As organisations prepare for Digital Battery Passport implementation, many are focusing on compliance with the EU Battery Regulation. Alongside the regulation itself, another term is appearing more frequently in technical discussions: the JTC 24 Standards.
For many battery manufacturers, OEMs, software providers and supply chain teams, the committee's work can seem difficult to interpret. Technical standards often describe requirements in highly specialised language, making it challenging to understand how they affect day-to-day implementation.
The reality is that JTC 24 is becoming increasingly important for organisations developing Digital Battery Passport solutions. While the EU Battery Regulation establishes what information needs to be available, standards developed through JTC 24 help define how that information can be structured, exchanged and managed consistently across Europe.
Understanding these standards early allows organisations to design Battery Passport systems that are more interoperable, scalable and future-ready.
What Is JTC 24?
JTC 24 is the Joint Technical Committee on Digital Product Passport Framework and System, established jointly by CEN (the European Committee for Standardisation) and CENELEC (the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation).
Its role is to develop European standards that support the implementation of Digital Product Passports across multiple industries, including batteries.
Instead of focusing on one product category, JTC 24 develops common frameworks that promote interoperability, consistent data structures and reliable information exchange across future Digital Product Passport ecosystems.
For Battery Passport teams, these standards provide guidance on how digital information should be organised and shared rather than defining battery chemistry or product performance.
How JTC 24 Fits Into Digital Battery Passport Implementation
Understanding where JTC 24 sits within the wider regulatory landscape helps clarify its role.
The EU Battery Regulation establishes the legal requirement for applicable batteries to provide a Digital Battery Passport. Product-specific delegated acts will progressively define the detailed information that must be included, while JTC 24 develops harmonised technical standards that support consistent implementation across Europe.
In simple terms, the regulation defines what organisations must deliver, whereas JTC 24 helps define how digital systems should structure, exchange and manage Battery Passport information. These standards create a common technical foundation that enables different organisations and software platforms to work together more effectively.
Why JTC 24 Matters For Battery Passport Projects
The EU Battery Regulation introduces mandatory Digital Battery Passports for specific battery categories (EV, LMT, and industrial batteries over 2 kWh). However, legislation alone cannot specify every technical detail required for implementation.
The following questions naturally arise:
- How should data be structured?
- How should different organisations exchange information?
- How can Battery Passport systems remain interoperable when multiple software platforms are involved?
- How should digital identities remain consistent throughout the battery lifecycle?
These practical questions are exactly where technical standards become valuable.
JTC 24 aims to provide common approaches that reduce fragmentation across industries while supporting implementation of the broader Digital Product Passport framework.
Why Harmonised Standards Matter
Without common standards, manufacturers, suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, software providers and recyclers could all develop Battery Passport systems differently. Over time, this creates incompatible data structures, duplicated integrations and increasing complexity throughout the supply chain.
JTC 24 seeks to reduce this fragmentation by developing harmonised approaches for identifiers, data models, interoperability and governance. Rather than requiring bespoke interfaces for every business relationship, organisations can build around common technical principles that simplify implementation, improve cross-border compatibility and reduce long-term integration costs.
Standards Create A Common Language
One of the biggest challenges facing Battery Passport implementation is that every organisation currently manages data differently.
- Manufacturers may use one naming convention.
- Vehicle manufacturers may structure data differently.
- Recyclers often maintain entirely separate systems.
Without common standards, exchanging information becomes increasingly difficult.
JTC 24 seeks to establish shared terminology, data structures and technical principles that improve communication between organisations throughout the value chain.
For implementation teams, this means less custom integration work and greater confidence that systems will remain compatible as the Digital Product Passport ecosystem develops.
What Battery Passport Teams Should Expect In Practice
Many organisations assume standards simply create additional compliance requirements.
In reality, they often make implementation easier by providing a consistent framework for decision-making.
For Battery Passport teams, JTC 24 is expected to influence several practical areas.
- Digital identifiers should follow consistent approaches that support long-term traceability.
- Data models should be designed so that information can be exchanged between different organisations without unnecessary transformation.
- Information structures should remain machine-readable and interoperable across different software environments.
- Governance processes should support reliable updates throughout the battery lifecycle while maintaining trust in shared information.
Although organisations may implement these principles using different technologies, common standards help ensure that the outcomes remain compatible.
The Four Core Areas Of JTC 24
While the committee's work continues to evolve, its activities broadly focus on four interconnected themes that are particularly relevant for Battery Passport implementation:
- Interoperability between organisations across the battery value chain.
- Standardised data models that enable structured and machine-readable information exchange.
- Persistent digital identifiers that maintain a battery's identity throughout its lifecycle.
- Data governance and access control that balance transparency with the protection of commercially sensitive information.
Together, these principles help create Battery Passport systems that remain scalable, interoperable and adaptable as European standards continue to develop.
Interoperability Is The Central Theme
Perhaps the single most important concept within JTC 24 is interoperability.
A Battery Passport should not function only within one manufacturer's software platform.
Instead, information may need to be accessed by suppliers, OEMs, importers, service providers, second-life operators, recyclers and regulatory authorities over many years.
If each organisation develops entirely different data structures, interoperability quickly becomes impossible.
JTC 24 seeks to minimise this risk by encouraging common approaches that allow information to move between systems without losing meaning or integrity.
This objective aligns closely with the European Commission's wider Digital Product Passport strategy.
Persistent Digital Identity Supports Lifecycle Traceability
A Battery Passport is more than a collection of digital records. It depends on a persistent digital identity that remains associated with the same physical battery throughout manufacturing, pack assembly, vehicle use, maintenance, repurposing, second-life applications and recycling.
Maintaining this consistent identity allows sustainability, safety and performance information to remain linked throughout the battery's lifecycle. It also improves traceability and reduces the risk of fragmented or duplicated information across multiple organisations.
Machine-Readable Data Enables Automation
Digital Battery Passports are intended to support automated information exchange rather than static documentation.
By structuring information in machine-readable formats, organisations can enable software systems to exchange, validate and process battery information more efficiently. This supports automated compliance processes, regulatory reporting and interoperability across digital platforms throughout the battery value chain.
Preparing For Evolving Standards
An important point for implementation teams is that Digital Product Passport standards continue to evolve. Companies should avoid designing Battery Passport systems that depend on rigid data structures or proprietary approaches that may become difficult to adapt. Instead, organisations should build flexible architectures capable of incorporating future standards as they are published.
This approach reduces long-term redevelopment costs while improving regulatory readiness.It also allows organisations to respond more effectively as delegated acts and technical specifications continue to emerge under the EU Battery Regulation.
With delegated acts introducing additional Battery Passport requirements over time, organisations with flexible data architectures will be better positioned to incorporate new information without redesigning their entire platforms.
It also allows organisations to respond more effectively as delegated acts and technical specifications continue to emerge under the EU Battery Regulation.
What JTC 24 Does Not Do
It is equally important to understand what JTC 24 is not responsible for.
The committee does not replace the legal requirements established under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542.
It does not certify Battery Passport platforms or approve individual software products. Nor does it prescribe a single technology that every organisation must use.
Instead, JTC 24 develops standardisation frameworks that help organisations implement Digital Product Passports consistently while supporting interoperability across Europe.
Understanding this distinction helps organisations separate regulatory obligations from technical implementation guidance.
Building Internal Readiness
For many Battery Passport teams, the most effective response is not to wait for every standard to be finalised.
Instead, organisations should begin reviewing existing data structures, digital identifiers and governance processes against emerging interoperability principles.
Questions worth considering include:
- Can our systems exchange structured battery information with external partners?
- Will our identifier strategy remain consistent throughout the battery lifecycle?
- Can new regulatory data fields be incorporated without redesigning the entire platform?
- Is our data architecture sufficiently flexible to support future European standards?
- Have we identified which information should be publicly accessible, shared only with supply chain partners or restricted to regulators?
Addressing these questions early creates a stronger foundation for future compliance.
How BASE Supports Standards-Aligned Battery Passport Development
At BASE, we recognise that successful Digital Battery Passport implementation depends on more than meeting regulatory requirements. Organisations also need practical approaches that support interoperability, lifecycle traceability and long-term adaptability.
Through research, collaboration and practical demonstration activities, the BASE project explores structured battery data management, persistent digital identity, interoperable information exchange and lifecycle traceability across the battery value chain.
Our work helps organisations understand how emerging European standards can be applied in practice while remaining flexible enough to accommodate future delegated acts and evolving technical specifications. By supporting scalable and interoperable Battery Passport methodologies, BASE helps organisations prepare for both today's regulatory obligations and tomorrow's Digital Product Passport ecosystem.
Looking Ahead
JTC 24 may not receive the same attention as the EU Battery Regulation itself, but its work will play an important role in shaping how Digital Battery Passports operate across Europe.
For implementation teams, understanding these standards is becoming increasingly valuable.
Rather than viewing standards as additional compliance documents, organisations should see them as practical guidance for building systems that remain interoperable, adaptable and future-ready.
Companies that start aligning their Battery Passport architecture with emerging European standards today are likely to face fewer integration challenges, lower long-term implementation costs, and greater confidence as Digital Product Passports become a central component of Europe's circular economy.
The BASE project has received funding from the Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON) Research and Innovation Actions under grant agreement No. 101157200.
Reference
EU Battery Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1542/oj
CEN-CENELEC – Digital Product Passport Standards (JTC 24): https://standards.cencenelec.eu/ords/f?p=205:7:::::FSP_ORG_ID:3342699&cs=152A83699C987EFA564209B7AC7311C86
European Commission – Sustainable product policy & ecodesign: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/industry/sustainability/sustainable-product-policy-ecodesign_en
European Commission – Implementing the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation: https://green-forum.ec.europa.eu/implementing-ecodesign-sustainable-products-regulation_en