Germany plans battery passport in sustainability push

A consortium of carmakers, battery manufacturers and other supply chain stakeholders funded by the German government plans to develop a battery passport to track the carbon footprint and lifecycle of batteries made or deployed in the EU.

The consortium — which includes companies such as BMW and VW, as well as battery chemical companies Umicore and BASF — will be part of a three-year pilot project to develop the technical standards needed for the battery passport scheme. UK-based supply chain traceability company Circulor will implement the project's digital passport technology.

The project will draw up a battery passport scheme in line with the EU's new battery regulation expected to come into law later this year, which will require battery passports for all batteries used in the EU by 2026.

A battery passport would provide digital data on the carbon footprint of the battery, its lifecycle including any repairs, and its origins such as the working conditions of people involved in the mining of raw materials and recycled material content, the German economic affairs and climate action ministry said. It is hoped the data will give consumers greater clarity about the origins and impact of the batteries they are purchasing, and keeping track of important information for battery recyclers.

The European Commission previously proposed that battery and car manufacturers be required to announce the amount of recycled material in any batteries made from 1 January 2027 onwards. The proposals also said that from 1 January 2030, these batteries must contain a minimum 12pc of recycled cobalt, 85pc lead, 4pc lithium and 4pc nickel. By 2035 this would increase to 20pc cobalt, 10pc lithium and 12pc nickel.

"Electric vehicle OEMs and supply chain participants can track the physical flow of critical materials from extraction to final production, as well as associated ESG characteristics," Circulor said today.

By Sian Morris