A new law on vehicle battery regulation has been announced requiring electric vehicles (EVs) to show a digital passport when entering European Union (EU) countries.
From February 2027, a QR code will provide access to a digital ID with detailed information on each battery about the sources and nature of the raw materials prior to manufacturing, along with post-manufacturing details, such as capacity and condition.
This legislation comes as part of the new Batteries Regulation laws, which aim to ensure EV batteries have a low carbon footprint, use minimal harmful substances, need less raw materials from non-EU countries, and are collected, reused and recycled to a high degree in Europe.
Ellen Carey, chief external affairs officer at Circulor, which specialises in supply chain visibility and creates battery passports, told Autocar:
“Many [manufacturers] don’t know their supply chain and often the [suppliers] are changing about three or four times a year, based on the contracts which, especially in the mid-tier section, are changing based on lower cost,”
Carey pointed out how the digital passports will also help to “create accountability of that supply chain – who touched what, when and where”.
90 pieces of information in a passport have been proposed across seven categories, including: general battery and manufacturer information; compliance, certifications and label; battery carbon footprint; supply chain due diligence; battery materials and composition; circularity and resource efficiency; and performance and durability.
