Designed from the Receiving End

From February 2027, the battery passport will be a mandatory companion for every traction, two-wheeler or industrial battery with a capacity of over 2 kWh. As a pilot, it will play a pioneering role in the field of digital product passports (DPP) in the European Union – passports for other products such as furniture, toys and more will follow step by step.

The initiative is backed by a whole range of honorable goals: The battery passport is intended to create transparency in the battery industry, support the transition to a circular economy and promote sustainable and responsible supply chains. To accomplish this, the passport records and manages comprehensive information about a battery. The EU-wide Battery Pass project, which, with the participation of Fraunhofer IPK, has developed conceptual and technical frameworks and recommendations for implementing the EU battery passport, has identified several information categories that a battery passport should include (see info box on the right). In the interest of data sovereignty, this information in the battery passport is provided in a decentralized manner via systems operated by the economic actor who puts the battery onto the market.

Benefits await at the end

According to the Battery Pass consortium’s research, the battery passport is particularly useful at the end of a battery’s usage period – in the areas of battery collection, recovery and recycling. The detailed information it provides can help authorities to more effectively prevent illegal exports and disposal methods, thus reducing what is known as »battery leakage« – the loss of batteries from the legal recycling loop.

The passport also makes it easier to determine the remaining value of a battery. Thanks to extensive data on performance and durability, companies and private users can more accurately estimate the true value of a battery. This not only reduces technical testing costs, but also increases the likelihood that batteries will be reused for second-life applications instead of being recycled or disposed of directly.

Where reuse is no longer possible or sensible, the battery passport supports efficient recycling by providing transparent information on the composition and instructions for disassembly. This reduces costs, for example for sampling, leading to more sustainable recycling overall. 

Company decision: bare minimum or going the distance?

Whether the passport of a specific battery is designed in ways that allow it to fully play to its strengths depends on decisions made by the distributor. Although implementation is mandatory, there is some leeway in the design, leaving companies with strategic decisions to make. These have a decisive impact on whether the distri-butor only takes the mandatory steps or effectively exploits the economic advantages a digital product passport can bring.

To prepare for the introduction in the best possible way, the Battery Pass consortium recommends considering four key questions:

1. To wait or to act?

Companies must decide whether to act early or rely on a later implementation. Delaying adoption can mean losing customer contracts or market access, as well as incurring additional costs caused by late implementation. On the other hand, unclear regulatory requirements or insufficient supplier data can make it difficult to implement quickly. A targeted cost-benefit analysis is crucial to determine the best timing for introducing the battery passport.

2. Compliance or added value?

Companies need to decide whether they view the battery passport merely as a legal requirement or as a strategic opportunity. A minimalist implementation is sufficient to meet basic compliance requirements, such as collecting data on battery health and lifespan. However, those who opt for detailed data, for example to monitor supply chains, production processes and circularity, can use improved transparency to increase efficiency and develop new business models.

3. Develop in-house or external solutions?

Companies can choose between developing the battery passport in-house or using external providers. DPP service providers and consortia such as Catena-X already offer standardized solutions. Large companies with sufficient capacity can develop their own proprietary solutions to generate tailored added value. By contrast, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could benefit from outsourcing implementation to external providers to reduce costs and complexity. In addition, data ecosystems offer opportunities to realize the necessary data exchange along the upstream value chain.

4. Existing infrastructure or a fresh start?

Existing IT and data infrastructure is crucial for introducing the battery passport. Some companies already have systems in place that collect and manage a variety of relevant data, which facilitates the transition. Those who start from scratch are often confronted with high investment and implementation costs. However, sticking with older systems carries the risk that they are not equipped to meet future requirements. The introduction of battery passports offers the chance to rethink established IT structures and to establish future-proof solutions with a comprehensive digitalization approach.

Data ecosystems for cross-company data exchange

To exploit the full potential of digital product passports, it makes sense to design them based on the holistic concept of data ecosystems – after all, a DPP is essentially a data hub. Data ecosystems are complex networks in which data is considered a valuable resource that is generated, shared and processed by different actors. The actors include data producers, processors and consumers engaged in a dynamic information exchange.

The special feature and strength of data ecosystems is the so-called federated approach: Data is stored and processed in distributed systems instead of centralized databases. This approach makes it possible to integrate data from different sources while maintaining the data sovereignty of the individual actors and allowing them to retain control over who accesses which of their data, when and how. By using interfaces and standardized protocols, different organizations and systems can communicate with each other and exchange data without the need to centralize the data sets. This not only promotes collaboration and data access, but also strengthens mutual trust between the parties, as they retain control over their own data. 

Initiatives are laying the groundwork

A whole range of projects are already working on providing solutions for data ecosystems. Fraunhofer IPK plays a leading role in some of them. GAIA-X is a central element in the development of data ecosystems in Europe. It establishes a trusted and interoperable infrastructure that enables companies to share and use their data securely. With GAIA-X, a platform is created that facilitates the exchange of data and services between different sectors, while ensuring compliance with European data protection standards. By promoting openness and collaboration, GAIA-X aims to support a sustainable digital economy and strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty.

Catena-X represents a first implementation of a data ecosystem for the automotive industry based on GAIA-X. This data ecosystem can serve as a basis for data-sovereign information exchange, including information related to batteries. To enable the exchange of battery information, the data ecosystem contains standardized data models that ensure interoperable exchange between companies. In addition, the data ecosystem lays the groundwork for restricting the exchange of data to specific parties and specific use cases.

The Manufacturing-X project family aims to transfer solutions from Catena-X to other industries. A specific project within this family is Aerospace-X, which focuses on the aviation industry. In addition to the general technical infrastructure and the services for implementing the data ecosystem, the project addresses four use cases: capacity management, life cycle assessment and product carbon footprint (PCF), circular economy, and end-to-end quality management. Implementing these use cases requires information from the supply chain. Particularly for life cycle assessments (LCA), data such as energy consumption from production or transport, as well as the factors involved in the processing of materials, are used by partners in the early supply chain. In addition, the materials information can also be used to make appropriate decisions in the context of the circular economy.

All these initiatives are making a sustainable data future possible – one that values data for what it is: a resource for business success. In this context, digital product passports will make a significant contribution to the competitiveness of companies in the future.