A Digital Battery Passport (DBP) needs more than product and manufacturing information. For batteries covered by the EU Battery Regulation, relevant data can also come from the battery's operation and use throughout its lifetime.
This is where the Battery Management System (BMS) becomes important. A BMS continuously monitors and manages a battery, generating valuable information about its condition, performance and use. Connecting this data to a Digital Battery Passport can help create a more complete picture of an individual battery throughout its lifecycle.
In our previous article, Connecting ERP Systems To Digital Battery Passports, we looked at how business and manufacturing data can feed a DBP. This article focuses on another important source: the BMS.
What Is BMS?
A Battery Management System (BMS) is an electronic system that monitors and manages a battery to help ensure its safety, performance and service life.
Depending on the battery and application, a BMS can monitor parameters such as:
- State of Charge (SoC)
- State of Health (SoH)
- temperature
- voltage and current
- charge and discharge cycles
- energy and capacity
- operating conditions
- events that may affect battery performance
The BMS can also store and communicate battery data to other systems, such as a vehicle, charging infrastructure or external software platform.
Under the EU Battery Regulation, BMS data is particularly relevant because certain parameters are used to determine the battery's State of Health and expected lifetime. The Regulation also requires BMS functionality that supports software resets for batteries that are reused, repurposed or remanufactured.
Why Does BMS Data Matter For A Battery Passport?
A Battery Passport is intended to provide information about an individual battery as it moves through its lifecycle.
Information from the BMS can complement data collected from other business and engineering systems. For example, an ERP system may contain product and manufacturing information, while a BMS can provide information about how an individual battery has actually performed during use.
This distinction is important.
Manufacturing data can describe how a battery was produced. BMS data can help show how that battery has performed and been used.
For batteries covered by Article 77 of the EU Battery Regulation, the Battery Passport must contain individual battery information, including information resulting from its use. Relevant lifecycle information includes parameters such as State of Health, charge and discharge cycles, State of Charge, operating conditions and certain negative events.
This makes BMS data an important part of the wider battery data architecture.
What BMS Data Can Feed A Battery Passport?
Not every BMS parameter needs to be transferred directly into a Battery Passport. The first step is to identify which data is relevant to the applicable requirements and the intended use of the passport.
BMS Data | Potential Battery Passport Relevance |
State of Health | Shows the battery's current condition |
State of Charge | Provides information about the battery's operating state |
Charge and discharge cycles | Helps describe battery use over time |
Temperature | Provides information about operating conditions |
Capacity | Supports assessment of battery performance and condition |
Energy throughput | Can contribute to expected lifetime assessment |
Negative events | Helps record events that may affect battery condition |
Operating history | Provides evidence of how the battery has been used |
The exact data requirements depend on the battery category, applicable regulation and the battery's lifecycle stage. The European Commission's 2026 Battery Passport guidance identifies 71 potential data points, with different applicability depending on the battery and requirement.
Start With The Data, Not The Connection
Connecting a BMS to a Battery Passport platform should not begin with choosing an API or building an interface.
First, manufacturers and engineering teams should understand what data the BMS already produces and how that data is structured.
A useful starting point is to map:
BMS parameter → data source → battery identifier → validation rule → Battery Passport field
This helps identify which information can be transferred directly, which requires transformation, and where additional data or evidence may be needed.
A clear data map also makes it easier to identify gaps before integration work begins. Our guide on How To Map Existing Business Data To Battery Passport Requirements provides a similar approach for connecting existing business data to passport requirements.
Connect The Data To The Right Battery
One of the most important challenges is ensuring that BMS information is linked to the correct individual battery.
A manufacturer may have thousands or millions of battery records. If operational data cannot be reliably connected to the corresponding battery identity, it becomes difficult to use that information in a trustworthy Battery Passport.
The data flow could therefore look something like:
Battery identity → BMS → Operational data → Validation → Battery Passport
The battery's unique identifier should remain consistent across these systems wherever possible. This creates a reliable connection between the physical battery, its BMS records and its digital passport.
This is also where data lineage becomes important. Organisations should be able to understand where a value in the Battery Passport came from and how it was processed before publication. See our article on Battery Passport Data Lineage for more on this process.
Decide What Data Should Be Transferred
A BMS can generate a large amount of operational data. A Battery Passport does not necessarily need every measurement or every historical record.
Manufacturers should determine which information needs to be:
- published in the Battery Passport
- retained as supporting evidence
- updated periodically
- made available only to authorised users
- kept within internal systems
This distinction is important for both efficiency and data protection.
For example, a Battery Passport may need a specific performance indicator, while the underlying high-frequency measurements remain in the manufacturer's internal systems.
The goal is to make relevant information accessible without unnecessarily duplicating large volumes of operational data.
Validate BMS Data Before Publication
BMS data should not automatically flow into a Battery Passport without validation.
Before publication, organisations should check whether the data is complete, correctly formatted, within expected ranges and associated with the correct battery.
Validation can also involve comparing BMS information with other sources. For example, a reported battery capacity could be checked against manufacturing records or previous measurements to identify unexpected discrepancies.
A simple validation process could be:
Collect → Check → Validate → Approve → Publish
Our guide on How To Validate Battery Passport Data Before Publication explains how organisations can build these checks into their data workflows.
Preserve The Origin Of Performance Data
It is also important to know where a Battery Passport value came from.
If a passport reports a battery's State of Health, for example, the organisation should be able to identify the source of that value, the relevant battery, the method used to obtain it and any validation or transformation applied.
This is known as data provenance.
Maintaining provenance can make the information easier to trust and easier to verify during audits or other checks. It also supports the wider requirement for reliable and trustworthy Battery Passport data.
Read more in Battery Passport Data Provenance: How To Prove Battery Passport Data Origins.
Manage Data Throughout The Battery's Lifecycle
Battery data does not remain static.
A battery's State of Health can change as it is used. Its operating history grows, new events can occur, and the battery may eventually be reused, repurposed, remanufactured or recycled.
The Battery Passport therefore needs to work with changing information rather than treating the original record as a permanent snapshot.
When BMS data is updated, organisations should maintain appropriate records of what changed, when it changed and why. This helps preserve the history of the battery while keeping its current information up to date.
Our article on How To Manage Changes To Battery Passport Data Over Time explores this in more detail.
Keep BMS And Battery Passport Access Secure
BMS data can contain detailed information about how a battery has operated. Not all of this information needs to be available to everyone.
The EU Battery Regulation establishes different access rights for Battery Passport information and requires appropriate controls for authentication, reliability, integrity, security and privacy.
A BMS integration should therefore define:
- which data can leave the BMS
- who can access it
- which users can modify or update passport information
- how data is authenticated
- how sensitive operational information is protected
APIs can help connect BMS and Battery Passport systems while maintaining controlled data exchange. Our article on [Battery Passport APIs](Battery Passport APIs) explores how this type of interoperability can support information exchange across the battery lifecycle.
How BASE Supports Connected Battery Data
The BASE project is developing a Digital Battery Passport framework that brings together data from different parts of the battery value chain.
This includes supporting traceability, data authenticity, interoperability and privacy by design. Connecting operational sources such as BMS platforms with other enterprise and engineering systems is an important part of creating a reliable battery data ecosystem.
By connecting BMS data with the wider Battery Passport architecture, manufacturers can create stronger links between a battery's identity, production history, performance and use.
Building BMS Integration Into The Battery Data Architecture
BMS integration should be treated as part of the wider Battery Passport data architecture rather than as a standalone technical connection.
For manufacturers and OEMs, the process can start with four questions:
What data does the BMS produce?
Identify the performance, condition and usage information already available.
Which of that data is relevant to the Battery Passport?
Map BMS parameters against applicable regulatory and business requirements.
How can the data be linked to the individual battery?
Establish a reliable identity connection between the battery, BMS and passport.
How can the data remain trustworthy over time?
Implement validation, provenance, access control, and change management before publishing the data.
When these elements are considered together, BMS data can become more than a stream of operational measurements. It can provide an important source of evidence about a battery's condition and lifecycle, helping make the Digital Battery Passport more useful, reliable and connected to the physical product it represents.
The BASE project has received funding from the Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON) Research and Innovation Actions under grant agreement No. 101157200.
References & Resources
European Union - Regulation (EU) 2023/1542: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1542/oj
European Commission - Guidance to Support Preparations For The Digital Batteries Passport: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/news/guidance-support-preparations-digital-batteries-passport-2026-08-21_en
European Commission - Digital Product Passport for Batteries: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/digital-product-passport/batteries_en
European Commission - DPP Resources & documentation: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/digital-product-passport/resources-documentation_en
European Commission - DPP Registry: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/digital-product-passport/dpp-registry_en