. By tracking our materials, we will make a huge step ahead in supporting the  automotive industry in its sustainability challenges. Besides providing recycled solutions from  current sources we also aim to enlarge this loop and find new raw materials for our products to  meet the mobility needs of today and tomorrow.” 

However, the companies cannot simply create a digital twin. First, the batch of materials needs  to be audited by an independent third party to verify that the material and related claims are  true. “Verification is essential. Even with a supply chain involving blockchains we want  independent auditors for our system. And this is how we gain the trust and confidence of all our  value chain members. Several years from now, after these systems are in place on a wider  scale, things will have been standardized. For now, it’s still early days. Auditors and  certifications are essential to ensure that no one can engage in greenwashing. But we really  need to pick up the pace as we keep moving towards more circularity,” says Christopher  McArdle, Borealis Vice President Polyolefin Strategy and New Business Development. 

Once the materials are digitized, the parties along the supply chain can now update the digital  twin mimicking the physical supply chain and reflecting the manufacturing processes along the  lifecycle of the product. Due to Circularise’s “Smart Questioning” technology this process can  happen while preserving everyone’s privacy regarding their identity and business relations and  protecting confidential information.  

Burkhard Zimmermann, Head of Resin, Digital Transformation & Sustainability at Covestro’s  Polycarbonates segment: “For us, it is really important to share information and be more  transparent while maintaining confidentiality. For instance, the material composition is of  competitive advantage so we would never share that openly. Here, Circularise helps us to  maintain this confidentiality and only disclose the information needed from raw material  producer to recycler. And with that, we can close the loop.” 

Not only this approach helps car manufacturers to make better decisions for the next  generations of vehicles and support end-of-life recycling approaches, it also helps final  consumers to learn more about their vehicle and its origins, enabling them to make more  sustainable choices. Ultimately reducing the environmental impact across the whole value  chain.