Improving traceability in wind energy supply chains
The renewable energy sector relies on highly complex, multi-tiered global supply chains, yet transparency across these supply chains remains a significant challenge. Many human rights and environmental risks occur far upstream, particularly in the extraction and processing of critical raw materials in regions where labour and environmental protections may be limited.
At the same time, renewable energy supply chains are vast and fragmented. A single wind energy company may work with tens of thousands of Tier-1 suppliers, making conventional approaches to supply chain tracking difficult to implement at scale. Growing regulatory and investor expectations, including EU due diligence requirements, further increase the need for robust and reliable supply chain visibility.
In response, the Secretariat of the Agreement, together with several companies that are part of the Agreement, has developed a targeted project on supply chain traceability. The project addresses a key gap identified through the Agreement’s monitoring process and supports its stated priorities.
Focusing on aluminium
The project focuses on aluminium, a critical material for renewable energy infrastructure, and explores innovative approaches to tracing its origin. Two pilot projects were conducted:
- Aluminium used in wind turbine platforms
- Aluminium used in cables for renewable energy infrastructure
Aluminium supply chains are particularly challenging to trace due to their complexity, multiple intermediaries, commodity mixing and limited digital traceability. The pilots therefore provide an opportunity to test practical solutions under real-world supply chain conditions.
Testing blockchain-enabled traceability
The goal of the project was to assess how blockchain-enabled data systems, AI, and Digital Product Passports (DPPs) can strengthen companies’ supply chain traceability and due diligence efforts.
The project partially mapped aluminium and bauxite supply chains for two pilot companies, demonstrating the practical application of DPPs, blockchain, and AI for supply chain transparency. The project achieved stakeholder engagement, identified multiple supply chain actors, and collected ESG data, though data completeness and validation became more challenging further upstream due to supplier participation and commercial sensitivities.
The initiative generated practical insights into the feasibility, effectiveness and scalability of these technologies. DPPs and blockchain were technically feasible and provided practical value for structuring, maintaining and auditing traceability information.
The project offered actionable recommendations for future initiatives: prioritise validation of existing pathways, strengthen supplier engagement, focus on evidence-backed ESG data, and align with evolving regulatory requirements to enhance digital traceability in the renewable energy sector.
Project timeline and implementation
The project is financed through the Agreement’s budget. Minespider and their partner Responsible Trade were selected as the service provider through a competitive tender process.
The project officially started in February 2026 and was completed in August 2026.
Download report
The final report of the project: Blockchain & AI Traceability Pilot for the Renewable Energy Sector