A consortium of German firms and organisations have developed a pilot project to show end users what kind of batteries are installed, how they were manufactured and how sustainable they are.
The “Battery Passport” project’s content and technical standards aim to promote sustainability and working standards in the automotive industry.
The project involves vehicle OEMs, manufacturing industries and research organisations in Germany.
The goal is to make the Battery Passport mandatory for all motive and stationary batteries in Germany and Europe from 2026, no matter the origin of the firm supplying the battery— thus meeting the requirements of the upcoming EU regulation.
The battery passport will be implemented using a digital infrastructure for the documentation and exchange of basic information and technical data that will describe the sustainability and responsibility of the battery supply chain.
This includes: the Green House Gas footprint, working conditions in the mining of raw materials, determination of the battery condition and information on refurbishment and repair of used batteries.
Germany’s Federal Ministry for economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) stated the Battery Passport would help meet European Commission goals, support global sustainability ambitions and aid the transition to low-carbon transportation and energy storage.
A BMWK press release stated (translated from German): “The battery passport is therefore an important contribution to implementing the requirements of the EU regulation for batteries proposed by the EU Commission and significantly supports the responsible commercial and economic use of this data.
“In addition, contributions are made to achieve the UN Social Development Goals and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
“And finally, the pass contributes to a sustainable transition to low-carbon mobility and energy storage, as well as reducing dependency on raw materials, e.g. by extending the service life, determining the residual value and supporting the subsequent use and recycling of the batteries with data logistics.”
The consortium of business, science and civil society will consolidate and coordinate the findings with a large number of other stakeholders.
A project advisory board consisting of the EU Commission, the federal government, standardisation institutions and think tanks will be set up on the part of the BMWK.
An institutionalised cooperation with the Global Battery Alliance (GBA) will also be set up.
Project partners are: sustainability firm Systemiq (coordinator), R&D organisation Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology; acatech (National Academy of Science and Engineering); vehicle OEMs Volkswagen and BMW; materials firms Umicore and BASF; materials supply chain firm Circulor, software platform Fiware Foundation, predictive battery analytics firm Twaice Technologies and renewable energy firm VDE Renewables.
