A consortium of eleven leading international industry, technology and science organisations, announced the release of the Value of the EU Battery Passport study, which sheds light on the benefits and challenges of digital product passports for batteries and underscores their strategic importance for businesses and policymakers alike. The study is published by the Battery Pass project with co-funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and presents the first comprehensive analysis of the qualitative and quantitative of battery passports. The aim of the study is to paint a more realistic picture of the value creation of Digital Product Passports (DPP) for batteries and promote strategic engagement of the battery passport by individual stakeholders. The study suggests that battery passports could reduce future procurement costs for independent operators by ~2-10% and reduce costs for pre-processing and treatment for recycling by 10-20% due to reduced sampling needs. Furthermore, the study finds that incorporating battery passports in vehicle de-registration and export procedures could potentially unlock around 5-20% of active material demand for electric vehicle batteries forecast for 2045 in Europe.
First prototype for EU Battery Passport
“The German government is supporting electric mobility and the ambition to create a competitive, sustainable battery production in Europe. More transparent battery value chains, enabled by the digital Battery Passport, are vital for this. Therefore, we have been funding the Battery Pass project since 2022. Its recent study underscores the importance of regulatory support for the adoption of digital product passports. It has a valuable impact on shaping future policies which promote transparency, efficiency, and environmental stewardship in the battery sector”, said Stefan Wenzel, BMWK Parliamentary State Secretary.
Tilmann Vahle, Battery Pass consortium lead and Director, Sustainable Mobility and Batteries at Systemiq, said: “The Battery Pass consortium breaks new ground with our industry use cases assessment. After collaborating extensively with industry stakeholders to ensure reliability, we’re pleased to validate our positive expectations. However, challenges remain, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises who should receive government support. Next, we’re going to complete our assessment with a systems level analysis, which we will publish this autumn.”
