Toyota has announced that it has made great strides with its Toyota Blockchain Lab, conducting trials with the technology and signing up collaborators to help on future projects. The lab, which was launched in April last year, saw the company merge elements of its car-making and financial services enterprises to explore how blockchain technology can help improve the company’s systems and processes.
Successful Trials Prove Blockchani’s Efficacy
In its update, Toyota eulogizes blockchain’s capabilities, saying that its “highly tamper-resistant and fault-resistant” capabilities can aid it in “creating new value that is not bound by existing concepts.” Alongside the improvements to supply chains and mobility services, Toyota also has plans to build blockchain into its “Woven City” – an interconnected ecosystem powered by hydrogen fuel cells to be built at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan.
Toyota says that demonstration trials on initiatives focused on customers and vehicles were carried out in November last year, with confirmation of blockchain’s effectiveness being provided in each case. Following these successful trials, the company will look to expand blockchain use in four categories – customers, vehicles, supply chain, and value digitalization.
Blockchain’s Driving Ambition
Blockchain technology and the automotive industry are already highly interconnected, with Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes, and Daimler among the carmakers already working to integrate the technology into their vehicles. Then there is the five-way MOBI (Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative) platform initiative with BMW, General Motors, Honda, Ford and Renault that aims to use blockchain technology and smart contracts for in-car payments.
Toyota clearly plans to push on with developing blockchain solutions, stating that the Toyota Blockchain Lab will “expand its collaborations with various partner companies, further pursue the possibilities of blockchain technology, and accelerate initiatives for business implementation.” All of which bodes well for blockchain’s adoption, regardless of what the cryptocurrency market is doing.
