Over the next three years, the European project BASE, which stands for “Battery Passport for Resilient Supply Chain and Implementation of Circular Economy”, will demonstrate and validate a digital battery passport and examine aspects of functionality, data traceability and creation of value.

As mentioned above, the BASE project will use blockchain technology as a tool for the digital battery passport and the project is coordinated by the Fraunhofer IEG, which focuses on energy infrastructure and geothermal energy.

From 2027, a functional digital battery passport will be mandatory in the EU. In fact, in August 2023 the European Union adopted a new regulation on the regulation of the battery market. The key points of the document are mandatory declaration and labeling – including regarding battery components and the proportion of recycled materials – as well as the aforementioned electronics. battery passport” and a QR code. To give Member States and market economic operators sufficient time to prepare, the labeling requirements will apply from 2026 and the passport and QR code from 2027.

The main objective of the BASE project is therefore to develop a digital passport for batteries compatible with future regulations. In addition to Fraunhofer IEG, the project consortium includes two other Fraunhofer institutes (SCAI and ISE) as well as BeePlanet Factory, Adscensus, MB, Parakeet BV, INND Batteries, Ford Otosan, Artech International, Corvus Energy, Mercedes-Benz Türk, Seraph. Consulting, ROK Metals, Aspilsan Enerji, Navtek Deniz Teknolojisi, European Lithium Institute eLi and Exitcom Recycling. Associated partners are the Geneva Institute of Advanced Studies, SQM, Technovative Solutions Limited and the University of Surrey.

As part of BASE, the consortium aims to develop four demonstrators to show how close the developed concept is to application. In the automotive sector, eCitaro electric buses from Mercedes-Benz Türkiye and EV platforms from Ford Otosan are available for this purpose. The other two pilots concern the maritime sector and stationary energy storage systems.

In the future, the passport will have the task of traceably documenting battery processes and components throughout the value chain and making subsequent battery applications more efficient. “A battery that wants to be green must provide transparent information about its origin, what it contains and what it is still used for,” explains Dr. Shahin Jamali from Fraunhofer IEG, coordinator of the BASE project. “The digital battery passport we are developing makes this possible.”

The battery passport should not only reveal static data, but also store current operating data that influences the future use of the battery. “Typical entries may include year of manufacture, material composition, dismantling or recycling instructions, operating parameters or safety instructions, but also operating hours, temperature curves, cycle times load or error codes during operation,” writes the Fraunhofer Institute. BASE uses blockchain technology as a tool for the digital battery passport. According to the initiators, users can save data in a secure, transparent and distributed manner and update it continuously throughout the battery life cycle.

In addition to its activities around the creation of a battery passport, the BASE team will also develop analysis and AI techniques to help estimate battery performance and safety indicators, circular economy indicators and environmental, social, governance and economic impact indicators.

fraunhofer.de, idw-online.de (in German)