The EU Battery Passport Explained

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a broad EU initiative promoting transparency, traceability, and sustainability across various product sectors, while the Battery Passport (BPP) is a specific implementation tailored to the battery industry. The BPP, mandated by the EU Battery Regulation starting in 2027, provides detailed lifecycle information for batteries, including raw material origin, carbon footprint, and recyclability. It acts as a pilot for the DPP, using shared standards and technologies to ensure data integrity and traceability. 

Sustainability and transparency are the two main objectives of both the Digital Product Passport and the Battery Passport. It all started with the European Green Deal that aims to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050. The CEAP (Circular Economy Action Plan) was created as part of the European Green Deal, to promote a circular economy where products are reused as much as possible.  

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is applicable for all the products sold in the EU. Batteries, Electronics, and Textiles are some of the industries that must implement DPP first since these sectors create most of the waste. 

A separate product passport for batteries (Battery Passport) was proposed because highly specific data points such as carbon footprint, material composition, recycling efficiency, etc. are necessary for managing battery lifecycle data. These requirements can’t be met by the generic data structure of DPP.  

With the increasing adoption of electric vehicles, the EU anticipates that battery recycling and disposal will become a significant challenge.  To address these expected changes, the EU Battery Regulation, a legal framework for managing batteries, was introduced in 2023. 

We have discussed what a digital product passport is and what its data requirements are in a previous article. 

The data requirements for Battery Passport differ from those for DPP, as special data points must be processed for the management of batteries. 

Battery Passport, similar to the DPP is a digital record that can be accessed electronically via various mediums such as QR code, NFC, etc. Different types of users will have access to relevant information.  

For example, end users will get more details and sustainability metrics on the batteries they are looking to buy whereas manufacturers, vendors, and supply chain partners will have access to detailed lifecycle, compliance, and material sourcing data. 

Different types of information to be included in the Battery Passport are: 

General Information 

General information refers to basic data such as:   

• Unique battery ID (for traceability) 
• Manufacturer details
• Weight, dimensions, etc. 

Compliance Information

Batteries must adhere to EU regulations and industry standards to ensure safety and sustainability compliance, The Battery Passport will confirm:

• Compliance with the EU Battery Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542)
• Certification status and safety standards
• Environmental and sustainability commitments

Tracing Supply Chain

Transparency is a key goal of the Battery Passport. This section provides information such as:

• Supply chain journey – Where the battery traveled before reaching the market
• Suppliers and processing facilities involved in manufacturing
• Ethical sourcing information

Recyclability of Materials

This is an important metric to ensure reusability and a circular economy. The raw materials used to create the battery should be as recyclable as possible. Since each material has a different recycling capacity, granular detail on each element is expected. The passport must provide insights into:

• Recyclability percentage for each material
• Potential for reuse in second-life applications
• Recycling processes and recovery efficiency

Disposal and Reusing

Not all battery components can be recycled. Since batteries contain hazardous elements, it is important to include details on how to dispose of such components and elements.

Role-Based Access to Data

Since a Battery Passport will be a digital record and is expected to be accessed via the Internet, a role-based access system might be required to ensure only relevant data is shared with the right people. Consumers would get performance, durability, and recyclability-related information, whereas businesses should get access to detailed composition, carbon footprint, and compliance data.

Technical Challenges

Since Battery Passports are a digital solution, one of the primary challenges with implementation is preparing the technical infrastructure and collection and standardization of data.

Data Collection and Integration

The data required for creating the Battery Passport is not stored in a centralized manner at the moment. The data may not even exist in certain organizations. If it does, it probably is scattered across multiple teams and departments. One of the major challenges is to consolidate all the data into one place and then create a standardized format for storing and updating this data in the future.

Data Security

The large amount of data that gets stored requires adequate security and privacy while ensuring transparency. It’s tricky to share access to only the required information without revealing sensitive information.

High Cost and Resources for SMEs

Preparing something like a Battery Passport requires both technical infrastructure and human resources. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), these costs can be significant, posing a barrier to adoption.

A Short Timeline for Implementation

The deadline for implementing the Battery Passport is February 2027 for Light Means of Transport (LMT) batteries, and industrial batteries above 2kWh to be made available with a Battery Passport.

For any other type of battery, the deadline is not mandated as of now.

The technical infrastructure for the Battery Passport is essentially the same as a digital product passport, which we have covered already.

The key difference is that the Battery Passport requires specific data types (e.g., carbon footprint, lifecycle tracking, and performance metrics).

As long as businesses properly collect and structure their battery data, existing DPP solutions can serve as a foundation for implementing Battery Passports.