Yesterday the blockchain mobility non-profit, MOBI announced its latest standard, the Trusted Trip. Co-developed by several members, including the EU, DENSO, Hitachi America, and ITOCHU, the aim is to track ‘trips’ for a person, a parcel, a vehicle, a battery or something else. As many companies commit to becoming net zero, one of the most important applications of the standard is to track the carbon emissions of trips.
In the United States, the EPA estimates that the transport sector accounts for 29% of green house gas (GHG) emissions. Globally, the International Energy Agency estimates the industry is responsible for 24% of direct CO2 emissions. Either way, those are big numbers, and new tools are needed to reduce them.
“Organizations are making bold commitments for a net zero carbon future and will need to adopt blockchain solutions to deliver on their promises,” said Tram Vo, MOBI Co-director and Founder. “Blockchain’s consensus mechanism and immutability are required for track and trace — from material, supply chain, through production, first-life and second-life use, recycling, and end of life.”
One of the challenges with tracking people or objects is privacy. The standard uses decentralized identifiers (DID) and self sovereign identity to identify the person or thing being tracked in the Trusted Trip. That means users can store their identity details themselves.
A variety of applications could leverage the standard. For example, it could be used to track parts for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, verify emissions claims for a journey or incentivize sustainable behavior.
To date, MOBI and its community have developed numerous standards. One of the most important is to provide an identity for Vehicles, the VID, which can be used to track events in the car’s life, including change of ownership, repairs and insurance claims, and the ability to log odometer readings.
Other blockchain standards developed include:
- integrating electric cars with the grid
- automative supply chain tracking
- auto and mobility data sharing
- vehicle financing.
