Beyond Blockchain

The whole automotive branch is on the cusp of starting to become electrified. It is expected that around three to four times the amount of copper and a multiple of cobalt are required to manufacture a pure electronic car in comparison to a car with a combustion engine. The situation is also reflected in the price of the raw materials. Copper prices increased by over 50% in the past years and cobalt even tripled based on the levels of 2016. While only a high technological process can be used to mine lithium, cobalt and copper can be found directly within the soil and therefore it does not require a plant to obtain smaller amounts of the raw materials. The possibility of simple and zero-cost production combined with high metal prices makes it very profitable for small miners to search for those minerals by hand. This so-called artisanal mining is very common especially in undeveloped countries with low economic status and a high poverty rate. Artisanal mining in such areas is practiced under inhumane conditions, oftentimes even including child labor. The question arises how EV supply chains can be traced down to prohibit unethicaly sourced material from entering the supply chain. Simultaneously another megatrend which is mentioned in the media a lot of times in the past couple of years is distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), mostly known due to the term blockchain and the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. One technology which is standing out is the IOTA Tangle. The Tangle has a different approach to most known blockchain architectures and claims to solve the problems they face. The question arises if the IOTA Tangle could solve the problem of electronic vehicle supply chains, while being cost-effective and scalable at the same time, suiting the requirements of today's supply chains. Therefore, the following research questions are addressed: -What potentials do Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) have and what is the reason for that?-How does the IOTAs Tangle differ from blockchain solutions, what makes its design unique and what are the advantages?-What could be an effective process for companies to trace electronic vehicle supply chains utilizing the IOTA Tangle to solve the problems of artisanal mining