Ningde era transparent procurement of cobalt and lithium raw materials

Ensuring that the source of lithium-ion battery raw materials is 'clean' may become an important factor for my country's power lithium battery companies to enter the supply chain of international car companies. Gaogong Lithium was informed that CATL has established a strategic partnership with supply chain analysis expert RCSGlobal to ensure the responsible procurement of raw materials such as cobalt, lithium and graphite. CATL will further expand to aluminum, copper, nickel and manganese in the future. field. According to the agreement, RCSGlobal will audit and supervise CATL's material suppliers, assess whether the raw material production and supply of these suppliers meet environmental and human rights requirements, and jointly promote the sustainable development of a responsible supply chain. It is reported that the comprehensive system developed by RCSGlobal can track the compliance of sub-suppliers, refineries, smelters, mines and recyclers to sustainable development standards. This means that CATL will put forward higher requirements for its raw material suppliers such as cobalt, lithium, nickel and graphite in the production and supply of products, which will help further enhance its product competitiveness. challenge. Ningde Times requires its suppliers to ensure transparent and ethical supply of raw materials. European and American OEMs including Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Volvo, Renault Mitsubishi Nissan, PSA, Ford, etc. are advancing their electrification strategic goals. In the process, all their power lithium battery suppliers have put forward requirements to ensure the transparency and responsibility of raw material procurement and production. For example, Volkswagen has established a strategic partnership with RCSGlobal. The focus of the cooperation is to audit its suppliers 'to ensure that the entire supply chain from the supply chain to the mine meets human rights, safe working conditions and environmental protection.' When risks and shortcomings are discovered, new improvement guidelines can be announced to the supplier. If the supplier seriously violates the audit regulations, it may be disqualified as a supplier by the public. Mercedes-Benz announced that it will comply with sustainability standards in the procurement of cobalt-lithium raw materials. It will only purchase batteries containing cobalt and lithium from certified mines. 'Mining Standards' have been transformed into key standards for supplier decision-making and compatibility. BMW, BASF, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electronics jointly launched a program called 'Cobalt for DevelopmentBMW has announced that it will purchase cobalt directly from mines in Australia and Morocco and supply it to battery suppliers. The same is true for lithium materials. Technology giant IBM announced that it will work with Ford Motor, LG Chem, Huayou Cobalt and RCSGlobal to use its blockchain platform to monitor and track the transparency of cobalt supply in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition, Europe has formulated a new plan called 'Battery PassportThe plan can determine battery chemical composition and quality standards, strengthen the recycling of used batteries, and even eliminate child labor. Obviously, international car companies attach great importance to their upstream supply chain from raw material extraction, transportation, processing to the end of production. To continue to obtain orders from international car companies, suppliers must have a strict responsibility management system and supply chain traceability Control. At present, Samsung SDI, Panasonic, LG Chem and other Japanese and Korean battery companies are the main suppliers of power lithium batteries for the above-mentioned European and American OEMs, and have joined the Responsible Mining Initiative (RMI) and other related organizations, and initially established a responsible supply Chain procurement system. Ningde Times joins the organization and will also optimize its upstream raw material supply system, and then put forward higher requirements for its suppliers. Under this circumstance, Chinese power lithium battery companies that enter the international market, including BYD, Yiwei Lithium Energy, Guoxuan Hi-Tech, Honeycomb Energy, Funeng Technology, AVIC Lithium Battery, and Weihong Power, must also require their upstream suppliers to comply The procurement requirements put forward by international OEMs have had a significant impact on the export of Chinese lithium battery companies and the establishment of factories in Europe.