Circulor

Large manufacturers know that mapping their supply chains is now on the critical path to cutting emissions and meeting global ESG rules, yet most are unequipped to see past their first-tier suppliers. Supply chains can account for more than 80% of a company's emissions (à vérifier), but the data to trace materials and the carbon tied to them has been largely invisible.

Nowhere is this more true than for complex supply chains with increasingly critical materials, such as electric vehicles. As the world increases its dependence on batteries, consumers and governments alike are raising questions about the sustainability and ethicality of the battery supply chain.

The cathode of a typical lithium-ion battery cell is a thin layer that contains micro-scale crystals that pair up negatively charged oxygen with positively charged lithium and various other metals, including a mix of nickel, manganese and cobalt in most electric cars. As demand for batteries increases, demand for these rare metals will explode. 

However, many of those are concentrated in regions of the world with less stringent requirements for provenance or working conditions. 

Brands like Mercedes, Volvo or BMW cannot afford the reputational and operational risks that come with unethical supply chain practices, and are now required to invest in monitoring, greening and transforming their supply chains.

Circulor closes that gap. It traces materials from mine to finished product, giving manufacturers a verified record of origin and the emissions attached to every step, the proof regulators and buyers now demand.

We were introduced to the Circulor team by our friends at Systemiq. Supply chain transparency shifted from nice-to-have to must-have after COP26, as institutional investors and regulators began demanding detailed net-zero plans. Our diligence showed that Circulor had the most mature, proven and complete technology to track complex supply chains, especially for high-risk, high-human-impact materials.

Circulor's platform assigns a digital fingerprint to strategic commodities and logs every event in their journey onto a blockchain: each change of hands, transformation and movement, captured through QR codes, sensors and scales for accurate, reliable inputs. Machine learning then turns that into real-time visibility across traditionally opaque supply chains, surfacing anomalies such as ethical breaches, fraud or batch errors, and measuring embedded carbon and water use across production, recycling and end of life.

Beyond the product, the team had a track record deploying in complex supply chains like batteries and in regions traditionally difficult to operate in, like Rwanda and the Congo. We were impressed by the founding team, Douglas Johnson-Poensgen, Veera Johnson and Coenraad van Deventer, who combined enterprise software expertise, supply chain operational experience and ESG conviction. Douglas has since been named among TIME's 100 most influential climate leaders of 2025, and in May 2025 Giles Palmer joined as CEO to lead the next phase of global scaling, with Douglas continuing as President.

Circulor continues to deepen its position in battery passport infrastructure, partnering with Powin on passports for utility-scale energy storage. The EU Battery Regulation, now in force, makes traceability a compliance requirement, cementing Circulor's category for years ahead.