What is the digital battery passport (DBP)?

With the EUs new Battery Regulation, a battery passport is required for all industrial batteries >2kWh, put on the market after the 18th of February 2027. In short, it is a digital record with information about the battery throughout its lifecycle, accessible through a QR code placed on the physical battery.

Some key questions and preliminary answers presented by Corvus Energy were:

• Who is regulatory responsible for the DBP?

The EO that places the battery on the EU market. In general, when a custom battery is delivered to a customer, it is the customer who will be responsible for the passport. Corvus is preparing to deliver a DBP with all its battery systems.

• How is “up-to-date” defined?

Definition pending from the EU commission. It seems like most parameters will only have to be updated at a change of status of the battery. E.g. from “original” to “repurposed”.

• At what granularity is the DBP needed?

The DBP is needed for a battery as it is put on the market. Our understanding is that we will deliver one DBP with each battery system, but having one passport per module is more aligned with the intention of the regulation.

• Who can access the data?

There will be role-based access to the passport. Some of the data will be publicly available (through the QR code), while some will only be available to authorities or persons with a legitimate interest.

Current understanding of responsibilities for DBP

As presented by Corvus Energy, the following responsibilities lie with the battery manufacturer:

• Most of the data at BOL (Beginning of Life)

• Battery composition

  Share of recycled material and hazardous substances (with help from upstream suppliers)

• Circularity documents

  Disassembly manuals and safety guidelines

• Labeling battery modules and systems

  Separate collection, Pb and Cd if applicable

• Production data and test reports

• Carbon footprint

  Raw material extraction + pre-processing, manufacturing and distribution stages (with help from upstream suppliers)

• General battery and manufacturer information

The following responsibilities are currently assumed to lie with the customers (integrators, ship yards, ship owners):

• Date of putting the battery into service

• Dismantling manual for removal of the battery from the room/ship

• Access to live/dynamic data to keep the DBP up-to-date (still to be defined at what intervals this is required)

  If it is not an option, the ownership of the passport will have to be transferred to the customer, together with the responsibility for keeping the passport up-to-date, as well as transferring it to recyclers/repurposer at the end of its lifetime.

• Operator information

Discussion points with the Working Group going forward

The MBF Working Group on EU Battery Passport for Maritime Batteries will gather all different MBF members with an interest in the impact of the DBP on their work. Some of the initial goals for the working group will be to:

• Create an overview of frequently asked questions about the DBP to systematically provide answers and share this with other MBF members

• Collaborate on developing a maritime industry standard for the DBP

  Discuss granularity

  Responsibilities of value chain members

  Maritime industry dataspace

  Automotive industry has consensus on using Catena X as a dataspace for data sharing throughout the value chain.

Do you want to participate in this working group? Then send a request to director@maritimebatteryforum.com

Recording & Summary MBF Working Group Meeting - EU Battery Passport for Maritime Batteries