Key takeaway
What This Development Means
Non-binding EU battery passport guidance maps 71 numbered entries for each EV battery, each LMT battery and each industrial battery above 2 kWh from 18 February 2027. It covers identity, composition, sustainability, performance, safety, dismantling and restricted individual-battery data, helping businesses assign ownership and close evidence gaps before effective implementation.
Is the Commission’s battery passport data map legally binding?
No. The Commission document is non-binding guidance containing 71 numbered entries mapped by EV, LMT and industrial-battery applicability. The regulation determines which information is public and which is restricted. Binding duties come from Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and legal acts. Companies should monitor delegated acts, specifications, corrections and implementation guidance.
Which batteries need an EU battery passport?
From 18 February 2027, a passport is required for electric-vehicle batteries, light-means-of-transport batteries and industrial batteries with a capacity greater than 2 kWh that is placed on the market or put into service. The threshold applies only to industrial batteries. Economic operators should establish controls for public and restricted information.
Source basis: European Commission, Digital Batteries Passport data map, version 1.0 (28 July 2026)
The European Commission has released a data map to help industry prepare digital battery passports required from 18 February 2027. EU battery passport guidance, Version 1.0 dated 28 July 2026 and electronically signed on 3 August 2026, contains 71 numbered entries covering battery identity, sustainability, performance, safety, circularity and individual-battery information.
The document matters to battery manufacturers, industrial equipment makers, importers, recyclers, software providers. It is non-binding implementation guidance, not a new regulation or a postponement of existing duties.
EU Battery Passport Guidance And Covered Batteries
Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, a battery passport will be required for each electric-vehicle battery, each light-means-of-transport battery and each industrial battery with a capacity greater than 2 kWh that is placed on the market or put into service. The duty applies from 18 February 2027.
EU battery passport guidance maps 71 numbered entries by battery category and identifies each as mandatory, optional, case-dependent or not required to be filled or displayed in February 2027. The entries cover the responsible operator, manufacturer, model, manufacturing place and date, weight, capacity, chemistry, hazardous substances, critical raw materials, carbon footprint, sourcing, recycled content, performance, durability, conformity, waste information, composition, dismantling, spare parts, safety, test reports and restricted individual-battery data.
Battery-model information is public. Detailed composition, spare-part, dismantling and safety information is restricted to persons with a legitimate interest and the Commission; test reports are restricted to notified bodies, market-surveillance authorities and the Commission. Restricted individual-battery information includes changing performance, state of health, battery status, cycles, negative events, operating conditions and state of charge. Companies therefore need controls for initial publication, access rights and updates.
Product Traceability And Supplier Evidence
The guidance presents the Regulation’s data requirements as a structured implementation map. It does not remove the need to interpret the regulation, delegated acts and later technical specifications. Nor does it make every mapped field public.
The economic operator placing the finished battery on the market is responsible for ensuring that passport information is accurate, complete and up to date, although it may authorise another operator in writing. Much of the supporting evidence may sit elsewhere in the value chain. Cell makers, cathode and anode suppliers, recyclers, testing laboratories, repairers and fleet operators may hold source data. Contract terms should address format, validation, change notification, confidentiality and retention.
Preparing For The 2027 Battery Passport Deadline
Businesses should compare the EU battery passport guidance with current product-master and supplier systems. Assign an owner for each field, record its legal source, identify whether it is static or dynamic, and test access permissions across organisational boundaries.
Importers, manufacturers and brands should identify the economic operator responsible for creating and maintaining each passport before a covered battery is placed on the market or put into service. Early pilots can expose missing identifiers, inconsistent units and weak recycled-content or hazardous-substance evidence while remediation remains possible.
The EU battery passport guidance offers a common planning baseline. Using it now can reduce last-minute integration work, supplier disputes and market-access risk ahead of February 2027.
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