BMW, Siemens & BASF's Solution to Digital Product Passports

BASF, BMW, CATL, Henkel and Siemens are among a group of companies that have launched a digital product passport (DPP) system.

Named Path.Era, it is a digital battery passport (DBP) that collects important data about a battery and its lifecycle. The system aims to streamline the sharing of information for all stakeholders across the value chain of battery products. 

With new EU regulations coming in 2027 for DPPs, manufacturers in a variety of industries will have to increase visibility for product lifecycles. 

What are digital product passports? 

The DPP is a structured, digital record that provides life cycle data for each product in a standardised format.

It contains essential data such as material composition, carbon footprint, repairability and end-of-life instructions, which are often accessed via a QR code. 

The DPP is a new EU requirement that will become mandatory starting in 2027 for priority product groups, with full rollout expected by 2030.

Sectors that will be affected include batteries, textiles, tyres, furniture, mattresses, chemicals, iron, steel and aluminium, as well as ICT and energy related products. 

According to Deloitte, the adoption of DPPs has so far been driven by luxury fashion and jewellery.

Digital battery passports

DBPs are a subset of DPPs that capture full lifecycle and recycling data for individual batteries. They are a sustainability reporting and certification scheme.

According to the Global Battery Alliance, they are underpinned by indicators that allow data on facility-level sustainability performance in the battery supply chain to be gathered, verified, scored, aggregated and compared.

In 2027, new regulations will make DBPs mandatory for all new electric vehicle batteries in the EU. 

EU regulations and the mandatory DBP requires carmakers who produce EV batteries to improve supply chain visibility, lifecycle and recycling data for critical minerals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt. 

According to McKinsey, battery manufacturers may find new opportunities in recycling as the market matures. Companies could create a closed-loop, domestic supply chain that involves the collection, recycling, reuse or repair of used lithium-ion batteries. The recycling industry alone could create a US$6bn profit pool by 2040.

Addressing challenges 

According to McKinsey, producing the large lithium-ion batteries used to power EVs is the biggest source of embedded emissions for both electric cars and trucks, accounting for about 40 to 60% of total production emissions. As pressure to decarbonise increases and as demand for EVs picks up globally, manufacturers are racing to address this emissions challenge.

Recycling of EV batteries is also a labour intensive process, that if done improperly, for example at a landfill site, can cause hard to extinguish thermal runway fires, or cause significant harm to local communities and workers. 

With more intensive recording and accountability, schemes like the DBP which help with data availability may help solve some of these critical issues. 

According to McKinsey, data availability and transparency are fundamental requirements to ensure that the battery industry achieves its growth and environmental, social and governance targets. 

The Path.Era collaboration 

The Path.Era battery passport addresses challenges in managing battery data across the value chain. It does this by streamlining the sharing information across shareholders, promoting circularity and sustainability. 

Path.Era aims to ensure secure and standardised data exchange and reduce manual processes, while meeting legal requirements.

Oliver Ganser, Vice President Digitalisation of the Purchasing and Supplier Network at the BMW Group, says: “To collect the relevant data points for a battery pass, we will support our relevant value chain partners with a simple and trusted solution to get the job done. 

“Path.Era and Catena-X are the perfect match to get the job done.”

Path.Era was announced in 2025 as a scalable ecosystem for DBPs, based on Catena-X, a collaborative data ecosystem for the automotive industry.

The platform is designed to enable traceability and circularity across the battery value chain. It is available on Cofinity-X, an operator of the Catena-X dataspace.

The ecosystem was co-founded by in collaboration with Path.Era’s partners, which include BASF, BMW Group, CATL, Henkel, Siemens and Volkswagen Group. 

Matthias Dohrn, President of Global Procurement at BASF, says: “Path.Era is our solution to bring transparency into the entire battery value chain and to efficiently fulfil legal and reporting requirements.”

BASF’s portfolio includes work in the battery recycling value chain, from collecting end-of-life batteries and production scrap, discharging and dismantling. It also offers base metals sourcing and management as well as various other related services.

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Digital passports going forward

DPPs will affect a wide variety of manufacturing industries operating in Europe. Companies looking to stay ahead of the curve will already be integrating these sustainable reporting tools into their lifecycles. 

George Kazantis, Vice President of Automotive Components at Henkel, says: “The transparency we create for the battery industry with DBPs is just as relevant for other industries. 

“For us, the Path.Era battery passport is the blueprint for the future of DPPs.”