Go Beyond ESPR Compliance: Using NDPP to Enrich Battery Solutions

Regulatory compliance is a key part of battery design. The European Commission’s 2025 Batteries and Waste Batteries rules outline the need for a “battery passport”, which helps calculate and verify the rates of recycling efficiency and recovery of materials. And as we look ahead, the 2027 deadline for the first phase of Digital Product Passport (DPP) regulation is now fast approaching.

A part of the European Commission’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), the DPP will mandate readily accessible information on the composition and source of each product. Alongside data on how the product can be reused and recycled as part of a circular economy, this will also require information on if its raw materials have been responsibly sourced, and ethically manufactured. Batteries, alongside textiles and consumer electronics, are the suitable industries for which DPP implementation will be mandatory. They will be followed by additional phased implementations across almost all sectors by 2033.

There are numerous potential data carriers that battery manufacturers can choose for storing their DPP data to comply with their regulatory requirements, however compliance also presents an opportunity to introduce additional innovative functionality in the case of the multiple capabilities of Near Field Communication (NFC).

Step One: Achieving DPP Compliance Using NFC

Near Field Communication (NFC) is one of the data carriers identified by industry as capable of ensuring secure, interoperable access to DPP data. But in addition to this functionality, NFC has two distinct advantages over the proposed alternatives:

• Users are already familiar with the technology, and the required infrastructure is already in place. With deployments across payments, transport access control and many more use cases, NFC is already an integral part of everyday life and accessible to users via their smartphones. Adoption can therefore be quick and easy.

• Billions of devices across countless use cases already have NFC in place, meaning for many devices, adding DPP functionality could be achieved with a simple software update; a near-zero cost approach towards achieving global sustainability goals.

NFC Forum’s NFC Digital Product Passport (NDPP) Standard defines how DPP information should be organized within the NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) record, creating a consistent structure for all manufacturers to follow. This standardization creates practical, scalable easy to use data structures that the entire ecosystem can use to operate more efficiently.

Additionally, NDPP allows battery manufacturers to embed DPP data directly into products. This ensures compliance by ensuring that data is available for the entire life of the product without reliance on maintaining costly and resource intensive online servers while also providing robust anti-tampering protection.

Step Two: Use NFC for additional core battery information

Alongside the static DPP data stored on the battery, NFC Forum’s standard allows for additional dynamic data to be stored on the same chip. For batteries, whose functionality and safety can deteriorate over time, this additional information can be vital. It enables manufacturers to offer customers unparalleled visibility into the usage patterns and remaining lifespan of their batteries, helping identify when a replacement is needed before it becomes unsafe to use.

The NDPP Standard therefore offers a chance for manufacturers to transform a legislative necessity into a key strategic differentiator that not only sets them apart from competitors, but also benefits customers, end users, and the environment alike.

Use Case: Finding the True Condition of an eBike Battery

When going to purchase a second hand eBike, arguably the most important question to ask is “what is the health of the battery?”. Two bikes that are the same make, model and age may have been used completely differently by their previous owners. A bike that has been used and recharged every day will have a far more worn battery than one only used occasionally. So, how does the purchaser tell the difference?

Batteries that use the NDPP Standard enable customers to view its core traceability data as legislated by the EU, while also accessing the dynamic data stored on-chip regarding usage patterns, the number of charge cycles completed and the battery’s current capacity relative to the original factory specification. In effect, it gives the eBike an odometer much like you’d find in a car. The purchaser is therefore able to make a far more informed purchasing decision based on the true condition of the battery.

This same dynamic data can provide insight into when the battery is towards the end of its life, helping mitigate unnecessary replacements while ensuring the bike remains safe to use. Additionally, it gives recyclers immediate data on if the battery can be refurbished and given a second life, or if it needs to be scrapped for its composite materials.

Such benefits aren’t just limited to bikes. Any removable battery or battery powered product can benefit from the same dynamic data, helping extend their lives and reduce waste.

Compliance That Elevates Product Design

With the DPP deadline looming for the battery industry, the next twelve months will be critical in determining the future of the circular economy. Will businesses opt for the minimum to simply achieve compliance, or will they see it as an opportunity to add further value to their product?

Battery manufacturers that choose to use NFC as their DPP data carrier, underpinned by the NDPP Standard, will elevate their product line and differentiate themselves by enriching the user experience. In doing so, they are also laying the groundwork for a strong circular economy that meets the demands of multiple regulations easily.

The NDPP Standard provides a universal, interoperable, framework that can work seamlessly with any format and field requirements. Supply chain partners don't need custom integrations for each manufacturer's proprietary format, and recycling centres can automate sorting and processing safe in the knowledge that regardless of the battery manufacturer, the data will always be stored in the same way. And with NFC-enabled smartphones already in the hands of most consumers and used as enterprise devices, reading the data and, indeed, full scale deployment of product sustainability data could be achieved in many products with simply a software update.

Want to learn more? Download the NDPP Standard here.