A customer asks about the battery passport

The battery passport is the Battery Regulation's (EU) 2023/1542 digital record for the larger batteries. From 18 February 2027, each 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 must have an electronic record, the battery passport (Article 77(1)). It contains information on the battery model and on the individual battery, including information resulting from its use, as set out in Annex XIII (Article 77(2)).^[1]

The passport has three audiences. Part of the information is accessible to the general public: the label information, the material composition, the carbon footprint information, responsible sourcing as stated in the due diligence report, recycled and renewable content, capacity, voltage, power, expected lifetime and other performance values, the EU declaration of conformity and the waste information (Annex XIII, point 1). Part is reserved for persons with a legitimate interest and the Commission, such as detailed composition, part numbers, dismantling information and safety measures (point 2), part, the results of test reports, for notified bodies, market surveillance authorities and the Commission (point 3), and the data on the individual battery, such as its state of health, status and use, for persons with a legitimate interest only (point 4; Article 77(2)). The Commission was to specify by implementing acts, by 18 August 2026, who counts as a person with a legitimate interest and what they may access (Article 77(9)).^[1]

The obligations fall on the economic operator placing the battery on the market. It attributes a unique identifier, reached through the QR code that Article 13(6) requires on the battery (Article 77(3)); ensures that the information is accurate, complete and up to date, and may authorise another operator in writing to act on its behalf (Article 77(4)); and uploads the unique identifier to the registry set up under Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (Article 77(10)). The passport must be interoperable with other digital product passports, free of charge to access according to access rights, secure, and must remain available even after the responsible operator ceases its activity in the Union (Article 78).^[1]

Batteries outside Article 77 are not left without a digital link. From 18 February 2027, all batteries are marked with a QR code; for those without a passport, it gives access to the labelling information, the EU declaration of conformity, the report on the battery due diligence policy and the waste prevention and management information (Article 13(6)).^[1]