Last week Korean automotive firms Hyundai and KIA announced a new blockchain and AI-powered Supplier CO2 Emission Monitoring System (SCEMS). The public Hedera DLT will be used to record the carbon emissions data from suppliers and artificial intelligence (AI) will predict future emissions.
The carbon footprint will be tracked throughout the lifecycle including the materials used, the manufacturing process and the transport of finished products.
Hyundai hopes that by using the latest technology regulators and other stakeholders will “have complete confidence in the accuracy of the data.” It’s true that blockchains and DLT are immutable so the data can’t be tampered with after it’s recorded. But whether or not the data is accurate in the first place would have to be verified in some other way.
The SCEMS solution is “a revolutionary approach to managing carbon emissions and combating climate change, ushering in a new era of sustainable supply chain within our cooperative network,” said Seung Hyun Hong, Head of Materials Research and Engineering Center at Hyundai Motor and Kia.
The group has been targeting emissions reductions for some time. For example, its Indian plant sources 84% of its electricity from eco-friendly sources. For several years it has been altering its manufacturing processes to be more environmentally friendly such as adjusting the way it paints cars and reducing the use of toxic substances.
The Hyundai group has previously used blockchain for a variety of use cases, including NFTs. In 2021 it started using blockchain to enable people to verify that Hyundai and Kia spare parts are authentic. It’s a sign of the evolution of the sector that the 2021 solution used a private enterprise blockchain, whereas the latest solution uses a public DLT.
Meanwhile, several other automotive groups are using blockchain for emissions tracking. For example, blockchain startup Circulor has relationships with Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo. In some cases it is for tracking raw materials, in others for emissions. Audi is involved in a blockchain-based recycling project.