Consortium of 13 companies, including Samsung SDI, SKIET, EcoPro, Lotte Infracell, and SK C&C, formed to respond to EU Battery Directive

Pilot project launched in May 2024 to establish systems, inspect companies’ regulatory response processes, and prepare for 2027 implementation of digital battery passport requirements

Vancouver, Wash., and Seoul, South Korea: Glassdome, a leading sustainability platform for manufacturers, was selected by the Global Battery Alliance (GBA) to organize a new Digital Battery Passport pilot project. The choice was revealed in an announcement on May 21, 2024. Glassdome has formed a consortium of 13 companies, including Samsung SDI, SK IE Technology (SKIET), EcoPro, and Lotte Infracell, and will lead a pilot program designed to preemptively respond to upcoming EU Battery Directive Digital Battery Passport requirements.

The Digital Battery Passport is a system that tracks, manages, and provides access to full lifecycle and sustainability data for EV and industrial batteries over 2kWh distributed in the EU. The EU Battery Directive requires its implementation by February 2027. To comply, battery manufacturers and suppliers need to collect and manage key data like their product carbon footprint (PCF), percentage of recycled materials, and country of origin.

The Glassdome platform helps companies report their PCF using real data. Carbon compliance and global environmental regulatory reporting are often a complex, time consuming process. Glassdome makes sustainability simple for manufacturers by guiding them from data collection to monitoring to ongoing reporting.

This year, Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) named Glassdome as the first ISO 14067 verified real data PCF platform. When a company measures and reports their PCF through Glassdome, its results already comply with ISO 14067 standards, shortening the verification period by weeks and cutting costs.

The GBA was established at the World Economic Forum in 2017 through cooperation between battery producers, mining and energy companies, and government agencies. The Digital Battery Passport initiative helps it achieve its goal of a carbon neutral battery value chain by 2050.

The GBA pilot project led by Glassdome will derive accurate real-data-based PCFs across the entire battery manufacturing lifecycle. It will also implement a secure data management system that helps manufacturers and partners share only their relevant PCF data, and only with those who need to know it.

The full consortium consists of:

• Glassdome
• Samsung SDI (battery manufacturer)
• SKIET (separator)
• EcoPro (cathode material)
• SK Nexilis (copper foil)
• Lotte Infracell (aluminum foil)
• Choil Aluminum (aluminum foil)
• Inzi Controls (battery module manufacturer)
• SK tes (waste battery recycler)
• PM Grow (battery subscription service and reusable battery company)
• Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre (Australian battery research center)
• Korea Battery Industry Association (Korean battery trade association)
• SK C&C (digital carbon passport platform company)

Jinki Ham, CEO of Glassdome Korea, remarked, “As we transition from a linear to a circular economy, the global market needs environmental impact data. Sustainability regulation is changing the disclosure of information like recycling rates and product carbon footprint from a nice-to-have to a must-have.”

He continued, “Glassdome is a world leader in carbon regulation solutions. We’re dedicating ourselves to helping our manufacturing clients, large and small, continue to export to customers in Europe and anywhere else carbon regulation emerges.”

Lee Jeong-hoon, head of the SK C&C Net Zero Platform Business Team added, “Digital and ESG expertise based on LCA foundations is essential in tracking carbon data in the battery value chain. By combining that expertise with generative AI technology, we will go beyond simple data tracking and make our customers more competitive by helping them reduce their carbon footprints.”

Under Glassdome’s leadership, a total of 13 battery value chain companies from Korea, the U.S., and Australia will form the GBA consortium and promote the ‘Digital Battery Passport’ pilot project from May 2024.

About Glassdome: Glassdome is an industrial software company dedicated to making sustainability and operations clear and simple for manufacturers. The company was founded in the innovative heart of San Francisco in 2019. Roots in Silicon Valley and Korea connect a tech-savvy spirit with powerful industrial expertise. The Glassdome platform is uniquely positioned to serve manufacturers that want to improve efficiency and meet and exceed green regulation requirements, all in one platform.

Find out more at glassdome.com.

• LRQA verified that Glassdome complies with ISO 14067, the international standard for calculating and reporting product carbon footprints (PCFs).

• Glassdome developed its PCF solution in accordance with the ISO 14067 standard from the outset. The Glassdome solution streamlines third-party verification, saving time and money.

• EU CBAM regulation will require third-party verification by an accredited institution for carbon emissions reporting. From 2026, verification will be mandatory to export items like steel and aluminum to the EU.
 

- Glassdome helps manufacturing companies respond to global environmental regulations with digital transformation and product carbon footprint (PCF) solutions

- Lotte Aluminium and Choil Aluminum have an LCA-based total carbon emissions management system that goes beyond EU CBAM compliance

- Korea’s first application of a  ‘Carbon Emissions Management Platform’ that simultaneously supports EU CBAM and battery regulation compliance

- Platform enables calculation of raw material supplier carbon emissions (Scope 3) and creates product-level carbon footprint management system

Seoul, South Korea (Feb 5, 2024) - Glassdome, a company specializing in carbon emissions data management solutions, has partnered with SK C&C (CEO Yoon Poong-young) to develop the "Digital Carbon Passport platform" for Lotte Aluminium Co., Ltd., (CEO Choi Yeon-soo) and Choil Aluminum Co., Ltd., (CEOs Lee Young-ho and Seong Won-mo). This significant collaboration was announced on February 5th.

This project is a proactive response to new climate change and greenhouse gas reduction regulations, particularly those in the European Union (EU) and the United States. It is specifically designed to address the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and create a competitive edge in carbon emissions compliance.

The Digital Carbon Passport initiative aims to establish a robust platform rooted in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, meticulously assessing the entire carbon footprint throughout a product's lifecycle. It is also a preemptive measure designed to align with new EU battery regulations set to take effect in February 2025.

This is a groundbreaking achievement within South Korea, as the first-ever deployment of a carbon emissions management platform designed to seamlessly ensure compliance with both the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and battery regulations.

Lotte Aluminium is a materials company specializing in the production of aluminum foil tailored to meet the capacity and voltage requirements of secondary batteries. Choil Aluminum is a supplier of the raw materials essential for the production of aluminum foil for Lotte Aluminium. These two companies are part of the global secondary battery supply chain and are subject to EU CBAM and EU battery regulations.

The Digital Carbon Passport platform introduced to Lotte Aluminium and Choil Aluminum is designed to gather and analyze all carbon emissions data. Many carbon footprint initiatives only cover Scope 1 and 2, which include direct and indirect emissions originating from product production processes. The Digital Carbon Passport includes Scope 3, which encompasses emissions stemming from raw material suppliers. 

As a result, both companies have achieved a groundbreaking industry milestone by establishing a comprehensive product-level carbon footprint management system.

The Digital Carbon Passport platform adheres to the ISO 14067 international standard and serves as a tool to streamline the compulsory reporting of carbon emissions in accordance with the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). CBAM imposes tariffs on carbon emissions associated with six major product categories, such as steel and aluminum. It goes beyond merely accounting for carbon emissions generated during the production process; it also supports comprehensive life cycle assessments, quantifying and evaluating the environmental impact throughout the entire product life cycle.

Glassdome has the world's first technology to manage the carbon footprint life cycle of products based on primary data. Distinguishing itself from alternative solutions in the market, which often rely on users manually inputting carbon emissions data based on default or average values from public sources, Glassdome's approach utilizes real data. This methodology significantly reduces the risk of potential overestimation of carbon emissions, which could result in penalties or uncertified reports. Glassdome uses a real-time data collection and analysis approach to safeguard the confidentiality of sensitive information. This process efficiently converts the data into carbon emissions metrics and transmits only this processed information, ensuring both accuracy and security.

Seungmin Lee, the Head of the ESG Strategy Division at Lotte Aluminium, said, "We have entered into this agreement with a proactive commitment to comply with the carbon-related regulations set forth by the EU. With the implementation of this contract, we have successfully obtained precise and trustworthy carbon emissions data, gathered in real-time from every stage of our processes. I am eager to embrace this opportunity as it paves the way for us to not only reduce our carbon footprint but also enhance our competitiveness by introducing eco-friendly technologies."

Seong-hoon Jeong, Head of the R&D Center at Choil Aluminum, expressed, "Through this contract, we have acquired a robust carbon emission management platform, aligning perfectly with the carbon neutralization requirements of our secondary battery customers, who are investing in the EU and US markets." He further emphasized, "By effectively addressing key global carbon neutralization initiatives, including the Carbon Border Adjustment System (CBAM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), we have solidified our position as an environmentally-conscious battery materials company. We are also fully prepared to comply with additional carbon management regulations such as PCF (Carbon Footprint) and DBP (Digital Battery Passport), reinforcing our commitment to sustainability."

Jinki Ham, Head of Glassdome Korea, emphasized, "A substantial portion, ranging from 60% to 90%, of product carbon emissions falls within the Scope 3 category. Accurate carbon emissions data from our manufacturing partners is crucial for an exact evaluation of the entire supply chain's carbon footprint and for formulating effective long-term carbon reduction strategies." He continued, "We've established a comprehensive framework for the systematic collection and management of carbon emissions data from the partner suppliers of Lotte Aluminium such as Choil Aluminum. We will commit to collaborating closely to facilitate substantial carbon reductions within each company, setting the stage for sustainable business operations."