Volvo Group has tested its own cryptocurrency on a closed blockchain network. The aim is to simplify payments and data exchange with material and transport suppliers. The commercial vehicle division's project is still at the concept stage.
Volvo Group is the commercial vehicle arm of the Swedish manufacturer and covers trucks, buses and construction equipment. It operates independently and stands apart from the passenger car unit Volvo Cars. The planned closed blockchain network differs fundamentally from public cryptocurrencies. The internal token is therefore neither tradable nor built for speculation. Instead, it serves settlement and documentation between known participants. The statements come from Ivan Branco, Head of Information Management, AI, and Analytics at Volvo Group Trucks Operations. He made them in an interview with the Cardano Foundation, which the foundation published in July 2026. The closed environment aims to simplify cross-border transactions and to record order and transport data in an immutable form. So far, this remains pure exploration with selected transport suppliers.
Volvo's cryptocurrency for cross-border payments
In the tested structure, settlement between the three parties runs through a shared, group-owned accounting unit. The material supplier, the transport supplier and Volvo Group all settle through it. The company created this proprietary cryptocurrency specifically for that purpose. It handles payments between the parties without routing every transaction through the traditional currency system. At the same time, the network records order and transport data in an immutable form. Both data streams therefore land in a single register that all participants can view.
Branco described the initiative as an exploration with selected transport suppliers. The goal is a closed environment in which a purpose-built token maps transactions between the three parties. The approach targets cross-border payments above all, since these often remain slow and expensive in the conventional banking system. In international supply chains, fees and processing times add up across several intermediary banks. An internal token, by contrast, makes the parties independent of traditional currencies and their exchange rates.
The distinction from speculative assets is decisive. The token circulates only among approved partners. It carries no market price. As a result, the concept resembles an internal settlement rail rather than a common crypto asset. Branco held the conversation with the Cardano Foundation. The foundation is positioning itself more strongly in the enterprise segment and seeking reference customers from industry.
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Sanctions risks make proof of origin mandatory
For the group, traceability is a compliance necessity, not a technical gimmick. Branco pointed to the difficulty of proving the country of origin for spare parts and assembled vehicles without gaps. Violations can therefore trigger substantial fines under geopolitical sanctions and trade restrictions. Moreover, the EU sanctions regimes have tightened the requirements for exporters further since 2022. As an example, he cited the EU sanctions against Russia following the attack on Ukraine.
The liability risk does not end at the factory gate. When a manufacturer sells parts to an importer who then passes them on, it still remains responsible. For a globally active commercial vehicle maker with widely branched supply chains, such proof is hard to document manually. Doing so without gaps is almost impossible. An immutable record of the supply chain makes such indirect circumvention visible. At the same time, Volvo Group sees potential in the end-to-end traceability of products. This applies especially to remanufacturing, the industrial refurbishment of used components.
"When the European Union said you could no longer supply goods to Russia, you need to know whether the goods actually end up there. For example, because you sell them to importers who might then resell the parts, while you remain liable." - Ivan Branco, Head of Information Management, AI, and Analytics, Volvo Group Trucks Operations
Cobalt tracking at Volvo Cars as a blockchain model
The commercial vehicle arm's push does not stand alone. The sister company Volvo Cars has been using blockchain on a far larger scale since 2019. Both firms are organizationally separate, independent groups, yet they share the brand history. The earlier use at the passenger car unit is therefore telling. It makes the current test at the commercial vehicle arm look like a logical next step.
Volvo Cars announced blockchain traceability for cobalt in November 2019. The move coincided with the first fully electric model, the XC40 Recharge. Cobalt is a central raw material for the batteries of electric vehicles. It often comes from regions with problematic mining conditions. For the project, the carmaker worked with its two global battery suppliers. These were CATL from China and LG Chem from South Korea. The blockchain providers Circulor and Oracle handled the technical implementation. A successful pilot at CATL had taken place earlier, in the summer of 2019.
The blockchain captures, among other things, the origin of the cobalt, its weight and size, and the chain of custody. This makes it possible to demonstrate conformity with the OECD guidelines for responsible supply chains. The project also counts as one of the first large-scale traceability efforts in the automotive industry. It later served numerous similar initiatives from other manufacturers as a model.
EU product passport makes traceability mandatory from 2027
Behind the interest in seamless documentation stands a concrete regulatory framework. The Digital Product Passport is part of the EU Ecodesign Regulation for sustainable products. For batteries, it becomes mandatory from February 2027. Beforehand, the EU adopted a first working plan with detailed requirements in 2025. That puts Volvo's blockchain push under time pressure.
The product passport bundles information on material composition, sustainability, origin and regulatory conformity. Access runs through a unique product identifier, such as a QR code. This makes it possible to trace a product's origin along the value chain. For globally active manufacturers, the scope of the rule is also decisive. It applies equally to imports into the EU, regardless of the country of manufacture.
Until industrialization, however, operational hurdles remain. Branco first named the added complexity for legacy systems and the limited blockchain knowledge within the organization. Furthermore, questions of scalability, maintenance and support arise. The test thus remains an idea for now, though its regulatory benefit is clearly defined.
