Verkor chooses V-TRACE, a solution co-developed by OPTEL and Bureau Veritas, to ensure the traceability and sustainability of its supply chain

GRENOBLE, France, Oct. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Verkor, a European pioneer in electric vehicle batteries, has taken another important step in its development by leveraging the expertise of two leading companies, OPTEL and Bureau Veritas. The collaboration, a first for the sector, will guarantee full traceability of Verkor's batteries and bring greater transparency and sustainability to its entire supply chain.

Building on its fundamental goal of sustainability, Verkor chooses V-TRACE, a verified traceability solution co-developed by OPTEL and Bureau Veritas – a world leader in testing, inspection and certification. Thanks to transparent assessments by independent, impartial and expert auditors, Verkor will gain better visibility and control over its supply chain.

This approach is in line with the general acceleration of the transition in the automotive industry and ecosystem. The rapid expansion of Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturing has increased demand for the strategic materials needed to make batteries, including lithium, nickel and cobalt.

Determined to make the supply of such materials traceable and sustainable, Verkor, OPTEL and Bureau Veritas joined forces. This innovation will enable Verkor to manage, track and inspect its supply chain through V-TRACE.

OPTEL's platform acts as control tower. Granular data is captured along the supply chain and connected, providing visibility and transparency. OPTEL's carbon footprint solution will help Verkor track both direct and indirect emissions from its supply chain. 

Bureau Veritas' auditors will perform on-site audits, verifying the data collected along the chain. This will ensure a project's sustainability according to health and safety, environment and biodiversity, and social and human rights criteria. With V-TRACE, Verkor will improve the sustainability of its supply chain and reduce risks from source to end product.

Benoit LEMAIGNAN, Co-founder and CEO of Verkor, says: "This new initiative is perfectly aligned with our mission to power the way forward in the responsible energy transition by producing sustainable batteries. Our collaboration with OPTEL and Bureau Veritas is a real success; it puts us ahead of legislation and gives us a complete identity card for our batteries"

Louis ROY, Founder and President at OPTEL explains: "OPTEL's promise has always been to develop ahead-of-the-curve traceability technologies to help businesses in different sectors create a better tomorrow. This partnership is a testament to OPTEL's commitment to helping EV battery supply chains become more resilient and sustainable. V-TRACE for EV batteries will provide unprecedented traceability assurance at a time when stakeholders across the EV sector are demanding greater accountability and compliance with ESG targets. We are thrilled to work with pioneers like Verkor and Bureau Veritas to make this happen."

Renato CATRIB, Senior Vice-President of Industries & Facilities Global Services Lines at Bureau Veritas, states: "At Bureau Veritas, as a Business to Business to Society company, we believe that trust depends on demonstrating responsible progress. We are delighted to support Verkor in its sustainability journey with our traceability solution, V-TRACE. By helping them develop a more resilient and sustainable supply chain, we are contributing to shaping better supplier ecosystems based on transparency and trust. Alongside our partner, OPTEL, we have developed a global solution that covers our clients' supply chains from a sustainability and traceability perspective in one unified platform. We are able to successfully conduct this international project with Verkor thanks to our solid expertise, organization and global footprint."

Founded in July 2020, Verkor is a French industrial company based in Grenoble. With the backing of EIT InnoEnergy, Groupe IDEC, Schneider Electric, Capgemini, Renault Group, EQT Ventures, Arkema, Tokai COBEX, FMET managed by Demeter, Sibanye-Stillwater and Plastic Omnium, Verkor will ramp up low-carbon battery manufacturing in France and Europe to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles —and electric mobility as a whole — and stationary storage in Europe.

Verkor is developing an enticing business model based on agility, sustainability and governance that is attracting the best talents from around the world. Its strong and agile team continues to grow as new challenges arise. Verkor is leading a unifying project that brings together the best partners for establishing the entire value chain in Europe and ensuring the optimal use of skills and resources. Verkor will draw on these strengths to open its entirely digital 4.0 pilot line in 2022. A model of excellence, competitiveness and resource efficiency, this innovation will be integrated into the Gigafactory due for construction in 2024

For more information, www.verkor.com 

Bureau Veritas is a world leader in laboratory testing, inspection and certification. Created in 1828, the Group has more than 80,000 employees located in nearly 1,600 offices and laboratories around the globe. Bureau Veritas helps its clients improve their performance by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility. Bureau Veritas is listed on Euronext Paris and belongs to the CAC 40 ESG, CAC Next 20 and SBF 120 indices. Compartment A, ISIN code FR 0006174348, stock symbol: BVI.

For more information, visit www.bureauveritas.com, and follow us on Twitter (@bureauveritas) and LinkedIn.

OPTEL has a proven track record of over 30 years in providing end-to-end and highly granular traceability solutions that enable companies to unlock the potential of intelligent and digital supply chains. Optchain, OPTEL's flagship traceability solution, connects all stakeholders across the value chain to ensure complete, real-time visibility for better supply chain performance, carbon footprint tracking, and compliance with regulatory standards.

For more information, visit optelgroup.com.

Verkor French Media contact: Claire Stromboni, +337 48 1011 40, claire.stromboni@verkor.com; Verkor International Media Contact: Karina Galvez-Ratinet, +336 319 47072, karina.galvezratinet@omnicomprgroup.com; OPTEL Media contacts: Kathleen Marcotte, +1 418 688 0334, kathleen.marcotte@optelgroup.com; Bureau Veritas Analyst/Investors contacts: Laurent Brunelle, +33 1 55 24 76 09, laurent.brunelle@bureauveritas.com, Bureau Veritas Media contacts: Caroline Ponsi Khider, caroline.ponsi-khider@bureauveritas.com; Primatice: thomasdeclimens@primatice.com, armandrigaudy@primatice.com

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