From February 2027, batteries placed on the European market for electric vehicles, industrial applications and light means of transport will require a mandatory digital battery passport under new EU legislation. The move represents a structural shift in how battery data is collected and governed and changes how electric vehicle OEMs, battery manufacturers, and industrial players handle data across the lifecycle.
A battery passport is effectively a digital identity record for a battery, designed to follow it throughout its lifecycle, from raw material source and manufacture, through in-service use, to reuse, repurpose or recycle.
The requirement sits within the EU Batteries Regulation (EU 2023/1542), which mandates that from 18 February 2027, electric vehicle batteries, light means of transport batteries and industrial batteries above 2kWh must carry a digital passport to be placed on the EU market.
The passport is intended to contain structured, standardised information including raw material origin and supply chain data, carbon footprint and sustainability metrics, performance and state-of-health indicators, usage history and lifecycle data, repairability and end-of-life handling guidance and unique identifiers linked to compliance documentation.
In practical terms, each battery becomes a traceable digital asset rather than a standalone hardware component.
While the battery passport may sound like a document or label, the reality is far more complex. The regulation effectively requires continuous, high-quality data flows across multiple stakeholders, geographies and stages of a battery’s lifecycle.
Key data challenges include collecting real-time performance and usage data from vehicles and industrial assets, ensuring cross-border interoperability with global standards, maintaining long-term historical records that are auditable, integrating with OEM, fleet, recycling and regulatory systems and securing sensitive information while enabling controlled data sharing.
The complexity of these tasks means that implementing battery passports is set to create major challenges for the industry. Companies will need robust systems to collect, organise and share battery data across the entire lifecycle, from production to recycling, and we are far from there yet.
Europe is not the only jurisdiction advancing digital battery frameworks. China, for example, is introducing its own battery safety and performance standards (GB 38031-2025). These standards overlap partially with the EU approach, but diverge on reporting formats, safety metrics and performance thresholds.
For global OEMs and operators, this means systems must support multiple standards simultaneously, data architecture must be adaptable and scalable, and operational processes must reconcile regional differences without duplicating effort.
Global fragmentation amplifies the pressure on digital infrastructure and increases the strategic importance of integrated telematics and data platforms.
For fleets and public transport operators where batteries are critical operational assets, battery performance affects uptime, maintenance scheduling and total cost of ownership.
The advent of battery passports changes the game. Lifecycle transparency affects resale and second-life applications, compliance becomes a factor in procurement and financing, and battery health data must be accessible, shareable and verifiable across stakeholders. In other words, battery data becomes regulated, operationally relevant infrastructure data.
Telematics and operational data platforms will become essential for managing batteries under the new passport rules. They allow companies to collect and track data from vehicles and batteries in real time, providing a clear view of performance, health, and overall lifecycle. They also enable remote diagnostics, software updates and predictive maintenance, helping prevent issues before they occur.
These platforms ensure that data is secure, standardised and auditable, so it can be shared with regulators, OEMs, or fleet operators as needed. In short, they turn battery data into a practical, usable asset that supports compliance while improving fleet efficiency and decision-making.
Platforms like ODOS illustrate how these challenges can be addressed in practice. As part of the wider data infrastructure, they connect real-time data from vehicles and batteries with third-party systems and providing analytics and remote management tools, they ensure that battery data remains structured throughout its entire lifecycle. Built on secure and scalable cloud architectures, such platforms provide the digital foundation needed to support regulatory requirements and advance operational maturity.
While the battery passport may seem like just a regulatory reporting requirement, the real challenge is going to be managing the data behind it. Companies need to capture accurate, traceable information throughout the entire lifecycle of a battery from design and production through in-service use to end-of-life.
That data must be structured, verifiable, and compatible across different systems, so it can be shared securely with regulators, OEMs, recyclers, and service providers. At the same time, organisations must be able to handle both real-time and historical performance data, ensuring it is reliable and auditable whenever it is needed. In short, the success of the battery passport depends not on documents, but on robust digital infrastructure that connects the entire battery ecosystem.
In short, the success of the battery passport depends not on documents, but on robust digital infrastructure that connects the entire battery ecosystem, with operational data platforms forming a critical part of that foundation.
