BatteryPass-Ready launches test environment for digital battery passport
Munich, 25 June 2026
The test environment for the digital battery passport has gone live. In this first phase, it helps battery manufacturers and suppliers prepare for the battery passport — which is set to become mandatory across the EU from February 2027 — through data validation and eleven distinct test scenarios. These allow companies to verify that their data meets EU standards and that their battery passport solutions interoperate smoothly within the wider battery ecosystem. The project draws on the input of more than 100 associate and supporting partners, whose requirements help keep the test environment firmly geared to real-world needs.
From February 2027, the EU-wide battery passport will require manufacturers, suppliers, recycling companies and software providers to deliver greater transparency across the entire battery life cycle — ensuring, for instance, that scarce materials within Europe remain in circulation. This covers information on technical characteristics, usage and improved circularity. Companies will need to adapt their data management and technical infrastructure accordingly, a particular challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The newly launched test environment gives them access to templates and guidelines, allows them to validate their data and to test how their solutions perform across the eleven most common test scenarios. Results are displayed immediately, so users can refine their solutions iteratively from the development phase onwards.
“One of the biggest challenges for suppliers and manufacturers is the fast-moving environment: regulation, standardisation and the rollout of the battery passport are all happening at once. The test environment now gives stakeholders a single point of contact which not only covers the key test scenarios but which is also being expanded with new ones on an ongoing basis. This allows companies to check and adapt their solutions for completeness and interoperability in good time without losing ground”, explains project leader Thomas Knothe, Head of the Business Process and Factory Management Department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK).
Check and validate data according to battery category
As a first step, companies can check their data in the test environment to confirm whether it is complete and compliant with EU regulations. The system distinguishes between battery categories and their individual data requirements: batteries for electric vehicles, industrial batteries with a capacity above two kWh, and batteries for light vehicles such as e-bikes. In future version updates, the project partners will gradually broaden the data validation process with additional check modules.
Eleven test scenarios across three use cases at launch
Beyond mere data validation, the focus lies on the interplay between the various stakeholders in the battery ecosystem. The test environment assesses how a user’s battery passport solution interacts with other stakeholders, simulating their requests through predefined scenarios.
One scenario, for example, tests how a company’s own system responds to data requests from external partners — and whether the requested battery passport data is transmitted in full, in the correct format and in line with the relevant access rights.
Application and regulation go hand in hand
The test environment replicates real-world use cases. By analysing the findings from the various test runs, it also creates synergies between application and regulation, making it possible to identify gaps in the regulatory framework and to propose ways of addressing loopholes or ambiguities. The regulatory guidelines can thus be closely aligned with the actual needs of the battery and digital industries, helping the battery passport — and other digital product passports — gain a firm foothold in the sector.
“If digital product passports are to realise their full potential as enablers of the circular economy, the success of the battery passport as a pioneering project in this field is crucial. The test environment is a milestone on the path to an application-centred rollout of the battery passport in February 2027. It offers valuable insights for all subsequent product passports, which will make an important contribution to closing material cycles across sectors,” adds Thomas Knothe.
More information
BatteryPass-Ready test environment
acatech-Projectwebsite BatteryPass-Ready
Standalone-Website BatteryPass-Ready
