India should leverage its experience with Aadhaar / UPI to deploy scalable digital solutions in the battery value chain
A battery passport is an electronic record for each battery in the market. Photo: iStock As India doubles down on its efforts to develop a range of regulations for batteries, newer regulatory frontiers are unfolding globally to indicate the direction of change needed. The latest among them is the batteries and battery waste regulation adopted by the European Parliament on June 14, 2023 that introduced the concept of a Digital Battery Passport. The European Union (EU) regulation mandates battery passport deployment by 2027.
The Digital Product Passport is a tool for collecting, documenting and sharing information about the product related to its composition, origin and lifecycle. It has been integrated into a piece of legislation for the first time.
A battery passport is an electronic record for each battery in the market which carries information such as supplier information, material composition, manufacturer information, performance and durability characteristics and information regarding recycling. The information is collected all along the battery’s life cycle. The concept envisions a multi-stakeholder consensus on scope of data collection, access rights and data ownership.
The batteries can be stamped with a data carrier like a QR code which can lead users to this information.
Cell producers, module producers, battery producers, vehicle manufacturers and battery recycling entities will be required to share the details that go into the battery’s DPP. The regulations will impact the industrial as well as electric vehicle battery.
The purpose of the battery passport is to allow proper traceability and transparency in information that can help producers, consumers and recyclers of batteries make informed decisions about the batteries. This enables the shift from a linear to a circular energy storage economy.
The mandatory data points needed are related to general battery and manufacturer information; compliance, labels, certifications; battery carbon footprint; supply chain due diligence; battery materials and composition; and circularity and resource efficiency and performance and durability.
This particularly benefits manufacturers of battery and electric vehicle manufacturers as supply chain data availability improves their material sourcing decisions and reliable verification of environment, social and governance (ESG) credentials of suppliers. Analysis of field data of deployed batteries enables a feedback mechanism for data-driven cell R&D.
This will lead to manufacturing better-performing battery packs. End-users will be empowered to make conscious purchase decisions and will have access to more reliable residual value assessment. For recyclers it will allow for more efficient disassembly and higher material recovery through better process control.
At the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in January 2023, the Global Battery Alliance presented the first proof-of-concept pilot of a battery passport. The prototypes showcased interoperable technical solutions to ensure data verifiability.
The project provided guidance on the content, definitions and calculations by providing rulebooks on green-house gas-emissions, child labour and human rights. The focus of these rulebooks was on the upstream part of the value chain, from raw material extraction to production
In the European context, one of the main ongoing projects is the Battery Pass project financed by the German government. The German consortium partners are working on a Proof of Concept for a workable battery passport which adheres to the EU legislation. It aims to build on the value chain approach by the Global Battery Alliance (GBA).
While the GBA focused on the emissions from raw materials to production, the Battery Pass is focusing more on the use phase and decommissioning/recycling. It has been successful in devising a standard for listing which attributes should be stored in the passport to comply with the Battery Regulation, in which format they should be stored, and who should be able to access the data once stored.
As India embarks on domestic cell production through schemes like production linked incentives (PLI) for Advanced Cell Chemistry and electric vehicle manufacturing expands, there is an opportunity in incorporating regulations for an indigenous version of the battery passport at the outset of building a domestic battery value chain. Having a clear digital map of the material and cell suppliers can help India future-proof its supply chain by diversification and de-risking.
Tracking EV battery performance behaviour will provide valuable on-road data on cycle and calendar aging over extended time-frames. These are not easily replicable in laboratory conditions and data obtained from techniques like Accelerated Rate Calorimetry testing may prove to be inadequate.
The data can be used to study life-cycle performance, cell degradation and thermal runaway. Since data on the effect of tropical conditions on these parameters is usually scant, the battery passport will allow the creation of a national-level database for the development of a ‘Tropical EV battery’ and will also help in evolving accurate residual life prediction models.
Battery passport regulations also need to be incorporated into the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022. Information contained in the passport will be critical for optimising collection, segregation, testing for second-use potential, disassembly and recycling. This will be crucial in order for recycling to emerge as an alternative source of critical battery raw materials in sufficient volumes.
The key to success of such a project will be ironing out the norms of data sharing and privacy. To allay such concerns, only the findings / insights from the raw data can be stored in the public repository. This will help augment the safety landscape of EV batteries in India. Fixing responsibility of uploading authentic data at various stages of the battery life cycle will also be a challenge.
Having seen tremendous success in creating digital public infrastructure(UPI, Aadhar etc) India can leverage its experience and know-how of deploying scalable digital solutions across stakeholders in the battery value chain.
Standardisation for battery swapping and charging has been plagued by lack of consensus among industry and with the government. Building consensus for a battery passport for India should emulate the spirit of open collaboration as demonstrated in EU and should work towards a common aim to create a single overarching framework for a digitized battery value chain. Global changes will have bearing on Indian industry as well.
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