Automotive Parts and Batteries
Custody for the parts a car depends on.
Parts move from suppliers to distributors, dealers, repair shops, salvage yards and resellers. A part number and a box label describe a part. Nothing binds them to the part being fitted.
NOANE is designed to make the physical part a participant in each custody handoff, from the production line to the repair bay.
Direct Answer
What NOANE does for automotive parts.
NOANE is a patented custody protocol designed to bind an automotive part or battery to a custody record. Each handoff is designed to need both the part and the authorized holder, so a dealer, repair shop, insurer or buyer can check that the part being fitted is the part the record describes. It is designed to work alongside part numbers, warranty systems and the EU battery passport, not to replace them.
The Exposure
A part can separate from its history.
Replacement parts are bought, resold, salvaged and refitted. When a part's origin cannot be checked, the risk lands on the driver and on whoever fitted it.
Substandard safety parts
In July 2024 NHTSA warned that cheap, substandard replacement air bag inflators had been linked to three deaths and two severe injuries in the past year, each in a vehicle whose original air bags had been replaced after an earlier crash.
Warranty and returns
A returned part has to be confirmed as the part that was sold before a claim is paid or the part goes back into stock.
Battery history
From 18 February 2027 the EU requires a battery passport for electric vehicle batteries and other battery categories. A passport records a battery's data. Who holds the battery, and whether it is the one the record describes, is a separate question.
The question is not whether the box looks right. It is whether this part was present at each handoff.
Part Number vs Custody
A part number describes. Custody proves.
A part number and a label say what a part should be. Custody is a different question: who holds this part now, and was the part itself present at each handoff.
Part records today
Custody, as NOANE is designed
NOANE adds a custody event alongside part numbers and warranty records. It does not replace them.
Designed for Every Hand the Part Passes Through
Who it is for.
Capabilities the protocol is designed to enable. Not all are built today.
Parts and battery makers
Identity provisioned at manufacture. A custody record that starts with the part, not the first sale.
Distributors and dealers
Sell parts whose custody history can be checked through every intermediary.
Repair shops and collision centers
Confirm the part being fitted is the part on record before it goes into the vehicle.
Fleets and owners
A history of what was fitted to each vehicle, bound to the parts themselves.
Insurers and warranty teams
Claims tied to a specific part and its custody history.
Recyclers and second-life users
Check a battery or part against its record before reuse, repurposing or recycling.
On the Record
A part's life on the record.
How the protocol is designed to follow a part from the production line to recycling.
01
Register
The part or battery receives its identity at manufacture.
02
Bind
That identity is bound to a custody record.
03
Ship
Custody moves with the part through distribution.
04
Fit
The repair shop verifies the part before it is installed.
05
Service
Repairs and replacements are added to the history.
06
Transfer
When the vehicle or the part changes hands, the record moves with it.
07
Retire
A recycled or scrapped part is retired, and its record shows it out of service.
Automotive parts use continuous custody mode: every transfer is designed to require both signatures before custody changes. No deferred settlement.
Limits
What NOANE does not do.
NOANE does not replace part numbers, recall programs, type approval or the EU battery passport. A chip signature is not proof that a part is safe, genuine or correctly fitted. NOANE is designed to supply custody evidence those programs can use.
There is no automotive deployment today. This page describes the protocol design and the scope we are developing toward.
FAQ
Frequently asked.
Does NOANE replace the EU battery passport?
No. The battery passport records a battery's data. NOANE is designed to add who holds the battery and whether it is the one the record describes.
How would a chip attach to a part?
It depends on the part and where it sits in the vehicle: a tag, a label or a housing. That design work is part of a pilot.
Does every part need a chip?
No. A secure chip costs more than a printed label, so it fits safety-critical, high-value or often-copied parts first. Scoping that is part of a pilot.
Who holds the keys?
The item's key is designed to stay in its chip, and the authorized holder keeps their own transfer key. Neither alone is designed to move the record.
More answers on the FAQ and in the Glossary.
Sources: US NHTSA consumer alert, 10 July 2024 (opens in new tab); European Commission, battery passport (opens in new tab).
BIND IT.
Bring your category into the design cohort.
Research: NOANE Infrastructure Response Paper V2 · SSRN (opens in new tab) · DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.6736141 (opens in new tab)