A Battery Passport may appear to be a single digital record, but the information behind it can originate across dozens of systems, teams and organisations.
A battery's technical specifications may come from engineering systems. Production information may be generated by manufacturing systems. Supplier and material information may sit in procurement platforms. Carbon footprint data may come from LCA tools, while performance and State of Health information can be generated during the battery's operation.
For organisations preparing to implement the EU Battery Passport, the challenge is therefore not simply collecting the required information. It is being able to trace each data point from the published Passport back to its source.
That capability is known as data lineage.
What is Battery Passport Data Lineage?
Data lineage describes the journey of information through the systems and processes that create, transform, validate and publish it.
For a Battery Passport, a simplified lineage chain could look like this:
Source System → Data Collection → Transformation → Validation → Approval → Passport Publication
Take battery capacity as an example. The original value could be recorded in an engineering system, transferred to a product database, converted into the format required by the Passport data model, checked against defined validation rules and then published through the Battery Passport.
A strong lineage model allows an organisation to move in the opposite direction as well:
Published Passport Value → Approved Record → Transformation → Source System → Original Data
That reverse journey is particularly valuable during audits, investigations and compliance checks.
Why Does Data Lineage Matter?
The EU Batteries Regulation requires the economic operator placing a battery on the market to ensure that Battery Passport information is accurate, complete and up to date. It also requires data authentication, reliability and integrity, while access to introduce, modify and update information must be appropriately restricted.
Data lineage helps organisations demonstrate how those requirements are supported by their internal processes.
If a compliance team is asked how a particular value was established, it should not have to search through disconnected spreadsheets, emails and documents to reconstruct the answer.
A lineage-enabled process can provide a structured route from the published value to its source.
This matters across several functions:
IT teams can understand where data originates, how it moves between systems and where integration gaps exist.
Compliance teams can establish whether published information can be supported with evidence.
Auditors can test a data point by following its history back to the original record.
Sustainability teams can connect environmental indicators and calculations to their underlying datasets and methodologies.
Mapping The Source Systems
The first step is to identify where Battery Passport information already exists.
The European Commission's latest Battery Passport guidance brings together 71 data points for EV, LMT and industrial batteries and indicates whether individual points are mandatory, optional, conditional or not required as of February 2027.
Organisations can use this as a starting point for mapping each relevant data point to an internal or external source.
Data Category | Potential Source | Typical Data Owner |
Technical characteristics | PLM or engineering system | Engineering |
Bill of materials | PLM or ERP | Engineering / Supply Chain |
Manufacturing information | MES | Manufacturing |
Quality and testing | QMS or laboratory system | Quality |
Supplier information | Procurement / ERP | Supply Chain |
Carbon footprint | LCA system | Sustainability |
Battery performance | BMS / testing system | Engineering / Operations |
Service and repair | Service management system | After-sales |
The exact architecture will differ between organisations. The important point is to establish a clear relationship between the Passport requirement and the system or organisation responsible for providing the information.
Capture More Than the Value
A common mistake is to map only the value itself. For effective lineage, organisations should also capture context around the value.
A useful lineage record can include:
Source: Where did the information originate?
Owner: Which person, team or organisation is responsible for it?
Timestamp: When was it created, measured or updated?
Identifier: Which battery, component, material, product model or production batch does it relate to?
Version: Which version of the source record was used?
Transformation: Was the value converted, calculated or combined with other information?
Validation: What checks were performed?
Approval: Who authorised the value for publication?
This context allows organisations to distinguish between a value that was simply entered into a Passport and one that has a traceable history.
Track Transformations Between Systems
Data rarely moves unchanged from a source system to a Battery Passport.
A manufacturing system might record energy consumption in one unit while the Passport requires another. A supplier's material identifier may need to be mapped to an internal identifier. Several datasets may need to be combined to calculate an environmental indicator.
These transformations should be visible within the lineage.
For example:
Supplier Data → Unit Conversion → Internal Data Model → Validation → Battery Passport
If a published value is later challenged, the organisation should be able to explain not only its original source but also what happened to it along the way.
This is particularly important for calculated information. Where a Passport value is derived from multiple inputs, the lineage should identify the relevant source values and the methodology or calculation used.
Connect Data to the Right Battery
Lineage is only useful if the data can be associated with the correct product or individual battery.
The EU Batteries Regulation requires the Battery Passport to contain information relating both to the battery model and the individual battery, including information resulting from the use of the battery.
Organisations therefore need reliable identifiers throughout their data architecture.
A source record should be traceably associated with the relevant battery, battery model, component, production event or other applicable entity. This reduces the risk of information being attached to the wrong product during data integration.
The Battery Passport itself is linked to the battery through a QR code and unique identifier.
Build Lineage Into Data Governance
Data lineage should not be treated as a separate documentation exercise carried out just before the 2027 deadline.
It should be incorporated into normal data governance.
For each relevant data category, organisations should define who owns the source information, who can change it, what validation is required and how changes are communicated to downstream systems.
This becomes particularly important when information changes during the battery lifecycle. A battery may be used, repaired, repurposed or remanufactured, creating new information that needs to be connected with the existing Passport record.
BASE's work on Battery Passport data governance highlights the importance of defining who owns, maintains and approves information, alongside rules for changes, versions and access.
Test Lineage from the Passport Backwards
One of the simplest ways to test whether a lineage system works is to start with the final Passport.
Select a representative data point and ask:
Where did this value come from?
Then work backwards.
Can the organisation identify the source system? Can it locate the original record? Can it identify any calculation or transformation? Can it establish who validated the information? Can it retrieve the relevant supporting evidence?
If the answer to each question is available through a defined process, the organisation has a stronger foundation for data assurance.
If the answer depends on finding a particular employee's spreadsheet or searching through old emails, there is a lineage gap to address.
Data Lineage and the DPP Architecture
Data lineage also needs to account for how the wider Digital Product Passport ecosystem operates.
The European Commission's DPP Registry became operational on 20 July 2026. It provides a central indexing function for DPP registration information, while detailed product information remains decentralised and under the responsibility of the relevant economic operator.
This means the central Registry should not be treated as a replacement for an organisation's own source systems and data governance processes.
The responsibility for maintaining trustworthy information extends from the original source through the organisation's data architecture to the information made available through the Passport.
How BASE Supports Traceable Battery Data
The BASE project is developing, validating and implementing a Digital Battery Passport framework focused on transparent, secure and cost-efficient operation across the battery value chain.
Data traceability is a central part of this work. BASE aims to provide traceability down to the Critical Raw Materials level and uses distributed ledger technology to support built-in data authenticity verification, avoid unnecessary duplication and data manipulation, protect privacy by design and promote interoperability.
For data lineage, this approach is particularly relevant because Battery Passport information needs to move between different systems and organisations while retaining its context, authenticity and traceability.
BASE's work therefore contributes to the broader challenge of connecting fragmented battery value-chain data into a trusted and interoperable Digital Battery Passport.
From Source Data to a Defensible Passport
Data lineage gives organisations a practical way to understand what happens to information between its source and its final publication.
The objective is not to create an unnecessarily complex record of every system transaction. It is to ensure that important Battery Passport information has a clear and recoverable path back to its origin.
As organisations prepare for the February 2027 Battery Passport requirement, a useful question is:
If an auditor selects one data point from your Battery Passport tomorrow, can you trace it back to its source today?
If the answer is yes, your data architecture is already moving towards a more transparent, auditable and trustworthy Battery Passport.
If the answer is no, data lineage should be part of your implementation and readiness plan.
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 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
EU Batteries Regulation, Article 77 and Article 78: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1542/oj
European Commission - The DPP Registry: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/digital-product-passport/dpp-registry_en
European Commission - The DPP Registry Is Now Live: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/news/digital-product-passport-registry-now-live-2026-07-20_en
European Commission - Digital Product Passport For Batteries: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/digital-product-passport/batteries_en
BASE - Article 77 Explained: Building A Compliant Digital Battery Passport Data Model: https://base-batterypassport.com/blog/regulations-4/article-77-explained-building-a-compliant-digital-battery-passport-data-model-111