Last week’s closing of the EU Battery Pass Project, marks the start of a new beginning. The project represents an important milestone towards promoting transparent and sustainable battery value chains in Europe. Ultimately, buyers of electric vehicles will be provided a range of information about the battery, such as the carbon footprint, share of recycled content, and battery materials contained, allowing them to make more informed choices about their purchases.
As the digital twin of a physical battery, a digital battery passport (DBP) is in fact a structured collection of product-related information. This includes for instance the nature of the materials inside the battery, whether they have been recycled, or data on the battery’s performance etc. All that information is stored behind a QR code on the battery and is connected to a unique identifier, so specific to that battery. This identifier has a specific set of information, agreed data ownership ensuring that information is managed responsibly, and defined access rights for dedicated target groups.
Digital battery passports will be mandatory for electric vehicles and industrial batteries as of 2027, but why are they important?
“The digital product passport is considered a key enabler of circular economies for a wide range of products, and in a later stage most likely even for materials,” said Sven Jantzen, Director Government Affairs at Umicore. “The EU Battery Pass project translates EU battery regulation’ requirements into practical applications, providing guidance and demonstrating value for stakeholders. The battery regulation is the first to introduce a digital product passport, but many others will follow. You can apply it to almost everything from vehicles and toys to textiles and plastics.”
Sven highlighted that product passports tackle two important challenges: the green transition to a sustainable and low-carbon economy as well as the digital transition of society. ”Product passports like the Battery Pass are without a doubt transformation tools. The information they will provide about a battery will enable the shift to circularity. This means preserving value instead of generating waste, keeping access to resources rather than losing them, and designing processes and products with their end-of-life and recycling in mind.”
The EU Battery Pass project, which was designed to last from April 2023 to April 2025, has set the stage for future advancements in battery traceability and sustainability. So there’s still work to be done. Ongoing challenges include the Battery Pass’s implementation, awareness building, the development of regulation on matters like the Pass’ standardization and confidentiality concerns, as well as complexities around data collection. The need for traceability systems and geographical differences further complicate progress. Trials and pilots should be considered before adoption will become mandatory.
To make things happen and to lead by example, Umicore therefore decided to join two key undertakings since the beginning: the EU battery pass project funded by the German government on the one hand, and the Global Battery Alliance as a founding member on the other hand. The Global Battery Alliance (GBA) aims to enhance battery sustainability and comparability through validated performance indicators and standards. Both initiatives support closed-loop business models, fostering innovation, sustainability, and competitiveness through transparent and accountable value chains.
Sven is proud to see Umicore as a key contributor to both initiatives. “Umicore is a frontrunner among value chain stakeholders. We actively participate and contribute to rulebook development and we’re gaining insights into data exchange complexities. For us, our involvement highlights the need for digitalization of and standardization within the value chain and the related need to foster connections with key organizations. It has also prompted self-reflection on the preparation needs across the full battery value chain.”
“We are fully engaged in the GBA's Battery Passport 3.0. Through our participation in work groups and committees we focus on ESG indicators, data assurance, and scoring logic. Besides that we'll explore traceability solutions, follow standardization progress, and influence regulatory developments. Thanks to our established reputation we will be able to provide valuable insights to business partners and policymakers. All this will bring us and the world another step closer to a sustainable, traceable and closed-loop value chain for batteries.”
