acatech
Berlin, 22 May 2025 – The launch of the BatteryPass-Ready project on 1 April 2025 marks the initial implementation phase of the battery passport. The project consortium aims to develop a testing environment for battery passport users and make it accessible to all stakeholders in the battery ecosystem. Building on the foundations established in the predecessor project, BatteryPass, BatteryPass-Ready is a step towards the practical application of digital product passports. The project will run for two years and is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).
Batteries play a vital role in achieving a sustainable energy supply – not only in the realm of industrial energy storage but also for e-mobility. Starting in February 2027, the battery passport will become mandatory under EU regulations. It will enhance transparency of data throughout the entire battery lifecycle – from production to usage and increased circularity. This presents a challenge for battery providers and manufacturers: they will have to adapt their data management systems and establish the technical infrastructure required for the battery passport. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited resources, these demands are significant hurdles.
Testing, Analyzing, and Preparing for the Mandatory Battery Passport
To support such companies, the BatteryPass-Ready consortium is developing a testing environment that will ease the implementation of the battery passport along the entire value chain and provide greater security in the process: During development, manufacturers and service providers can verify whether their solutions comply with EU standards, ensuring smooth integration with the planned system.
“Transparent, interoperable, and trustworthy data provision is the cornerstone of a successful digital product passport. With the BatteryPass-Ready project, we are creating a testing environment to rapidly scale the battery passport and make it reliable and immediately usable for the industry—because in the digital circular economy, dependable data are as valuable as gold,” says Prof. Hanselka, President of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.
The testing environment will enable users to:
– analyze ongoing developments related to mandatory data points
– use provided test data or incorporate their own data
– test data completeness and plausibility
– ensure compliance of the battery passport with relevant standards
– conduct, monitor, and log tests
– use emulation environments—especially for components provided and operated by the European Commission (e.g. registry)
Additionally, the project will provide policy and business stakeholders with actionable guidance as Thomas Weber, President of acatech, expresses with great enthusiasm:
“Digital product passports such as the battery passport are a key enabler in building a circular economy. But they’re more than that: we must recognize them as tools for efficiency that go far beyond meeting the requirements of the EU Battery Regulation. They help us conserve resources, reduce dependence from critical raw materials, and generate new value within the battery ecosystem. The sooner small and medium-sized companies gain experience using them, the faster and more broadly stakeholders will recognize the benefits of digital product passports—and put them to use.”
As successor of the BatteryPass project, BatteryPass-Ready provides stakeholders with a central hub for information on the battery passport’s implementation status. Policy recommendations aim to support the administratively challenging rollout of the battery passport. Close stakeholder engagement—through workshops and interactive formats—is an integral part of the project concept.
Consortium Partners
The BatteryPass-Ready consortium brings together leading institutions and companies from the fields of circular economy, product passports, and testing:
Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK)
As consortium lead, Fraunhofer IPK is managing the project and contributes its extensive experience in developing innovative technologies and digital solutions for the industry. In the original BatteryPass project, Fraunhofer IPK was responsible for developing Technical Guidance.
acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering
As a neutral, public-interest, and science-based organization, acatech is responsible for stakeholder engagement and for the content-related development of data points in BatteryPass-Ready. In the predecessor project, acatech was, together with consortium partner Systemiq, responsible for developing the Content Guidance and the DIN DKE Spec 99100.
GEFEG
GEFEG, a leading company for digital data standards and integration, is in charge of developing the testing environment. The company has extensive expertise in standardizing and validating complex data structures through numerous EU- and association-level projects.
Technische Universität Berlin
With its long-standing expertise in quality science, TU Berlin plays an active role in developing an innovative test system. Its Department of Quality Science researches cutting-edge concepts, methods, and organizational approaches to assess and shape quality processes and QM systems. In BatteryPass-Ready, TU Berlin is developing an FMEA-based approach for precise fault identification and risk assessment tailored to the requirements of the digital product passport.
The project also collaborates closely with relevant industry associations, including the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), the German Bicycle Industry Association (ZIV), and BITKOM, the digital industry association. These partnerships ensure practical relevance and the involvement of pertinent stakeholders from the industry.
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