End of life focused data model for a digital battery passport

Abstract

Digital battery passports are a potentially helpful tool to facilitate the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. This is due to the information asymmetry between battery producers and end-of-life (EoL) actors. Tailoring a battery passport to EoL offers the opportunity to go beyond the current state of the art of battery passport legislation and add further details that are important for the recycling process. Therefore, this research looks at a suitable way to set up a battery passport to support the EoL of lithium-ion batteries. First, the data needs of the EoL phase were analyzed based on use cases described by eight experts through interviews. The results show a need for material related- and dynamic data, such as the state of health. The same expert interviews were then used to answer how these needed data could be provided. The results confirm the availability of most data but with gaps regarding dynamic data and use-phase information. Both the data needs and provision are then categorized and summarized into a data model. The discussion also provides an overview of the challenges and estimates the impact, depending on the scale of implementation. The results were used to set up a prototype platform for a battery passport.