ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter "ITOCHU") announced today it is participating in the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (headquartered in Los Angeles, California, USA; Chris Ballinger and Tram Vo, directors; hereinafter MOBI), a global NPO seeking to set the standard for blockchain technology among Mobility and its supply chain. MOBI and ITOCHU will jointly study and create a global decarbonized society.

MOBI is one of the largest nonprofit alliances with more than 100 entities, among them the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers, startups, NGOs, transit agencies, insurers, toll road providers, smart city leaders, and technology companies creating standards in blockchain, distributed ledger and related technologies.

Currently, demand for lithium-ion batteries has been increasing rapidly, backed by the growing demand for electric vehicles (EV) and renewable energy. In addition, Europe’s new guidelines for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in relation to the reuse of a certain quantity of rare earth metals will be introduced by 2030.　To meet the growing worldwide demand for batteries and to establish a circular system for reusing rare earth metals in lithium-ion batteries, ITOCHU will be involved in these industries and will form international partnerships to create an efficient global supply chain.

ITOCHU has been building traceability systems with blockchain technologies for securing sustainable and transparent supply chains. In the automotive sector, ITOCHU has started commercial development of a project to achieve greater sustainability in natural rubber, a raw material for tires, with stakeholders who have endorsed the project through the establishment of traceability and sustainability activities in partnership with international NGOs. MOBI's supply chain working group will also aim to standardize technologies that will enable ethical sourcing and sustainability of automotive components in the future. ITOCHU will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by sharing its knowledge in blockchain traceability of natural rubber with MOBI.

ITOCHU will contribute to the realization of a decarbonized and decentralized energy society and to SDGs by improving expertise in the global network. Through these activities, ITOCHU will continue to tackle new eco-systems and a circular economy that transcend the boundaries of industries and products.