Digital Product Passport Registry launches

The European Commission has launched the Digital Product Passport (DPP) Registry, a major milestone in the implementation of the EU's Digital Product Passport framework. The launch comes ahead of battery passports becoming mandatory for industrial and electric vehicle batteries from February 2027, marking the first phase of a wider transparency and traceability regime that will eventually affect numerous product sectors[i].

Although the first mandatory Digital Product Passports will be introduced through the EU Battery Regulation in February 2027, the Registry has been established under the broader Digital Product Passport framework created by the ESPR and is intended to support additional product categories as new delegated acts are introduced. The ESPR mandates product-level transparency to enhance sustainability, traceability, and circular economy practices. It ensures that product data is structured, accessible, and compliant with EU requirements.

Following batteries, Digital Product Passports are expected to be introduced progressively across additional sectors through delegated acts, with categories such as textiles, iron and steel, and other product groups likely to follow.

Whilst the DPP registry is not the passport itself, it stores unique product identifiers and points to where each passport is hosted, enabling interoperability by allowing authorities, economic operators, and authorized service providers to consistently access and verify product-level information across the Single Market.

Tackling traceability with DPPs

DPPs have been mandated in response to the mounting challenges relating to the ethical sourcing of materials, environmental implications, supply chain traceability, and the processes used in production of goods. DPPs are a tool which contain a product’s full lifecycle data, covering how the product is made, how it’s used, and what happens at the end of its life.

DPPs are a key component of the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) which was introduced in July 2024. The ESPR is part of a package of measures that are central to achieving the objectives of the 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan, which itself is part of the EU’s Green Deal. However, while this is currently a framework regulation, full details of implementation are currently in development and set to be released in follow-up regulation termed “delegated acts”^[ii].

DPPs will support the transition to a circular economy by helping retain the value of products and materials for as long as possible throughout their lifecycle. Therefore, product passports would enable manufacturers to offer data that could improve a products circularity later in its lifecycle. This could include information on repair or recycling instructions, where prior to the introduction of DPP’s, manufacturers didn’t have an incentive to make this information easily available. As Deloitte recently stated, “The DPP aims to change this, by setting requirements to make this information available for actors across the value chain, such as resellers, users, or recyclers”^[iii].

This has significant repercussions for companies across the world, given that these rules impact businesses operating, or trading within the EU. Further, these changes span the supply chain, meaning suppliers, manufacturers, finishers and sellers must all be aware of, and compliant with, incoming regulation.

Beyond compliance, Digital Product Passports are expected to reshape how manufacturers manage and share product information. Companies will need greater visibility across supply chains, improved data governance capabilities, and mechanisms to capture and maintain lifecycle information throughout a product's use, repair and recycling phases.

References

[i] The DPP Registry - Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

[ii] Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation - European Commission

[iii] Digital Product Passports are just around the corner | Deloitte UK

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