By Emma Herrod
A new standard that sets out the data to be contained in a digital product passport (DPP) for batteries — such as those used in electric vehicles, e-bikes and industrial energy storage systems — has been released in the EU in a move that indicates the road ahead for other industries and countries planning to introduce DPPs.
Batteries are the first product sector to be mandated by the EU for DPP implementation. Other industries, including textiles and fashion, are developing DPPs under separate EU legislation and are expected to reference the new battery pass standard when setting their own standards.
The standard has been developed by the Battery Pass consortium in association with industry, academia and regulatory experts, and published as DIN DKE SPEC 99100 Requirements for Data Attributes of the Battery Passport by the German Institute for Standardization (DIN) and the German Commission for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (DKE).
DPP’s goals
The goal is to enable the communication of reliable environmental data, inform purchasing decisions, ease servicing, provide risk assessment for the transportation of used batteries, make recycling more efficient, simplify residual value determination, and streamline the trade of used and waste batteries through marketplaces.
The standard requires the data in a battery passport to be accessible to consumers, industry and waste recyclers via a link that opens when a QR code printed or engraved on the device is scanned. Where this is not possible, the QR code must be included on product packaging or accompanying documentation.
Each battery will have its own, unique QR code so its entire lifecycle can be monitored. Data that was previously held in different places, such as origin, composition, performance and environmental footprint, will be brought together under one identifier.
Data links
The QR codes will provide a link to where information about the individual battery is held. This includes:
- General battery and manufacturer information
- Battery materials and composition
- Performance and durability metrics
- Working conditions in raw material extraction
- Battery carbon footprint
“The newly published standard provides implementing companies with clarity on the specific data attributes to be collected for the battery passport,” president of Acatech, Germany’s National Academy of Science and Engineering, Thomas Weber explains.
“This marks another important step in bringing digital product passports into use and harnessing their extraordinary potential for circular value creation.”
“With the DIN DKE SPEC 99100, we make the results of the Battery Pass project’s guidelines easily accessible to everyone preparing for the introduction of the battery passport in the European Union,” Dr Torsten Freund, chair of the DIN DKE SPEC 99100 committee and battery passport project manager at BASF, adds.
“At the same time, we lay the groundwork for further international standardisation on this topic.”
