What Is the Battery Passport? The First Mandatory DPP
A battery maker ships an industrial battery into the EU. The buyer replies with one question. "Where is the passport?"
There is no paper to send. The answer is a QR code on the battery itself, and behind it a record the law now requires. No passport, no sale.
The battery passport is the first time a Digital Product Passport stops being a policy idea and becomes a hard requirement on a physical product.
At a glance:
- The battery passport is an electronic record for one individual battery, required under the EU Batteries Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/1542.
- It is the first Digital Product Passport to become mandatory in the EU.
- It becomes mandatory on 18 February 2027. After that, no passport means no EU sale.
- It covers EV batteries, LMT batteries, and industrial batteries above 2 kWh. Portable batteries are out of scope.
- Each unit carries a QR code that opens its own passport, with data shown by access tier.
What is the battery passport?
The battery passport is an electronic record for one individual battery. It is the first Digital Product Passport (DPP) to become mandatory in the EU. It is required under the EU Batteries Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/1542.
A Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a structured electronic record that carries a product's sustainability and compliance data, reached through a data carrier such as a QR code. The battery passport is the first one the EU has made compulsory on a physical product.
Every covered battery carries a QR code. Scanning it opens the passport for that one unit. It is not a datasheet for the model. It is a record for the single battery in your hand.
There is one passport per battery placed on the market. The record has to stay accurate for the life of the product. Data that goes stale is a compliance gap, not a minor slip.
Which batteries need a passport?
The passport does not apply to every battery. It targets the large ones. Three categories are in scope.
- Electric-vehicle (EV) batteries. Every EV battery needs a passport, whatever its size.
- LMT batteries are light means of transport batteries, such as those in e-bikes and e-scooters. Every LMT battery is covered.
- Industrial batteries above 2 kWh. Here the size matters. Only industrial batteries with a capacity above 2 kWh need a passport.
| Battery category | Example uses | Capacity threshold | Passport required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric-vehicle (EV) | Cars, vans, buses | None | Yes, every unit |
| LMT (light means of transport) | E-bikes, e-scooters | None | Yes, every unit |
| Industrial | Stationary storage, backup power | Above 2 kWh | Yes, when above 2 kWh |
| Portable | Phones, laptops, power tools | Not applicable | No |
The 2 kWh threshold applies to industrial batteries only. An industrial battery of 2 kWh or less falls outside the passport rule. EV and LMT batteries carry no such threshold, so every one of them needs a passport.
Portable batteries are out of scope for the passport. Those are the batteries in phones, laptops and power tools. Other parts of the Batteries Regulation still apply to them. They just do not need a passport.
A worked example
Picture a factory outside the EU. It builds 500 industrial batteries, each rated at 5 kWh. An EU importer buys the batch and places it on the German market.
Each battery is above 2 kWh, so each one needs a passport. That is 500 passports, not one. The QR code on each unit resolves to its own record.
The importer, not the foreign factory, is the economic operator here. The importer places the batteries on the EU market. So the importer owns all 500 passports and keeps their data current.
Now change the rating to 2 kWh. At 2 kWh the batteries are not above the threshold. They fall outside the passport rule, though other battery rules still apply.
When does it start?
The passport becomes mandatory on 18 February 2027. From that date, a covered battery cannot be placed on the EU market without one.
This date sits inside the wider EU Batteries Regulation timeline. The regulation has applied since 2024. Labelling rules land in 2026. The QR-linked passport follows in 2027.
The order matters for planning. Much of the passport data comes from suppliers, and collecting it takes time. So the work starts well before the 2027 date, not on it.
What is behind the QR code?
A scan does not show everyone the same thing. The passport uses access tiers. Who you are decides how much you see.
- Public: anyone who scans sees the general information.
- Legitimate interest: more detail for parties with a defined need, such as recyclers.
- Notified bodies and market-surveillance authorities: the full record.
| Access tier | Who it is for | What they see |
|---|---|---|
| Public | Anyone who scans the QR code | General information |
| Legitimate interest | Parties with a defined need, such as recyclers | More detail |
| Notified bodies and market-surveillance authorities | Regulators and conformity bodies | The full record |
What the record must contain is set out in Annex XIII. That runs from the carbon footprint to due-diligence data. We break it down in what a battery passport must hold.
Who is responsible?
The economic operator is the party that places the battery on the EU market. That is the manufacturer or the importer. One party carries the duty.
They own the passport. They must keep its data accurate, complete and up to date. There is one responsible operator per battery, so the duty cannot be quietly shared away.
This is why the importer matters so much. When the maker sits outside the EU, the importer becomes the operator on the hook. The passport travels with the battery, but the duty stays with whoever puts it on the market.
How Bindu builds the passport
Most of a battery passport is data. Almost none of it starts in the factory that assembled the battery. The carbon footprint, the recycled content and the due-diligence records all come from across the supply chain. They have to land in one published record per unit.
Bindu holds that record. It stores the passport template per battery model, the evidence behind each field, and the published passport page the QR resolves to, with the access tiers built in. The data you collect once becomes the passport a buyer scans. See the battery passport breakdown.
FAQ
What is the battery passport? The battery passport is an electronic record for an individual battery, the first Digital Product Passport to become mandatory in the EU. It is required under the EU Batteries Regulation and is accessed through a QR code on each battery.
Source: EUR-Lex: EU Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Article 77
When is the battery passport mandatory? From 18 February 2027. From that date, a covered battery cannot be placed on the EU market without a passport.
Source: EUR-Lex: EU Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Article 77
Which batteries need a passport? Electric-vehicle batteries, LMT (light means of transport) batteries, and industrial batteries above 2 kWh. One passport per individual battery. Portable batteries are outside the passport requirement.
Source: EUR-Lex: EU Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Article 77
Is the battery passport a Digital Product Passport? Yes. It is the first Digital Product Passport to take effect. Other categories, textiles among the first, follow later under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).
Source: EUR-Lex: Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (EU) 2024/1781
Who is responsible for the battery passport? The economic operator that places the battery on the EU market, the manufacturer or the importer. They own the passport and must keep its data accurate, complete and up to date.
Source: European Commission: Batteries