Porsche ventures into blockchain

Porsche

German car manufacturer Porsche is the latest high-profile company to explore blockchain as a way of improving the production process. Claudio Welch of Porsche spoke at the recent Blockchain Expo in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, about the opportunities and challenges that blockchain offers.

According to Welch, the car industry is evolving rapidly. “Technology is playing an increasingly important role in that process – in the shape of electric cars or the development of self-driving cars, for example. In recent years we have also been focusing on blockchain and artificial intelligence,” said Welch.

He explained that Porsche is currently running a pilot on the data structure of the cryptocurrency Ethereum, aimed at providing transparency into the origin of the leather used in its cars. That is often difficult in practice, because it is not always clear where the cow came from and whether the animal had a good life.

One way is for Porsche to reach agreements on these issues with its suppliers, of course, but there is no guarantee that those agreements are being adhered to; so far, it has been difficult to gain concrete proof. That is why the car maker has decided to explore blockchain. It enables all the steps in the supply chain to be monitored precisely – from the farm to the slaughterhouse, subsequently to the tannery and ultimately to the factory for use as car upholstery.

Porsche’s other blockchain projects

In addition to using blockchain to trace the origin of materials, Porsche is also involved in other blockchain-based projects together with the start-up Xain, which won the first Porsche Innovation Contest on the topic of blockchain last summer. Interdisciplinary teams from throughout Porsche subsequently worked with Xain for three months to develop and test applications, which included introducing blockchain in the Porsche Panamera for example. Porsche is also investigating applications related to battery charging and parking.

Source: BTCDirect