EU Regulation 2023/1542 introduces a battery passport requirement for specific battery categories. Not every battery sold into the EU market falls under this obligation. Understanding exactly which batteries are in scope — and which are not — determines whether your product needs a Digital Product Passport before it can be placed on the EU market from the applicable date.
What the Battery Passport Is
A battery passport is a digital record linked to a specific battery or battery model. It must contain data on the battery’s chemistry, capacity, performance, carbon footprint, supply chain, and end-of-life handling. Article 77 of Regulation 2023/1542 establishes the passport requirement and sets out what it must contain. The passport is accessed via a QR code or other data carrier attached to the physical battery, as required under Article 13.
The passport is not a document you file once. It must be kept up to date and remain accessible to economic operators, authorities, and consumers throughout the battery’s life. The full text of EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 sets out the complete data requirements and access obligations in Articles 77 through 79.
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Score Your ReadinessThe Three Battery Categories That Require a Passport
1. Electric Vehicle (Traction) Batteries
Article 77(1) applies to every electric vehicle battery, with no capacity threshold of any kind. These are the batteries that power passenger cars, vans, trucks and buses, together with the heavier traction batteries used in category L vehicles such as e-motorcycles. If a battery provides traction in a hybrid or electric vehicle of category M, N or O, it requires a passport whatever its capacity.
The 2 kWh figure often quoted alongside electric vehicle batteries does not belong to them. Article 77(1) attaches it to industrial batteries alone: the obligation covers “each LMT battery, each industrial battery with a capacity greater than 2 kWh and each electric vehicle battery”. A small traction battery in a plug-in hybrid is an electric vehicle battery, and it requires a passport.
For category L vehicles, Article 3(14) separates an electric vehicle battery from an LMT battery by the weight of the battery rather than its capacity: above 25 kg it is an electric vehicle battery, at 25 kg or less it is an LMT battery. Either way a passport is required, but the data template differs.
Electric vehicle batteries also carry detailed data obligations. Annex XIII requires the passport to include the carbon footprint (point 1(c)) and the material composition and hazardous substances (point 1(b)), both of which are publicly accessible, together with the state of health (point 4(b)) and periodically recorded operating data including state of charge (point 4(d)), which are not public: Article 77(2) restricts point 4 to persons with a legitimate interest. Annex XIII applies in full to every battery that requires a passport, not to electric vehicle batteries alone.
2. Light Means of Transport (LMT) Batteries: Sealed, 25 kg or Less
Article 3(11) defines an LMT battery as one that is sealed, weighs 25 kg or less, and is specifically designed to provide electric power for the traction of wheeled vehicles that can be powered by an electric motor alone or by a combination of motor and human power, which is what brings pedelecs and pedal-assisted cargo bikes into the category: e-bikes, e-scooters, e-mopeds and similar light electric vehicles. The criterion is weight, not capacity. A battery meeting that definition requires a passport under Article 77.
This category catches a wide range of consumer and commercial products. An e-bike battery rated at 500 Wh is in scope. A delivery e-cargo bike battery at 1.5 kWh is in scope. A shared e-scooter battery at 300 Wh is in scope. If the pack is sealed, weighs 25 kg or less, and provides traction for a light electric vehicle, the passport requirement applies regardless of how many watt-hours it stores.
3. Industrial Batteries Above 2 kWh
Industrial batteries above 2 kWh require a passport under Article 77. This category covers a broad range of applications: stationary energy storage systems (BESS), uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, batteries used in industrial machinery, and batteries used in non-road mobile machinery.
The 2 kWh threshold applies to this category alone. Electric vehicle batteries and LMT batteries require a passport regardless of capacity. A 1.8 kWh UPS battery is not in scope. A 3 kWh stationary storage battery is in scope.
Industrial batteries used in large-scale energy storage installations — such as grid-connected battery arrays — will typically be well above the 2 kWh threshold and will require passports for each battery unit placed on the market. Manufacturers and importers of industrial batteries should check the rated capacity of each product line against the 2 kWh threshold to determine which products require a passport.
The Category That Does Not Require a Passport
Portable Batteries in Consumer Products
Portable batteries — the batteries found in consumer electronics, power tools, household devices, and similar products — do not require a battery passport under Article 77. This is a direct exclusion. Portable batteries have separate obligations under Articles 13 and 14, which cover labelling and information requirements, but these are not passport obligations.
Article 2(1) defines portable batteries as batteries that are sealed, can be hand-carried, and are not classified as EV, LMT, or industrial batteries. Common examples include AA and AAA cells, laptop batteries, smartphone batteries, and power tool battery packs.
If you manufacture or import consumer electronics with built-in or replaceable batteries, you are not required to issue a battery passport for those batteries. You are still required to comply with labelling obligations under Articles 13 and 14, including capacity markings, chemistry labelling, and QR code requirements. But the full passport data structure required under Article 77 does not apply to portable batteries.
This distinction matters for compliance planning. Companies that sell both portable consumer batteries and industrial or LMT batteries need to separate their product lines and apply the correct obligations to each category.
Where the 2 kWh Threshold Actually Applies
The 2 kWh threshold belongs to one category only. Article 77(1) states the obligation as covering “each LMT battery, each industrial battery with a capacity greater than 2 kWh and each electric vehicle battery”. The capacity qualifier sits inside the industrial limb and nowhere else. LMT batteries and electric vehicle batteries require a passport regardless of capacity.
This matters because the threshold is widely misquoted as an electric vehicle criterion. It is not. An industrial battery at or below 2 kWh is outside the passport requirement; a 1.5 kWh backup power unit for a telecom cabinet, for example, does not require one. A traction battery of the same capacity in a hybrid car does.
If you are unsure whether an industrial battery crosses the 2 kWh threshold, use the rated capacity stated in the product’s technical documentation. Do not use nominal or minimum capacity figures unless the rated capacity is unavailable.
When the Passport Requirement Takes Effect
One date applies to all three in-scope categories. Article 77(1) reads: “From 18 February 2027 each LMT battery, each industrial battery with a capacity greater than 2 kWh and each electric vehicle battery placed on the market or put into service shall have an electronic record (‘battery passport’).” There is no staggered timetable between LMT, industrial and electric vehicle batteries.
The obligation is not conditional on further Commission action. The delegated powers in Article 77(2) and Article 77(3) allow the Commission to amend Annex XIII and to update the standards the QR code and unique identifier must meet, in view of technical and scientific progress. They are powers to adjust the detail, not preconditions that suspend the duty. 18 February 2027 is a fixed statutory deadline and should be planned against as one.
No Retroactive Application
Batteries already placed on the EU market before 18 February 2027 are not retroactively required to have a passport. The regulation does not apply retroactively. If a battery was sold and placed on the market before the applicable date, the passport obligation does not attach to that battery.
This matters for manufacturers with existing inventory and for importers managing stock across multiple production runs. Batteries placed on the market before 18 February 2027 are not in scope, even if they remain in use or in circulation after that date.
However, batteries placed on the market on or after that date — even if they are identical in design to pre-deadline products — will require a passport if they fall into one of the three in-scope categories. The obligation attaches at the point of placing on the market, not at the point of manufacture or design.
Summary: In Scope and Out of Scope
- In scope — passport required: each LMT battery, each electric vehicle battery, and each industrial battery with a capacity greater than 2 kWh (Article 77(1)). The capacity threshold applies to the industrial category only.
- Out of scope — no passport required: Industrial batteries at or below 2 kWh; portable batteries, which Article 3(9) defines as sealed, 5 kg or less, not designed specifically for industrial use, and neither an electric vehicle battery, an LMT battery nor an SLI battery (these are subject to labelling under Articles 13 and 14 instead).
- The date: 18 February 2027, for all three in-scope categories, under Article 77(1). It is not staggered and it is not conditional on a delegated act.
What to Do Now
- List every battery product you place on the EU market and classify it by category: EV, LMT, industrial, or portable.
- For industrial batteries, check the rated capacity against the 2 kWh threshold. For electric vehicle and LMT batteries there is no capacity test to apply.
- For LMT batteries, check whether the pack is sealed and weighs 25 kg or less, and whether it provides traction for a light electric vehicle.
- For portable batteries, confirm that labelling obligations under Articles 13 and 14 are covered — no passport is required.
- Monitor the European Commission’s delegated act programme, which may amend Annex XIII and the identifier standards under Article 77(2) and 77(3). It will not move the 18 February 2027 date.
- Begin collecting the data fields set out in Annex XIII for in-scope batteries now. Data collection takes time, and treating the deadline as provisional will leave insufficient time to build compliant systems.
If you are ready to build your battery passport programme, visit traceable.digital/pricing to start a free trial. Traceable supports all three in-scope battery categories and maps directly to the Article 77 data requirements.
