Glossary · Digital product passport: legal framework
Battery passport
Also known as: EU battery passport, digital battery passport
Under Article 77 of the EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, the battery passport is an electronic record for each individual LMT battery, industrial battery with a capacity above 2 kWh and electric vehicle battery placed on the market or put into service, applying from February 18, 2027. It is reached through a QR code and linked to a unique identifier.
- EU
- China
- DPP
In one sentence
The EU battery passport under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 applies from February 18, 2027 to LMT, EV and industrial batteries above 2 kWh.
Example
An e-bike battery placed on the EU market in March 2027 carries a QR code that leads to its passport, with composition and carbon footprint data public and detailed dismantling data restricted to repairers and recyclers.
How it applies
- Scope: One passport per battery, not per model, for LMT batteries (light means of transport such as e-bikes and e-scooters), industrial batteries above 2 kWh and EV batteries.
- Legal basis: The battery passport comes from the Battery Regulation, not from an ESPR delegated act, and is the first EU passport to apply. The ESPR framework is designed to be compatible with it.
- Access: Some information is public; other parts are available only to persons with a legitimate interest, the Commission and authorities; see DPP access rights.
- Responsibility: The economic operator placing the battery on the market is responsible for the passport and its accuracy; after repurposing or remanufacturing, a new passport linked to the original one is created and the responsibility moves to the operator placing the changed battery on the market.
- Technical documentation: Passport data such as composition, capacity and dismantling information overlaps with safety and service documentation. Keep one source of truth for each value.
Compared with the USA, Canada and China
China has run a national traceability management platform for new energy vehicle power batteries since 2018, which gives each battery a code and tracks it from production through recycling; see product traceability in China. It serves recycling oversight rather than public transparency. The USA and Canada have no battery passport; battery rules there focus on safety, transport and state-level recycling.