Battery Passport Operational Trials – Consultant scope of work

Battery Passport Operational Trials – Consultant scope of work

 

Battery Passport Overview

The Global Battery Alliance (GBA) is built on the vision of a circular, responsible and just battery value chain in 2030. The GBA Battery Passport is the GBA’s flagship programme for achieving this vision, by providing a sustainability framework for companies in the battery value chain to meet legislative expectations for sustainability and to go beyond compliance.

The vision of the GBA Battery Passport, the only global sustainability certification for batteries, is to accelerate the scaling of sustainable, responsible, and circular battery value chains. Leveraging Digital Product Passport technology to:

1. Establish a global battery passport ecosystem, including harmonized sustainability performance expectations for battery mineral supply chains.
2. Make battery supply chain sustainability performance measurable, trusted and comparable.
3. Track and reward improvement actions across the supply chain with a comprehensive ESG score and product certification.

These steps will contribute to a marketplace where battery products can compete on independently-verified sustainability performance, and companies can differentiate themselves to customers, investors and other stakeholders with robust and trustable green claims. Ultimately, the GBA Battery Passport will incentivize improved sustainability performance throughout the battery supply chain.   

More information on the GBA Battery Passport is available here.

 

Battery Passport Operational Trials

In September 2025, the GBA will be launching a Beta Release of the Battery Passport sustainability benchmarking framework. This framework will contain performance benchmarks for facilities’ management of fifteen ESG issues, aligned with the supply chain due diligence requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation.

The GBA will conduct Operational Trials for facilities in the battery supply chain to report against the benchmarking framework, building on piloting activities conducted previously, in 2023 and 2024. The 2024 piloting round included battery manufacturers that together account for approximately 80% of global battery manufacturing capacity and a similar uptake is anticipated for the Operational Trials. This will be a high-profile, high-impact and pioneering project.

Focal areas for the Operational Trials will include:

• Prototype sustainability certification of physical batteries
• Digital data exchange schemas and tools
• Trialling 3rd-party assurance mechanisms
• Automated scoring of sites’ existing certifications
• EU Batteries Regulation compliance.

Planning for the Operational Trials will take place in September-December 2025. The Operational Trials will commence in December 2025, and will likely run throughout Q1 and Q2 2026 (a full timeline is currently under development).

 

The GBA is seeking to engage an individual consultant to support the planning and conduct of the Operational Trials.

The consultant will report to the Head of the Battery Passport Programme, and may be supervised by other members of the GBA Secretariat on a task-by-task basis.

Key functions of the role:

The functions of the role include:

• In close collaboration with the GBA Secretariat, act as a coordinating focal point for the conduct of the Operational Trials.
• Track and manage activities undertaken by the GBA Secretariat in support of the Operational Trials
• Track and oversee activities undertaken by supply chain consortia participating in the Operational Trials
• Work with the Head of Battery Passport to deliver regular meetings of an Operational Trials Working Group. Prepare Working Group materials, document group discussions and decisions and incorporate outcomes into the Operational Trials work programme.
• Liaise with representatives of companies participating in the Operational Trials, to ensure they have all necessary knowledge and visibility to fulfil their roles effectively.
• Support the GBA Secretariat to capture lessons learned from the Operational Trials to inform the ongoing development of the Battery Passport.

 

Timeline overview

 

Activity	Estimated timeline
Support with design and planning of the Operational Trials	Sept-Dec 2025
Support and coordinate the conduct of the Operational Trials	Dec 2025 - June 2026
Capture and analyse lessons learned from the Operational Trials	Apr-Jun 2026

 

Requirements:

Mid-level individual consultant with most or all of the following experience and qualifications:

• Degree-level education or higher. Qualifications should be in a relevant discipline or complemented by significant relevant professional experience.
• Excellent project management skills, with a track record of successful delivery of complex projects in a relevant setting. Demonstrated experience with advanced project management frameworks (e.g. Agile) a distinct advantage.
• Regulatory, policy and practical understanding and experience on the environmental, social and governance contexts of battery value chains, especially (battery) mineral production and due diligence
• Knowledge of responsible mineral sourcing frameworks, relevant international sustainability and human rights guidance, and relevant voluntary sustainability standards. G. UNGP, ILO, OECD, IRMA, Copper Mark, RBA/RMI, ASI, etc.
• Knowledge of greenhouse gas reporting frameworks and regulatory reporting requirements relevant to the battery value chain.  
• Familiarity with Digital Product Passport technology and digital data exchange protocols.
• Familiarity with assurance frameworks including the ISO 17000 series of standards.
• Experience in a multistakeholder international environment, working cross-culturally and managing collaborative efforts of a diverse range of organisations.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Chinese language skills a distinct advantage
• Excellent command of MS Office suite. Knowledge of other IT tools for complex project management is an advantage.

 

Estimated level of effort:

2 days per week from September to November 2025.

3-5 days per week from December 2025 to June 2026.

 

Location:

The opportunity is open to applicants worldwide. However, applicants outside the timezone band GMT+0 to GMT+8 may find the online meeting requirements of the role a significant challenge.

 

How to apply:

Please send your CV, desired daily rate in EUR and motivation letter (max. 2 pages) responding directly to each of the above requirements and demonstrating concrete examples and references. Please provide contact details of at least two references related to previous experience. All correspondence should be sent to secretariat@globalbattery.org with the subject line “Operational Trials consultancy”

 

Application deadline: 8^th September.