On December 18, TfS and China Automotive Carbon Digital Technology Center Co., Ltd. (CAC), a specialised subsidiary of the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) jointly hosted the “Technical Seminar on Mass Balance Automotive Materials” in Shanghai. This event marks another milestone following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China Automotive Carbon Digital Technology Center Co., Ltd. (CAC) in Tianjin on September 11, 2025, signaling a significant step forward for China’s automotive value chain in decarbonisation and sustainable collaboration.

The seminar brought together representatives from CAC, TfS member companies including Arkema, BASF, Covestro, Evonik, and LyondellBasell, as well as sustainability and materials experts from AkzoNobel, LANXESS, and Syngenta. Participants shared strategic perspectives, solutions, and application cases based on the Mass Balance Approach (MBA). During the event, CAC released the first-phase findings of the “Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Project for Automotive Materials Using Mass Balance,” providing critical support for establishing consistent methodologies and data standards across the industry.

TfS and CAC engaged in in-depth discussions on regulatory guidance, application benefits, scope boundaries, model selection, certification systems (such as ISCC PLUS), and data traceability and compliance for the MBA. Both parties agreed on future research plans and industry surveys, laying a solid foundation for collaborative decarbonisation across the entire value chain—from upstream raw materials to finished vehicles. Experts unanimously emphasised that third-party certification is essential to ensure the credibility and traceability of mass balance product claims.

Mingkang Zhou, Co-chair of of TfS China Work Stream 5: Scope 3 GHG Emissions and Global Circular Economy Manager at Covestro, stated: “Mass balance materials have gained broad recognition in the European automotive industry. Most TfS member companies have already launched products based on this approach. We look forward to working with CAC to promote awareness and implementation of the MBA in China’s automotive sector, accelerating compliance with circular economy and decarbonisation challenges.”

Jason Guan, Chair in Duty of TfS China and Head of Raw Material Global Category Management Asia at BASF, commented: “TfS places great importance on its collaboration with CAC. Research on the application of the MBA is a key project under our cooperation framework. We hope this study will foster understanding and adoption of the method within China’s automotive industry.”

Jiali Wu, Director of Carbon Management Consulting at CAC, added: “Mass balance materials remain an emerging topic in China’s automotive sector. We look forward to deepening cooperation with TfS and other professional organisations to enable carbon reduction across the supply chain—from raw material suppliers to OEMs—and jointly advocate for the sustainable concept of mass balance materials.”

According to the joint research roadmap, the next phase will focus on the automotive plastics supply chain, developing an accounting framework, promoting standard harmonisation, building data support systems, enhancing industry awareness, and advancing compliant application of the MBA.