Digital Product Passport under ESPR: what brands need to know before the 2027 battery rollout

By Operator One Editorial — 2026-06-14

Key takeaways

• Article 77(1) of the EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 makes a battery passport mandatory from 18 February 2027 for each LMT battery, each industrial battery above 2 kWh and each electric vehicle battery placed on the EU market or put into service.
• From 18 February 2027, Article 13(6) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 also requires a QR code on all batteries sold in the EU, including portable batteries that carry no full passport.
• ESPR (EU) 2024/1781 entered into force on 18 July 2024, but a Digital Product Passport becomes mandatory for a product group only when its delegated act applies, normally no earlier than 18 months after that act enters into force (ESPR Article 4).
• Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 postponed EU battery due diligence obligations under Article 48 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 from 18 August 2025 to 18 August 2027.
• ESPR Article 25 has prohibited large enterprises from destroying unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear listed in Annex VII since 19 July 2026; medium-sized enterprises follow from 19 July 2030.
• ESPR Article 35(2) lets EU market surveillance authorities order online marketplaces to remove listings of non-compliant products, treated as illegal content under Digital Services Act Article 3(h).

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is no longer a discussion document. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, "ESPR") entered into force on 18 July 2024 and gives the European Commission the legal instrument to require a structured, machine-readable data record for most physical products placed on the EU market, product group by product group. The first mandatory passport, however, comes from a separate law: the battery passport under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 applies from 18 February 2027. The Commission's ESPR and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2025-2030 then lines up iron and steel, textiles and apparel, tyres, aluminium, furniture and mattresses, plus horizontal repairability and recycled-content measures for electrical and electronic equipment. Brands that wait for each delegated act before organising their product data will be building data infrastructure under deadline pressure.

What ESPR actually requires

ESPR repealed the Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC with effect from 18 July 2024, subject to the transitional provisions in ESPR Article 79, and extends ecodesign rules from energy-related products to almost all physical goods. ESPR Article 1(2) excludes, among others, food, feed, medicinal and veterinary medicinal products, living plants, animals and micro-organisms, products of human origin, and vehicles in respect of the aspects already regulated by the EU vehicle type-approval regulations. The regulation is a framework: binding product rules arrive through delegated acts adopted under ESPR Article 4, and under Article 4 a delegated act shall not apply earlier than 18 months after its entry into force, except in duly justified cases.

Under ESPR Article 9(1), where a delegated act requires one, a product may only be placed on the EU market if a Digital Product Passport is available, and its data must be accurate, complete and up to date. Under ESPR Article 10(1), the passport is connected through a data carrier to a persistent unique product identifier, and the data carrier must be physically present on the product, its packaging or accompanying documentation. Each delegated act decides, under ESPR Article 9(2), whether the passport is kept at model, batch or item level, which actors may access which data, how the passport is shown to customers before purchase including in distance selling, and how long it stays available (at least the expected product lifetime).

ESPR also builds an enforcement chokepoint at the border. ESPR Article 13(1) required the Commission to set up a digital product passport registry by 19 July 2026, storing at least the unique identifiers and, for goods released for free circulation, the commodity code; the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778 on 16 July 2026 to lay down the registry's implementation arrangements. Under ESPR Article 15, anyone releasing a product covered by an ESPR delegated act for free circulation must give EU customs its unique registration identifier, and customs will verify it automatically against the registry once the interconnection with the EU Customs Single Window is operational, which ESPR Article 15(3) requires within four years of the entry into force of the implementing act referred to in Article 13(5).

One ESPR obligation already applies without any delegated act. Under ESPR Article 25(1), the destruction of unsold consumer products listed in Annex VII (apparel, clothing accessories and headgear, including CN chapters 61 and 62 and headings 4203, 6504 and 6505, and footwear under headings 6401 to 6405) has been prohibited since 19 July 2026. Micro and small enterprises are exempt, and medium-sized enterprises are covered from 19 July 2030.

The ESPR Working Plan 2025-2030 priority groups

The European Commission adopted the ESPR and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2025-2030, COM(2025) 187, on 16 April 2025. It is a Commission communication with indicative timelines, not a binding schedule, and a mid-term review is planned for 2028. The priorities and indicative adoption years are:

• Iron and steel (intermediate product), 2026: the Working Plan cites improvement potential on climate change, energy consumption, water and air.
• Textiles and apparel, 2027: product lifetime extension, material efficiency, and impacts on water, waste, climate change and energy. The Working Plan treats footwear as a separate category from textiles.
• Tyres, 2027: recyclability, recycled content and end-of-life waste management, alongside the existing Tyre Labelling Regulation (EU) 2020/740.
• Aluminium (intermediate product), 2027: climate change, energy consumption and use of secondary materials.
• Furniture, 2028: resource use and waste generation.
• Mattresses, 2029: waste generation, lifetime extension and material efficiency.
• Horizontal repairability requirements, including scoring, 2027: the Working Plan says the scope could include consumer electronics and small household appliances.
• Horizontal recycled content and recyclability of electrical and electronic equipment, 2029.
• Energy-related products already regulated under the old Ecodesign Directive continue as carried-over work under the Working Plan.

Detergents, paints and lubricants appear in ESPR Article 18 as candidate groups but were not included in the first Working Plan: the Commission cited lower impacts, lower improvement potential and lower stakeholder support. Once each delegated act is adopted, it will normally apply no earlier than 18 months after entry into force under ESPR Article 4.

The Battery Passport: the first real test

Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 is the first EU law to make a digital passport mandatory. Under Article 77(1), from 18 February 2027 each LMT battery (light means of transport, such as e-bikes and e-scooters), each industrial battery with a capacity greater than 2 kWh and each electric vehicle battery placed on the market or put into service must have an electronic record called a battery passport. Under Article 77(3), the passport is accessed through the QR code required by Article 13(6), which links to a unique identifier that the economic operator placing the battery on the market attributes to it; the QR code and identifier must comply with ISO/IEC 15459-1 to 15459-6 or an equivalent. All other batteries also need a QR code from 18 February 2027 under Article 13(6), linking to label information, the EU declaration of conformity and waste information.

Annex XIII of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 sets the data in three access layers:

• Public information on the battery model: the general label information in Annex VI Part A; material composition including chemistry, hazardous substances and critical raw materials; carbon footprint information under Article 7; responsible sourcing information from the due diligence report; recycled content information under Article 8; share of renewable content; rated capacity, voltage, power capability, expected lifetime in cycles, round-trip energy efficiency and internal resistance; the EU declaration of conformity; and waste prevention and management information.
• Information for persons with a legitimate interest and the Commission: detailed composition of cathode, anode and electrolyte, part numbers and spare-part sources, dismantling information (exploded diagrams, disassembly sequences, tools) and safety measures, plus individual-battery data such as state of health and status (original, repurposed, re-used, remanufactured or waste).
• Information for notified bodies, market surveillance authorities and the Commission: test reports proving compliance.

Several data points have their own clocks. Under Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, the carbon footprint declaration applies to electric vehicle batteries from 18 February 2025 or 12 months after the Commission's methodology delegated act or implementing act enters into force, whichever is later; to rechargeable industrial batteries above 2 kWh (other than those with exclusively external storage) from 18 February 2026 or 18 months after; and to LMT batteries from 18 August 2028 or 18 months after. Article 17(2) routes conformity with Articles 7 and 8 through Module D1 or Module G, both involving a notified body. Under Article 8(1), documentation of recovered cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel shares applies from 18 August 2028 (18 August 2033 for LMT batteries), and under Article 8(2) minimum recycled content of 16 percent cobalt, 85 percent lead, 6 percent lithium and 6 percent nickel applies from 18 August 2031 to industrial batteries above 2 kWh, electric vehicle batteries and SLI batteries, with higher minimums extended to LMT batteries from 18 August 2036.

Battery due diligence on raw materials has moved. Regulation (EU) 2025/1561, adopted on 18 July 2025, amended Article 48 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 so that due diligence obligations apply from 18 August 2027 instead of 18 August 2025, and moved the Commission guidelines deadline to 26 July 2026. Under Article 47, the due diligence chapter does not apply to operators with net turnover below EUR 40 million that are not part of a group exceeding that limit on a consolidated basis.

Responsibility is set by Article 77(4): the economic operator placing the battery on the EU market ensures the passport information is accurate, complete and up to date, and may give written authorisation to another operator to act on its behalf. Separately, Article 55(2) requires producers to register in each Member State where they first make a battery available. In Germany, the Batterierecht-Durchführungsgesetz (BattDG) entered into force on 7 October 2025 and replaced the Batteriegesetz (BattG); stiftung ear carries out the registration tasks entrusted to it by the Umweltbundesamt, and battery producers based outside Germany must appoint an authorised representative established in Germany.

How marketplaces will verify

Marketplaces are not passive observers in the DPP regime. The Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) Article 30 already requires online platforms that allow consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders to collect trader traceability information. The General Product Safety Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/988), which applies from 13 December 2024, requires under Article 16 an economic operator established in the EU to be responsible for each product placed on the EU market. For batteries, Article 62(6) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires those platforms to obtain each producer's registration number and a self-certification on extended producer responsibility compliance.

ESPR adds the next layer through Article 35 (not Article 14, which concerns the passport web portal):

• DSA duties applied to ecodesign: ESPR Article 35(1) applies DSA Articles 11 and 30 for ESPR purposes and requires online marketplaces to cooperate with market surveillance authorities to eliminate or mitigate non-compliance of products offered through their services.
• Removal orders: under ESPR Article 35(2), Member States must empower market surveillance authorities to order an online marketplace to act against content referring to a non-compliant product covered by an ESPR delegated act, including by removing it. That content counts as illegal content under DSA Article 3(h), and orders may be issued under DSA Article 9. ESPR sets no fixed number of days for removal.
• Single contact point: ESPR Article 35(3) requires online marketplaces to establish a single contact point for direct communication with market surveillance authorities.
• Pre-contract access: ESPR Article 9(2)(e) lets each delegated act specify how the passport is made accessible to customers before purchase, including in distance selling, so marketplace listings are the practical place where passport links will have to appear.
• Customs checks: ESPR Article 15 ties release for free circulation of in-scope products to the unique registration identifier held in the Commission registry.

In Operator One's experience, brands with clean product master data (a stable GTIN, a controlled attribute schema and a single source of truth for sourcing and material claims) adapt to new marketplace attribute requirements far faster than brands relying on free-text descriptions.

What brands should be building now

The right preparation is not a standalone DPP project; it is a product-data foundation that each passport can sit on. The components that recur across ESPR and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 are:

• A unique product identifier at the right granularity: Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 Article 77(3) requires a unique identifier attributed to each battery, while ESPR Article 9(2)(d) leaves model, batch or item level to each delegated act. ESPR refers to the Global Trade Identification Number under ISO/IEC 15459-6 or equivalent, so GTIN remains the anchor, and a PIM should be able to append batch or serial numbers.
• A data carrier strategy: a QR code on the product, packaging or documentation (ESPR Article 10(1)(b)) resolving to a persistent identifier. For batteries, Article 77(3) names ISO/IEC 15459-1 to 15459-6; ISO/IEC 18004:2015 is the QR code symbology standard referred to in the Battery Regulation's recitals. ESPR Articles 27 and 29 also require a back-up copy of the passport stored by a digital product passport service provider under Article 10(4).
• Verifiable sourcing evidence: supplier declarations, chain-of-custody certificates and audit reports kept in a retrievable archive; for batteries, Annex XIII of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 publishes responsible sourcing information from the due diligence report.
• A product carbon footprint approach: for batteries, the calculation and verification methodology is set by Commission delegated and implementing acts under Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542; for other products, the EU Product Environmental Footprint method or ISO 14067 are common starting points until a delegated act specifies otherwise.
• Repairability and recyclability data: disassembly information, spare-part sources and recycled-content shares backed by evidence, in line with Annex XIII of the Battery Regulation and the Working Plan's horizontal repairability (2027) and electrical and electronic equipment recycled-content (2029) measures.
• A clean attribute model in the PIM: channel- and locale-aware, with each passport field stored once and pushed to every marketplace.
• Packaging data under PPWR: the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40 applies from 12 August 2026. Under PPWR Article 45(3), a producer selling packaged products directly to end users in a Member State other than its own must appoint, by written mandate, an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in each such Member State, and under Article 45(4) online platforms must collect the producer's registration details. Harmonised material-composition labels follow under PPWR Article 12(1) from 12 August 2028 or 24 months after the implementing acts, whichever is later.
• An EU-based economic operator: required under GPSR Article 16 and Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4. Under ESPR Article 29, an importer of in-scope products must ensure that the manufacturer has carried out conformity assessment and drawn up the technical documentation, that a passport is available, and that its own name and postal address are indicated.

In Operator One's experience, the brands that struggle are rarely those with non-compliant products; the rules have been signposted for years. They are the ones whose carbon-footprint figure lives in a consultancy PDF, whose recycled-content claim sits in a marketing deck and whose supplier declarations are in an inbox. Turning those into a structured, audit-ready record is the work of the months before 18 February 2027.

How to prepare a battery passport, step by step

1. Classify each battery. Check whether it is an LMT battery, an industrial battery above 2 kWh or an electric vehicle battery, which need a full passport under Article 77(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, or another battery that needs only the QR code under Article 13(6).
2. Identify the economic operator placing it on the EU market. Under Article 77(3) and 77(4), that operator attributes the unique identifier and keeps the passport accurate, and may authorise another operator in writing.
3. Register as a producer in each Member State. Article 55(2) requires registration wherever the battery is first made available; in Germany this runs through stiftung ear under the BattDG, with a German-established authorised representative for producers based abroad.
4. Assign the identifier and QR code. Use a unique identifier and QR code complying with ISO/IEC 15459-1 to 15459-6 or equivalent, as Article 77(3) requires, and mark every battery from 18 February 2027.
5. Assemble the Annex XIII data set. Collect the public, legitimate-interest and authority-only data layers from the manufacturer and suppliers, including composition, performance, dismantling and test report data.
6. Track the dated modules. Plan for the carbon footprint declaration under Article 7, recycled content documentation from 18 August 2028 under Article 8, and notified body involvement under Article 17(2).
7. Prepare due diligence if in scope. Operators above the EUR 40 million turnover threshold in Article 47 need a battery due diligence policy applying from 18 August 2027 under Article 48, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/1561.

Frequently asked questions

Which batteries need a Digital Product Passport from 18 February 2027?

Article 77(1) of the EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires a battery passport from 18 February 2027 for each LMT (light means of transport) battery, each industrial battery with a capacity greater than 2 kWh and each electric vehicle battery placed on the EU market or put into service. Under Article 77(3), the passport is reached through a QR code linked to a unique identifier complying with ISO/IEC 15459 parts 1 to 6 or an equivalent.

Does a portable battery such as an AA cell need a battery passport?

No full passport is required. Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, only LMT batteries, electric vehicle batteries and industrial batteries above 2 kWh carry a battery passport. Article 13(6) still requires a QR code on all batteries from 18 February 2027, giving access to label information, the EU declaration of conformity and waste information. Since 18 August 2025, Article 13(4) has also required the separate collection symbol, covering at least 3 percent of the area of the battery's largest side (1.5 percent of the surface area for cylindrical cells).

What happens in the EU if a product does not meet its Digital Product Passport requirements?

Article 74(3) of ESPR (EU) 2024/1781 requires every EU Member State to be able to impose at least fines and time-limited exclusion from public procurement procedures. Under ESPR Article 35(2), market surveillance authorities can order an online marketplace to remove content about a non-compliant product, which counts as illegal content under Digital Services Act Article 3(h). For batteries, Article 93 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires national penalties that are effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

Who carries the battery passport obligation when a Merchant of Record is the seller?

Under Articles 77(3) and 77(4) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, the economic operator placing the battery on the EU market attributes the unique identifier and keeps the passport accurate, and may authorise another operator in writing. Where a Merchant of Record imports the goods, it is the importer and the EU responsible economic operator under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4. The manufacturer still carries out conformity assessment, draws up the EU declaration of conformity and supplies the underlying product data.

When will the Digital Product Passport apply to textiles and furniture?

No textile or furniture passport applies yet. The European Commission's ESPR and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2025-2030, COM(2025) 187 of 16 April 2025, gives indicative adoption dates of 2027 for textiles and apparel, 2028 for furniture and 2029 for mattresses. Under ESPR Article 4, a delegated act normally applies no earlier than 18 months after entry into force. Separately, ESPR Article 25 has banned large enterprises from destroying unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear listed in Annex VII since 19 July 2026.

Has the EU battery due diligence deadline been postponed?

Yes. Regulation (EU) 2025/1561, adopted on 18 July 2025 and published in the Official Journal on 30 July 2025, amended Article 48 of the EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. Battery due diligence obligations now apply from 18 August 2027 instead of 18 August 2025, and the Commission guidelines deadline moved to 26 July 2026. Under Article 47, operators below EUR 40 million net turnover that are not part of a larger group exceeding that limit are outside the chapter.

What recycled content must EU batteries prove, and from when?

Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires documentation of recovered cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel shares from 18 August 2028, or 24 months after the methodology delegated act, whichever is later (18 August 2033 for LMT batteries). From 18 August 2031, Article 8(2) sets minimums of 16 percent cobalt, 85 percent lead, 6 percent lithium and 6 percent nickel for industrial batteries above 2 kWh, electric vehicle batteries and SLI batteries. Higher minimums, extended to LMT batteries, follow from 18 August 2036.

Do I have to register batteries in every EU country before selling them?

Yes. Article 55(2) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires producers to register in each EU Member State where they first make a battery available, and Article 62(6) makes online platforms collect that registration number. In Germany, the Batterierecht-Durchführungsgesetz (BattDG) replaced the BattG on 7 October 2025, stiftung ear handles registration on behalf of the Umweltbundesamt, and producers based outside Germany must appoint an authorised representative established in Germany.

Is the EU battery carbon footprint declaration already mandatory?

It depends on the Commission's implementing rules. Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 applies the carbon footprint declaration to electric vehicle batteries from 18 February 2025 or 12 months after the methodology delegated act or implementing act enters into force, whichever is later. Rechargeable industrial batteries above 2 kWh follow from 18 February 2026 or 18 months after, and LMT batteries from 18 August 2028 or 18 months after. Article 17(2) routes verification through a notified body.

Where a Merchant of Record carries the obligation

A Merchant of Record is the legal seller of the goods. Where Operator One imports goods into the EU as Merchant of Record, it is the EU importer as a legal consequence, which makes it the responsible economic operator under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4(2) and GPSR (EU) 2023/988 Article 16; for batteries, the operator placing the battery on the EU market carries the passport duties in Article 77 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. As importer under ESPR Article 29, Operator One verifies that the manufacturer has carried out conformity assessment and drawn up the technical documentation, that the passport is available, adds its own name and postal address, and runs corrective action where needed. CE marking, conformity assessment, the technical file and the EU declaration of conformity stay with the manufacturer under Regulation (EC) 765/2008 Article 30(1) and ESPR Article 27(2). Battery and packaging EPR registrations are per country and per stream and do not transfer between legal entities; where a market requires a locally established authorised representative, Operator One commonly arranges one during onboarding, though not in every market. Listings show the client as Brand and Operator One as the seller. Key terms are defined in the compliance glossary.

Sources: Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR); Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (Batteries); Regulation (EU) 2025/1561; Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778 (DPP registry); ESPR and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2025-2030, COM(2025) 187; Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR); Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR); Umweltbundesamt: BattDG in force; European Commission: Digital Product Passport.