Digital product passports move from compliance to production tool

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is regarded as one of the central instruments of European industrial policy. It is intended to strengthen transparency, sustainability and the circular economy – and could fundamentally change the rules of the game in the automotive aftermarket. Yet between vision and reality, significant data gaps, integration costs and regulatory uncertainties remain.

The battery passport is the most advanced application and is regarded as a blueprint for further product groups. “As the German automotive industry, we support the introduction of digital product passports because they enable the traceability of parts and materials throughout the entire product life cycle,” says a spokeswoman for the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).

The battery passport is intended to contain information on origin, charging cycles, capacity and end-of-life treatment, making it a precursor for subsequent digital product passports. The requirements for the battery passport, which becomes mandatory from 2027, have meanwhile been further specified. In August 2026, the European Commission published an updated overview of the relevant data points. The passport will be accessible via a QR code with a unique identifier.

Data gaps in the supply chain

Ricky Thiermann, Head of Product Management at Spherity and an expert on DPPs, sees the greatest challenges less in the concept itself than in the underlying data. “The essential information building blocks such as article numbers, bills of materials and batch references do exist in companies, but are distributed across heterogeneous systems.”

Media breaks caused by Excel spreadsheets or PDFs, for example, prevent consistent and automated population of the DPP. Companies therefore first need to consolidate their data pipelines.

Even more serious is the lack of lifecycle data. “For many products, structured data collection so far ends with manufacturing or sale,” Thiermann says. For repair, warranty or remanufacturing, however, historical information on maintenance, component replacement or software updates is essential.

All information on the battery passport:

What is the battery passport? A digital passport that provides comprehensive information on the origin, production, sustainability, condition and further use of batteries. It documents data on the GHG footprint, working conditions in raw material extraction, battery condition as well as repair and recycling options.

Why is it important? The battery accounts for approx. 40 % of the value creation of an electric car - making transparency, sustainability and responsible supply chains all the more crucial. The battery passport supports EU regulation, enables responsible business and macroeconomic use of battery data and contributes to the UN SDGs as well as human rights guiding principles.

What benefits does the battery passport have? 

• Consumers receive clear sustainability information
• Manufacturers of sustainable batteries are protected
• Data facilitates service life extension, residual value determination, repair, repurposing and recycling
• Contribution to the transition to climate-friendly mobility and lower dependence on raw materials

When is the battery passport coming? From February 2027, it is intended to become mandatory for all newly acquired batteries in vehicles, stationary storage systems and larger industrial batteries - regardless of country of origin or company headquarters.

Source: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)

The DPP therefore forces companies to systematically collect lifecycle data for the first time – precisely in areas where warranty and recall processes often reach their limits today. Uniform identifiers and data formats so far exist only for individual product groups, for example for batteries under DIN DKE SPEC 99100.

This is also where initiatives such as Catena-X are becoming increasingly relevant.

In quality and recall management, the DPP could have its greatest impact. Thiermann speaks of a “fundamental change”. Traceability across the entire lifecycle would become a structured standard process. If all participants provided consistent, role-based product data, deviations could be narrowed down more quickly and recalls could become more targeted – with noticeable effects on costs and reputation.

Hartmut Rauen, Deputy Managing Director of the VDMA, also sees a paradigm shift. Through the DPP, traceability is being “raised to a new level”.

The prerequisite is interoperability. Product and process data must be made available in standardised, machine-readable formats. Standardised data models, for example based on OPC UA and Companion Specifications, enable a seamless flow of information between manufacturers, suppliers and machines, Rauen explains: “This ensures end-to-end traceability and allows quick, precise identification of affected components in the event of a recall.”

Detect quality problems earlier

Digital battery passport: standard with AAS is intended to facilitate implementation of the EU requirements

IDTA, Catena-X and members of the Battery Pass Project have developed a joint approach for the digital battery passport. The aim is to transfer the requirements of the EU Battery Regulation into a scalable, standardised data model and to offer companies an interoperable basis for implementation by 2027.

The technical basis is the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) - a standardised data model for the digital twin of a product. It can be used to exchange product information in a structured, machine-readable and cross-system manner.

Seven AAS submodels were defined for the battery passport: Digital Nameplate, Handover Documentation, Carbon Footprint, Technical Data, Product Condition, Material Composition and Circularity. They bundle key information such as technical data, CO₂ balance, material composition and data on the circular economy. The basis includes, among other things, existing semantic structures from Catena-X, ECLASS and IEC CDD as well as DIN DKE Spec 99100. Via a standardised AAS API, the data can be provided through clearly defined interfaces.

End-to-end lifecycle data also creates new possibilities for predictive quality. If production, usage and service data are linked, patterns can be identified earlier. Instead of merely reacting to failures, OEMs and suppliers could address weak points proactively, for example through software updates or targeted service campaigns.

The potential becomes particularly clear with the battery passport. According to Thiermann, charging cycles, state of health and historical progression data show how ageing and wear can be assessed more objectively: “The question of actual use can now be answered more precisely from a technical point of view, which will have implications for the used car market as well as for the recycling of end-of-life vehicles.”

BMW creates transparency in the supply chain with Catena-X

The battery passport is a perfect opportunity for data exchange based on Catena-X. At BMW, the solution is now being scaled. Partners such as Siemens, CATL and Henkel helped with the development.

Warranty decisions could also increasingly be automated in future. For the aftermarket, this means fewer disputes, faster decisions and more transparent processes. For suppliers, however, the pressure to act is increasing. They need to record product and process data in a structured way, harmonise it and make it available via interfaces, as Rauen emphasises.

The first practical applications are already becoming visible. Volvo Cars, JLR and Dassault Systèmes have discussed how battery passports are moving closer to factory-floor applications.

This gives the battery a digital memory. Data from cell and battery production can in future become part of a lifecycle chain extending across use, maintenance and condition assessment through to second life and recycling.

The decisive factor is not to store as much production data as possible permanently, but to capture and link the relevant information in such a way that it still serves a specific purpose years later.

This raises a new question for battery production: Which production data must be retained in order to later draw conclusions about cell quality and service life? And what information does a recycler need to dismantle a battery safely and recover materials in a targeted way?

The European Commission now lists 71 relevant data points for the battery passport and differentiates according to battery type and use case. A distinction is made between three categories: electric vehicle batteries, batteries for light means of transport such as e-bikes and e-scooters, and industrial batteries above 2 kWh, including electric vehicle batteries.

One example of how the requirements differ according to battery type is the capacity fade threshold. This parameter indicates at what level of capacity loss a battery is considered to have reached its defined limit. It is intended exclusively for electric vehicle batteries. The same applies to State of Certified Energy (SOCE), which is also only recorded for EV batteries. Other ageing parameters such as remaining capacity, remaining round-trip energy efficiency or ohmic resistance are intended solely for LMT and stationary storage applications.

This lifecycle perspective also links the battery passport directly with closed-loop battery recycling and advanced material management.

Interoperability becomes a question of survival

Interoperability, however, does not come free of charge. “The focus is not on introducing a single DPP software solution, but on consolidating existing data sets, harmonising data models, building interfaces and establishing stable operating processes,” Thiermann says.

The costs depend heavily on the starting point and the maturity of existing systems. Companies with fragmented IT landscapes face significantly higher investment requirements. Initiatives for standardised interfaces and data spaces, for example through Catena-X, could create economies of scale and bundle integration efforts.

Thiermann sees the DPP as an infrastructure project and a long-term investment. If implemented correctly, it could become the basis for digital business models and new service offerings, such as data-based maintenance contracts or transparent remanufacturing programmes.

The international expansion of these data ecosystems underlines the scale of the task. Catena-X, for example, has already begun extending its cross-border automotive data ecosystem from Europe into China.

Is the bureaucracy monster looming?

As great as the potential is, concerns about overregulation are equally real. Rauen warns that the DPP is increasingly being used as a universal reporting instrument for ever more regulations. There is a risk that “too much at once” will be demanded, both in terms of the sectors affected and the volume of data.

The VDA spokeswoman also points to growing reporting and documentation obligations, which are pushing medium-sized suppliers in particular to their limits. Additional environmental requirements can only be effective if they are designed in a practical and proportionate way. Duplicate regulations should be avoided and transition periods need to be realistically defined. In addition, DPP specifications must be aligned with existing regulatory frameworks and implemented in compliance with the GDPR.

According to Rauen, one possible way forward lies in genuine interoperability. If data requirements are handled through harmonised standards, the effort can be reduced considerably. Tier 2 and tier 3 suppliers would not have to prepare the same information several times in different formats, but could transmit structured data automatically to different customers and regulatory systems.

Interoperability could therefore directly counter the risk of the DPP becoming a “bureaucratic monster”.

Editor's note: The original version dates from spring 2026. The current version has been supplemented with details on the battery's “digital memory”.