Battery Passport

The Battery Passport

 

In 2019 the Global Battery Alliance (GBA) published ‘A vision for a sustainable battery value chain 2030’ outlining the need to rapidly scale sustainable, responsible, and circular battery value chains as a major driver to meet the Paris Agreement targets. The updated report ‘Battery 2030: Resilient, sustainable and circular’ in collaboration with McKinsey, highlights staggering growth forecasts, projecting that the entire lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery chain, from mining through recycling, could grow by over 30 percent annually from 2022 to 2030, when it would reach a value of more than $400 billion and a market size of 4.7 TWh. To manage the rapidly growing industry's environmental, social, and governance impacts, transparency and collective multistakeholder are vitally important. With that in mind, the GBA conceptualized the Battery Passport as a framework to increase transparency across the battery value chain.

The GBA Battery Passport is an emerging global sustainability reporting and certification scheme for batteries, underpinned by indicators that allow data on facility-level sustainability performance in the battery supply chain to be gathered, verified, scored, aggregated and compared. It is built on innovative Digital Product Passport protocols and technologies, to enable trusted and harmonized supply chain data to be harnessed effectively. 

The GBA envisages a Battery Passport in 2030 that is widely adopted by industry, and associated certifications that are regularly seen on physical batteries in everyday applications, just as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) mark is seen on timber products today. In this future, companies in the supply chain will use GBA certifications to build trust and differentiate their products and facilities on the basis of sustainability performance, will leverage the Battery Passport to comply with regulatory reporting requirements in the EU and beyond, and will ensure that their supply chains are transparent, resilient and reliable, with ESG and supply disruption risks well managed using Battery Passport frameworks. 

The GBA Battery Passport defines a measurement framework for site- and facility-level sustainability performance, and sets rules for how associated data is passed between organizations, how supply chains are made visible and how the trustworthiness of data is assured. The GBA works closely together with technology partners who implement digital solutions for supply chain companies based on these rules and frameworks. The gathered data allows physical batteries to be graded for their supply chain sustainability attributes and to achieve GBA certification.  

The GBA Battery Passport is breaking new ground by bringing together responsible sourcing, due diligence, digital technology, product carbon footprinting and multi-stakeholder consensus building. Companies from across the supply chain, service providers, civil society, governments and other stakeholders convene to build consensus in a multistakeholder environment, working toward common sustainability goals.  

Why do we need a global certification for batteries? 

For companies, mainstreaming sustainability is a path to long-term growth and resilience. For the global community, it is essential to ensuring that the energy transition is just, inclusive, and aligned with climate goals. 

By implementing the GBA Battery Passport, supply chain companies demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, grow trust and value for their stakeholders, build supply chain transparency, manage reputation risk, become more resilient to supply disruptions, and meet regulatory reporting requirements more efficiently. Mineral-rich countries can better prepare for global regulations - like the EU Batteries Regulation - and consumers can compare battery products before purchasing one, making a more informed choice. 

Read more in the 2024 Battery Passport brochure

Download Brochure

 

Battery Passport pilots

The GBA has conducted two rounds of pilots to demonstrate the feasibility, trial the implementation, and collect feedback from battery value chain companies and stakeholders, on the Battery Passport concept:

In 2023, to demonstrate the practical feasibility of the battery passport, the GBA mobilized its members, covering the entire value chain from mine to the vehicle manufacturer, to jointly establish a proof of concept. In addition to reporting the technical parameters of the battery, this included the tracking and tracing of materials flows for three value chains led by two of leading electric vehicle OEMs, integrated with consistent reporting against the GBA’s Greenhouse Gas rulebook to establish the battery carbon footprint and the Child Labour and Human Rights Indices. The launch of the world’s first battery passport proof-of-concept presents an important milestone demonstrating that our vision is feasible, but it is only the beginning of the battery passport journey. The pilot paper outlines how the pilots were configured, the learnings obtained during pilot implementation, and an outlook for the next steps. See more about the 2023 pilots.

In 2024, building and significantly expanding on the 2023 pilots, 10 consortia led by the world’s leading battery cell manufacturers mobilised their end-to-end value chains, including recyclers, to trial collecting real-life sustainability data, elaborate the ESG scoring methodology, and test data verification. The leading cell manufacturers together account for over 80% of global electric vehicle battery market share, making this the largest pre-competitive effort to establish harmonised battery passports and a major milestone towards delivering the Battery Passport vision. The consortia worked with seven digital solution providers to determine provenance and flow of six materials - lithium, graphite (artificial), aluminium, cobalt, copper and iron phosphate, and collect sustainability data across seven rulebooks were developed through a multistakeholder process by the GBA, covering Greenhouse Gas emissions; Environmental and Human Rights Due Diligence; Forced Labour; Child Labour; Biodiversity; Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Circular Design. The rulebooks define baseline expectations in line with the upcoming EU Batteries Regulation and beyond, as well as leading practices to help guide company efforts in addressing risks and sustainability impacts within their supply chains. See more about the 2024 pilots.

 

Governance

The Battery Passport initiative is governed by a Steering Committee. It guides strategic decision-making made up of GBA members representing a balance of industry, civil society, governments, and academia.

 Battery Passport Steering Committee:

• Hermann J. Feise, BASF
• Yuki Wang, CATL
• Luke Hu, Electroder
• Zinaida Nazarenko, EUCOBAT
• Rosalie Seppelt, GIZ
• Ilse Schoeters, Glencore
• Sophie Bollaert, Groupe Renault
• Grégoire Bellois, International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD)/Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF)
• Peter Mockel, International Finance Corporation
• James McQuilken, Pact
• Nakano Katsuhiro, Panasonic
• Lei Pi, Shenzhen Precise Testing Technology
• Nalori Dhammei Chakma, Tallgrass Institute
• Byron Cheng, Tesla
• Andrea di Masi, SQM
• Gillian Davidson, Resolve
• Farid Fernandez, Responsible Mica Initiative
• Sven Jantzen, Umicore
• Uwe Seidel, VDI/VDE
• Vishant Kothari, World Resources Institute

Secretariat

• Inga Petersen, Executive Director, GBA
• Graham Lee, Head of Programme - Battery Passport, GBA
• Kaisa Toroskainen, Programme Manager, GBA
• Pramoda Gode, Programme Manager, GBA
• Jennifer Van Niekerk, Administrative Coordinator, GBA