Chemical translations may not sound like an obvious tool needed for environmental sustainability, but in fact, they are a key requirement for the advancement of green industries worldwide. Every year on April 22nd, CSOFT commemorates Earth Day. Reflecting on this year’s theme, ‘Restore the Planet’, CSOFT understands the importance of environmental responsibility and corporate sustainability and recognizes the role in which businesses can play in raising awareness to combat today’s global environmental challenges. Against the backdrop of this past year, restoring the planet has taken on a whole new meaning in adopting creative initiatives and innovative technologies for reducing emissions. Following our recent blog on green vehicle localization, chemical translations will also play a key role in streamlining global supply chains and reduce shortages of technologies needed to green the car industry.
Due to shortages in chip manufacturing production lines, technologies such as semiconductors are in short supply, threatening the production of electronic consumer products as well as the production of electric vehicles worldwide, and potentially delaying decarbonization efforts around the world. As the demand for electric vehicle production and green technologies rapidly expand, the need for lithium-ion battery production increases, along with it the demand for rare earths and specialized alloys, magnets and catalysts that enable these new technologies. The chip shortage has already caused tens of thousands of vehicles to be lost in production, with North America bearing the heaviest impact. Battery companies and chip manufacturers alike are warning of the impact a shortage will bring and are urgently trying to resolve shortages by adjusting production within the supply chain itself.
However, while batteries are in short supply, the raw materials needed, such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt, to manufacture the technologies are not. More and more car manufacturing companies, including Tesla, BMW and Volkswagen, are working with battery and cathode companies to increase the capacity of mining and assembling of battery technologies, with some even announcing deals with lithium mines to source the materials directly.
A recent report from KPMG states that the ‘century-long reign’ of cars with a traditional petroleum-powered internal-combustion engine (ICE) is ending and that by 2030, 24-40% of cars will be exclusively battery powered (BEVs). The ‘arms race’ around the world for lithium capacity has led many countries to re-strategize their own supply chains. Concerned over its dependent supply chain and the large percentage of battery supply that is imported from overseas to the US, with China alone accounting for 58% of the world’s refining capacity, the Biden administration announced its support for refocusing domestic supply chains. Similarly, India is recently making plans to pivot its supply chain to mine its own aluminum, copper, electrolytes and nickel, which are essential elements for batteries and electric vehicle production.
As we reflect on restoring the planet for this year’s Earth Day and create opportunities to green and streamline supply chains, new applications for chemicals will continue to generate demand for technical documentation that must in turn be localized for use in global markets. From Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) to Chemical Hazard Assessments, CSOFT can provide high-quality chemical translation services for a full range of chemical document types in 250+ languages. Learn more about CSOFT’s chemical translations here.
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