Challenge

Batteries are one of the most important components of tomorrow’s green mobility. However, the manufacturing of batteries involves significant sustainability challenges linked to environmental, social and societal impacts. Manufacturing such components responsibly necessitates the ability to trace batteries across the entire supply chain, from raw material to final product.

Solution

In response to this challenge, in 2023 the EU approved the EU Batteries Regulation, mandating the creation of digital battery passports to document and exchange sustainability data throughout the value chain.

This passport will incorporate a wide range of information, including battery and manufacturer details, compliance and certifications, carbon footprint, supply-chain due diligence, battery materials, circularity, performance and durability. A specific methodology for calculating the product carbon footprint is provided by the 2023 EU Battery Regulation to align manufacturers and ensure comparability. The passport serves as an event tracker, to record when the product is sold, assembled, repaired, etc. This data can be accessible to the general public or specific battery industry stakeholders depending on its nature. Finally, the regulation requires the battery passport to provide dismantling information to push for easy repair and maintenance in a circular approach.

Deploying the battery passport will require automation of data collection from manufacturers but also exchange of data across different actors in the value chain. This implies collaborating across multiple stakeholders to define a common framework, standards and harmonized digital systems to ensure they are using a common language, comparable calculations and trustworthy infrastructure.

Impact

In the EU, the Battery Regulation has set a strong precedent, contributing to greater transparency and sustainability in the battery value chain. Traceability enables more responsible production, use and disposal of batteries and increased consumer knowledge. Industry groups such as the Global Battery Alliance and the Battery Pass consortium are working on global adoption, developing standards and showing how digital battery passports can work in practice. Beyond the EU, China and the US (with its Inflation Reduction Act) have also started to develop similar initiatives.  

Featured in our paper "The “No-Excuse” Opportunities to Tackle Scope 3 Emissions in Manufacturing and Value Chains"