The EU battery passport: requirements, deadline, live examples.
From 18 February 2027, every EV battery, LMT (light means of transport) battery, and industrial battery with a capacity above 2 kWh placed on the EU market must have a battery passport — a unique, QR-accessible digital record required by Article 77 of the EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. It is the first mandatory Digital Product Passport in the EU, and the template every later product category follows. This guide covers who is in scope, what data is public versus restricted, how per-unit serialisation works — with live sample passports you can open right now.
Last updated: · reviewed against EUR-Lex (CELEX 32023R1542)
Who needs one, and when
The battery passport obligation applies from 18 February 2027 to three battery types placed on the EU market: electric-vehicle (EV) batteries, LMT batteries (e-bikes, e-scooters), and industrial batteries with a capacity above 2 kWh. Each battery — each physical unit, not just each model — must carry a QR code resolving its unique identifier to the passport.
Two supporting deadlines shape the run-up. The European Commission must adopt the delegated act defining access rights and data-management rules by 18 August 2026 — it was still pending as of June 2026, which means the fine print of who may read what can still move. And contrary to a common misreading of the 2025 "Omnibus" simplification packages: Omnibus IV postponed battery due-diligence obligations to 18 August 2027, but did not move the battery-passport date. 18 February 2027 stands.
For the wider rollout beyond batteries — iron & steel, textiles, tyres, aluminium and more — see the ESPR timeline.
Public data vs. restricted data
The battery passport is deliberately two-tier. Annex XIII of the regulation makes general battery information openly readable by anyone, while per-unit performance and state-of-health data is restricted to the battery's owner, to authorities, and to persons with a legitimate interest — typically repairers, remanufacturers and recyclers who must justify access.
Public — readable by anyone, no account
- Battery category, model and manufacturer identity
- Chemistry and critical-materials composition
- Carbon footprint of manufacturing
- Recycled content shares (cobalt, lithium, nickel, lead)
- Expected lifetime, capacity and performance class
- Collection, repurposing and recycling information
Restricted — legitimate interest, authorities, owner (Annex XIII(2)–(4))
- State of health (SoH) and remaining capacity
- Charge/discharge cycle counts
- Negative events and temperature excursions
- Detailed performance and durability telemetry
OpenDPP implements this tiering end-to-end: the public unit page shows identity and links the model-level passport, while telemetry unlocks only for the owning workspace or a granted access token — and anyone can request access through a documented legitimate-interest flow. You can try the whole loop on the live samples below.
Per-unit serialisation: one passport per physical battery
Unlike most later DPP categories, the battery passport is per-unit: each physical battery carries its own passport, addressed by its real serial number. In GS1 terms, the QR code encodes the product's GTIN plus the unit serial in Application Identifier 21 — one scan resolves the exact unit, not just the model.
The lifecycle is regulated too. When a battery is repurposed or remanufactured, the new passport must link back to the original (Article 77(7)) — a lineage chain across the battery's lives. And when a battery is recycled, its passport ceases to exist (Article 77(8)): OpenDPP answers those identifiers with an HTTP 410 "ceased" record that confirms the unit existed and was recycled, and nothing more.
It is worth sizing this honestly: per-unit passports mean your passport count scales with production volume, not catalog size. Issuance, sealing and resolution must be automated — a manual portal does not survive contact with a production line.
Live battery passport examples
These are live, resolvable sample passports published by OpenDPP — fictional demonstration data in the real passport structure, clearly labeled as samples. Open them, scan the QR, inspect the JSON-LD, verify the seal.
- LFP industrial cellLithium iron phosphate — the workhorse stationary-storage chemistry.
- NMC moduleNickel manganese cobalt — the dominant EV chemistry, with recycled-content shares.
- Sodium-ion packThe emerging cobalt-free chemistry, passport-ready from day one.
Each sample battery model also carries serialised demo units with the restricted-data tier active — browse the full demo gallery to see recall and end-of-life scenarios too.
Where these facts come from
Legal basis: Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (Article 77 and Annex XIII). Due-diligence postponement: Omnibus IV, published in the Official Journal in July 2025. Standards context: the EN 182xx DPP standards guide; registry context: the EU DPP Registry explainer.
February 2027 is a production deadline, not a paperwork one.
See how per-unit battery passports are issued, sealed and resolved — on your data, in days.
Book a demoFrom 18 February 2027, every EV battery, LMT battery and industrial battery with a capacity above 2 kWh placed on the EU market needs a battery passport under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (Art. 77), accessible through a QR code that resolves a unique identifier. Public data (chemistry, carbon footprint, recycled content) is open to anyone; per-unit performance data such as state of health and cycle counts is restricted to persons with a legitimate interest under Annex XIII. The supporting delegated act on access rights is due by 18 August 2026. The 2025 Omnibus IV package postponed battery due-diligence duties to 18 August 2027 but did not move the passport date.
EU Battery Passport essentials · Last reviewed