Batteries among other products are in the sight of the European Commission for a unified Digital Product Passport (DPP) approach.
The new CIRPASS (Collaborative Initiative for a Standards-based Digital Product Passport for Stakeholder-Specific Sharing of Product Data for a Circular Economy) project, which has just launched, is aimed to prepare the ground for the piloting and deployment of DPPs from 2023 onwards.
The initial focus is on batteries as well as on the electrics and electronics and textile sectors.
The 18-month project, which is funded by the European Commission under the Digital Europe Programme, is anticipated to lead the way towards a circular economy, which in essence adds a lifecycle approach and in particular recycling to avoid any waste to the traditional ‘linear’ supply chain system that has been the standard.
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Through the project the consortium partners intend to present an unambiguous cross-sectoral definition and description of the DPP and to provide recommendations for a data exchange protocol and system architecture.
They also will develop use cases and roadmaps and deliver at least three DPP prototypes for the three target sectors.
The CIRPASS consortium is intended to ensure a cross-sectoral approach, with a 30-strong representation including European research and technology organisations, three standardisation organisations, consultancies, industry associations and selected digital solution providers.
Among the members from the energy sector is Energy Web, which among other blockchain use cases in its Switchboard tool has developed a decentralised identifier approach – key for DPPs.
Stakeholder engagement is another aspect of CIRPASS’s action plan. Various activities to activate companies and organisations from across Europe are expected to be announced during the project, including joining expert and stakeholder groups and participation in workshops.
A 2019 prediction from Gartner was that circular economies will replace linear economies by 2029 but as a pre-pandemic study it may warrant a reworking.
