In morning trade, the Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) share price is charging higher.
At the time of writing, the clean lithium company's shares are up 9% to $6.88.
Why is the Vulcan share price pushing higher?
Investors have responded positively to an announcement this morning which revealed that Vulcan intends to establish a full lithium traceability and CO2 measurement across its supply chain.
According to the release, Vulcan will work with Traceability-as-a-Service company Circulor to achieve this, which it believes is a world-first for the lithium sector.
The company notes that Circulor's customers include major European automotive manufacturers such as Volvo Cars, Daimler, Polestar and Jaguar Land Rover. It feels this indicates OEMs' growing need to demonstrate responsible sourcing of raw materials like lithium and to track and manage the embedded CO2 emission in their upstream supply chain for EVs, as they work towards achieving their net zero targets.
In light of this, Vulcan will be implementing Ciculor's solution to its future lithium supply contracts with European OEMs to help them meet their objectives.
Setting the way forward
Vulcan's CEO, Dr Francis Wedin, believes this move is setting the way forward for the raw materials industry.
He said: "This collaboration between Circulor and Vulcan will allow us to develop the world's first fully traceable, transparent and zero carbon lithium product extracted and consumed in Europe. As well as showing Vulcan's commitment to a transparent supply chain with net zero carbon footprint, it is another industry-leading move by Vulcan that sets the way forward for the raw materials industry to improve and align to OEMs' goal of producing truly sustainable EVs."
Circulor's CEO, Douglas Johnson-Poensgen, added: "The EV battery market in Europe is evolving fast with many new players establishing themselves in the market, and with a clear advantage for those who can prove sustainable practices. We are pleased to be supporting Vulcan in meeting Europe's needs for the electric vehicle transition, from a zero-carbon source, for many years to come. Together, we will set a new benchmark for the responsible sourcing of raw materials to enable sustainable mobility for the future."
