Battery passport

A battery passport is an electronic record associated with a battery using a unique identifier, generally reached by scanning a QR code. The term refers to a digital information system, not a physical booklet or a single globally uniform database. The European Commission describes the EU passport as a way to make specified information more accessible across the battery lifecycle, including for economic operators, consumers, repairers, recyclers and public authorities. The EU framework also requires information to use open standards and interoperable, machine-readable formats.

Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 establishes the EU digital battery passport. From 18 February 2027, an electronic passport is required for each light means of transport (LMT) battery, each industrial battery with a capacity greater than 2 kWh, and each electric-vehicle battery placed on the market or put into service. The regulation's QR-code marking rules distinguish these categories from other batteries, for which the code leads to other specified product information rather than a passport under Article 77. Thus, the EU battery passport requirement does not apply indiscriminately to every battery.

The passport combines information about the battery model with information specific to an individual battery, including information resulting from its use, to the extent applicable to the battery category. Under the regulation, some data are public; other information is restricted to notified bodies, market-surveillance authorities and the European Commission; and certain additional information is available to people or organisations with a legitimate interest. The latter tier can include details needed by repairers, remanufacturers, second-life operators and recyclers for safe dismantling and their work. This tiered approach is intended to balance useful transparency with limits on access to sensitive or operational data.

The economic operator placing the finished battery on the EU market must ensure that its passport information is accurate, complete and up to date, and attribute the unique identifier. The Commission describes the system as decentralised, with detailed information maintained by the responsible economic operator. The regulation requires the information to be based on open standards and supplied in an interoperable, structured, searchable and machine-readable format, transferable through an open data-exchange network without vendor lock-in. The passport is accessed through the battery's QR code, which links to its unique identifier.

Battery-passport initiatives also exist outside the EU's statutory framework. For example, the Global Battery Alliance describes its Battery Passport as a sustainability reporting and certification scheme intended to improve the visibility, traceability and comparability of battery supply-chain performance. It uses its own benchmarks and reporting work. Such voluntary or industry schemes should not be confused with the legal passport obligation in the EU Batteries Regulation, even where their goals or data categories overlap.