The Battery Regulation aims to establish a circular economy in the battery sector by taking into account all stages of the battery life cycle - from conception to waste treatment. This initiative is particularly important in view of the enormous development in the field of electromobility. The demand for batteries is expected to increase tenfold by 2030. All types of batteries, including all waste portable batteries, electric vehicle batteries, industrial batteries, starting and ignition batteries (mainly used for vehicles and machinery) and batteries for light means of transport (e.g. electric bicycles, e-mopeds, e-scooters) are affected by the regulation.
The Digital Battery Passport: This is intended to help document the entire life cycle, reduce environmental impact and strengthen the circular economy; it contains social, ecological and economic information. It therefore documents data such as the CO2 footprint, working conditions in raw material extraction, battery materials and components, hazardous substances contained, resource efficiency, performance and durability, determination of battery condition and other information, including recyclability and repair as well as the implementation of these steps. The Battery Passport consortium has published a guideline (Battery Passport Technical Guidance - acatech) for the implementation of the content. The data is organised decentrally and the battery passport is implemented in the form of a software system. The implementation of the battery passport follows the provisions of the Ecodesign Directive for a digital product passport. The battery passport is therefore a digital product passport with the information that is mandatory for batteries. ‘It acts as a pilot; further passports are being planned for textiles, electronics and building materials, for example, in order to guarantee data exchange in the supply and value chain and compliance with environmental and social standards,’ says Fraunhofer expert Knothe.