Sustainability and Circularity-Related Information Requirements for a Digital Product Passport for the Electric Vehicle Battery
- Open Access
- 2026
- OriginalPaper
- Buchkapitel
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Abstract
1 Introduction and Theoretical Background
The present study aims to investigate which type of information a digital product passport (DPP) for electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) requires to contain to comprehensively support sustainability/circularity-related decision-making of value chain actors. This study is divided into two phases. Phase 1 is dedicated to identifying requirements of particular relevance for EVB value chain actors and thereby developing a validated and prioritized list of information requirements. Phase 2 aims at providing a more detailed insight into the specific requirements of use cases at the end of the battery’s life. Both phases jointly contribute to a holistic and differentiated insight into the requirements for digital battery passports (DBPs).
The remainder of this paper starts with a theoretical background. Thereafter, the methods and the derived results are presented. Finally, the paper ends with the discussion and conclusion sections.
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1.1 Digital Battery Passports for Enhancing Lifecycle Management
DBPs have increasingly gained the attention of policymakers [1], practitioners [2, 3] and researchers [4, 5] as enablers for transparent and traceable EVB value chains, thereby having the potential to enhance EVBs’ sustainability and circularity information. The European Commission’s Battery Regulation emphasized the relevance of DBPs for enhanced battery management and increasing a battery’s durability and performance [1]. By 2026, all industrial batteries and EVBs are required to have a digital record containing accurate, reliable and up-to-date information on a battery and its components [1]. Accordingly, multiple initiatives emerged focusing on conceptualizing, a DBP such as the Global Battery Alliance [2] and Catena-X [3]. With respect to scientific research, one theoretical DPP concept [4] exists, whereas empirically founded DBP concepts focusing on sustainability/ circularity-related aspects and the systemic integration of EVB value chain actors’ perspectives are scarce [5].
1.2 Information Requirements for a Digital Battery Passport
Besides establishing a framework for using a DBP for collecting, sharing and managing EVB product lifecycle data, the EU also defined certain information requirements to be included in the DBP [1]. These basic requirements are, e.g., information regarding the battery composition, dismantling instructions, safety measures and the State of Health (SoH) [1]. However, the current legal requirements only cover a few aspects of sustainability and circularity, keeping the wider potential such a DBP could offer for managing EVBs more sustainably untapped. From a research perspective, Berger et al. [4] have proposed the first (and as of now only) concept of a DBP for sustainable EVB management. This concept comprises 54 data points allocated to four main information categories. Thus, it provides the foundation for empirical investigations conducted in recently evolving research projects, such as CE-PASS [6] and Free4LIB [7]. The present study has evolved from the joint effort and close collaboration between these two research projects.
2 Methods
The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, divided into two phases, to validate and assess the EVB value chain stakeholders’ information requirements. It further pursues a life cycle perspective, dividing the EVB value chain into four phases. The Beginning-of-Life (BoL) comprises all processes from the battery design and raw material extraction to the finally produced battery pack. The Middle-of-Life (MoL) includes the distribution, use and maintenance of the battery, whereafter the Battery Second Use (B2U) describes the phase during which, if possible, the battery is refurbished and reused, e.g., as stationary energy storage system. The End-of-Life (EoL) phase contains all activities required when the battery cannot be adequately used anymore, such as recycling or other disposal.
2.1 Phase 1: Priorization of Information Requirements
In the first phase, a literature review was conducted to validate and refine the 54 data points identified in Berger et al. [4]. This served to condense the list to 40 information requirements. To quantitatively validate the refined information requirements, the respective list was an input for a survey (N = 26) sent to industry actors from the BoL, MoL, EoL and B2U stages. About half of the survey participants had at least four years of experience working with EVBs. In the survey, these practitioners were asked to rate the information attributes’ importance on a six-point Likert scale. Further, the initial data point list was condensed and adapted to serve as input for a non-industry survey shown to electric vehicle users (N = 211). Here, the participants should rate their interest in 22 information attributes on a six-point Likert scale.
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2.2 Phase 2: Assess Information Requirements for EoL and B2U Use Cases
Based on Berger et al. [4] and the preceding phase, the second phase was dedicated to exploring information requirements and DBP use cases in the context of EoL and B2U management of an EVB. Thus, two sets of interviews (total N = 20) with EoL and B2U-related experts were conducted. The derived qualitative material was then subjected to a qualitative content analysis and synthesized.
3 Results
Our results consist of a refined, prioritized overview of information requirements and allow for a more differentiated insight into the specific requirements of EoL and B2U actors. In line with the presented methods, they are divided into two phases.
3.1 Phase 1: Prioritized Information from Value Chain Actors’ Perspectives
The refinement of the data point list from Phase 1 resulted in a list of 40 data points. Their importance was rated by industry experts on a scale from “1 = not important at all” to “6 = very important”. Table 1 shows the ten data points which were, on average, ranked highest by the survey participants. It also provides an insight into how the information attributes were ranked by the actors from the different lifecycle stages BoL, MoL, EoL and B2U.
Table 1.
Information attributes rated most important (scale 1–6) by value chain actors
Information attribute | BoL | MoL | EoL | B2U | Total average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
State of Health | 4.60 | 6.00 | 4.92 | 5.67 | 5.3 |
Rated capacity [Ah] | 4.80 | 5.67 | 4.83 | 5.50 | 5.2 |
Recycling information | 4.80 | 6.00 | 5.33 | 4.67 | 5.2 |
Specification of electrodes | 5.00 | 5.67 | 5.58 | 4.33 | 5.15 |
Critical Raw Materials | 4.80 | 5.67 | 5.08 | 5.00 | 5.14 |
Long-term trend of the State of Health | 4.20 | 6.00 | 5.00 | 5.33 | 5.13 |
Product-related energy [kWh] | 5.00 | 5.00 | 4.58 | 5.83 | 5.10 |
Dismantling instructions | 4.60 | 5.55 | 5.25 | 4.83 | 5.00 |
Voltage limits | 4.40 | 5.67 | 4.50 | 5.33 | 4.93 |
Power capability [W] | 4.80 | 4.67 | 4.75 | 5.83 | 4.91 |
The results reveal, inter alia, that the SoH obtains the highest rank, being especially important for MoL and B2U actors. Overall, the attributes were rated highest by MoL actors while most attributes were considered comparably less important by BoL actors.
Since the second survey was presented to non-industry actors – EV users - the data point list was further adapted and compressed to 22 data points. These were rated on a scale ranging from “1 = not interested at all” to “6 = very interested”. Table 2 presents the highest-rated data points, showing that two vehicle performance-based attributes were rated highest, expected lifetime and range. Similar to the industry experts, EV users considered SoH and the long-term trend of the SoH as very interesting.
Table 2.
Information attributes rated most interesting (scale 1–6) by EV users
Information attribute | Average | |
|---|---|---|
Expected lifetime | 5.72 | |
Expected range | 5.62 | |
Warranty on the project | 5.58 | |
Charging time | 5.41 | |
State of Health | 5.08 | |
Long-term trend of the State of Health | 4.99 | |
3.2 Phase 2: Battery Passport Use Cases from an EoL and B2U Perspective
In general, two major DBP use cases were identified in the context of EoL and B2U. In an EoL context, a DBP was perceived to support efficient recycling processes. This comprises the choice of the recycling processes and more accurate estimation and handling of incoming waste streams. In this context, EoL experts emphasized the importance of battery chemistry and disassembly instructions. Regarding battery chemistry, they expressed the need to know about the employed anode and cathode chemistry ratios (i.e., specification of electrodes). Control over disassembly instructions (incl. Type of employed screws, adhesives, wiring) was viewed as critical as this facilitates efficient disassembly steps and allows for planning and designing the disassembly process. Furthermore, the battery identification number, the number of total modules, the number of cells per module, and the number of total cells were classified as important for disassembly support. These listed information attributes were also viewed as important to support use cases related to disclosure and reporting requirements, or revenue estimations. In addition, to enable safe battery handling, interest in the SoH of an EVB (or respective modules) was expressed. Further mentioned EoL-related DBP use cases comprise reaction to customer requirements, logistical decisions, identification of critical raw materials and hazardous substances.
In a B2U context, a DBP was perceived to enable respective business models. Thus, a DBP needs to provide information about the SoH, as this is currently the most renowned indicator to decide whether an EVB qualifies for a B2U. Furthermore, control over in-use data, as well as maintenance history (incl. Maintenance triggers) was viewed important to identify suitable second life EVBs. The second most important data point identified was the one of disassembly instructions. The rationale provided was a rather economic one (e.g., time efficiency, personnel hours).
4 Discussion and Conclusion
This paper’s results enable a more differentiated insight into the information requirements of EVB value chain actors. The information attributes that were ranked as most important by industry actors comprise both general performance-related information such as rated capacity and voltage limits, and sustainability/circularity-related information. The latter contains attributes like recycling-related information and dismantling instructions. The SoH and long-term trend of SoH, though, can be considered performance-related as well as circularity-related as it indicates the EVB’s overall condition, which could also be beneficial for repair and maintenance activities and hence for prolonging the battery’s lifecycle. The EV users also considered the SoH and its long-term trend as interesting. However, performance-related information was of higher interest to them. Overall, both industry and non-industry actors neglected social sustainability-related aspects.
Depending on the value chain actors’ life cycle phases, they considered different information to be most relevant as they face diverging decision situations. The EoL use case revealed that the cell chemistry, dismantling instructions and SoH are very relevant to them which corresponds with EoL actors’ survey results. However, while the SoH was emphasized within the B2U use cases, as well as these actors’ survey results, dismantling information did not receive a considerably high survey rating while it was considered very crucial for the B2U use case. Overall, this study emphasizes the need to jointly consider both practitioners’ perspectives, as well as sustainability/circularity-related research to include the actors’ perceptions and sustainability / circularity information. However, this study bears some limitations. Firstly, the results show solely the “perceived” importance which is influenced by the subjective perception of respondents and secondly the number of participants in the survey was rather small. Nevertheless, the results give important insights into the different information needs and can be a starting point for further research. Possible future research is already carried out in follow-up projects (i.e., CE-PASS [6] and FREE4LIB [7]), focusing on additional aspects of the development of DPPs, e.g., concerning on the design and the recycling phase’s information requirements in high granularity. Other research approaches, e.g., from Tributech [8], cover the direct measurement of energy and emission parameters in the production phase, supporting carbon footprint calculation and the information exchange to and from EoL to BoL or B2U actors. They also aim for enhancing the integrity of all data collected, providing auditability and trust to external parties of the DBP ecosystem.
Acknowledgements
The financial support of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs, the National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development, and the Christian Doppler Research Association to the CD-Laboratory for Sustainable Product Management, the financial support of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG for the project CE-PASS and the financial support by the European Union for the project FREE4LIB under GA No. 101069890 are gratefully acknowledged.
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