Professional services firm KPMG and supply chain visibility solutions provider Circulor announced a new alliance aimed at enabling clients to create sustainable and circular battery and industrial value chains, and to ensure access to supplies of scarce raw materials.

Founded in 2017, London-based Circulor offers software solutions to track materials with high environmental and human rights impacts across manufacturing and recycling supply chains. The company’s digital battery passport solution tracks the physical flow of critical raw materials through the battery value chain across the product life cycle, providing key sustainability and product data and facilitating recovery and recycling efforts.

According to the companies, the new alliance comes as competition heats up for critical raw materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite, and as companies look to gain control over opaque supply chains and boost recycling efforts. The digital battery passport was designed for full compliance with upcoming EU regulatory requirements such as the sustainability rules under the EU Battery Regulation, and also supports compliance with the U.S. Clean Vehicle Tax Credit, which requires proof that components originated in North America in order to qualify for tax credits.

Circulor CEO Douglas Johnson-Poensgen said:

“Supply chain transparency is a business imperative. Consumers and regulators increasingly want to know that products are sourced responsibly and sustainably. By harnessing the dual strengths of KPMG and Circulor, companies can accelerate progress toward their sourcing goals, mitigate risks, build trust among stakeholders, and create clear differentiation to win in the market—today and in the future.” 

According to KPMG Partner Andreas Halvarsson, KPMG will offer Circulor’s solution as part of its sustainability and value chain advisory portfolio, and will serve as “the key point of contact for our clients, supporting them in implementing the Circulor platform and analysing their granular supply chain data to gain strategic foresight and operational value.”

The companies said that they will also expand the alliance beyond batteries, providing digital product passports and identifiers to customers across industries.

KPMG Sweden Sustainability Advisory Director Tim Gore said:

“Full traceability of raw materials is the key to building sustainable and circular battery value chains, to securing scarce supplies and winning the race to net zero. The lessons learned in batteries can be applied to every other industrial sector facing sustainability challenges and rising competition for raw materials.”

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