After coming across a reference to an upcoming EU regulation for large batteries, such as used in battery-electric vehicles, I poked around and found this link, https://www.circularise.com/blogs/eu-battery-passport-regulation-requirements From their About section:
With our technology, companies can trace products and materials to verify their origins, certificates, CO2, and other material data. Our mission is to enable a circular economy
Here are a few cuttings from the battery passport description:
An update to the 2006 Battery Directive3 aims to ensure that the growth of the battery industry is done sustainably. In July 2023, the EU Battery Regulation Amendment was adopted by the EU Council, laying out the structure to achieve sustainable battery lifecycles. [...]
According to the Battery Regulation update, every industrial or electric vehicle (EV) battery on the EU market with a capacity of over 2 kWh will require a battery passport. This means regardless of the origin of the battery, it will require a battery passport in order to be listed in the European market. It will be the responsibility of the party placing the battery on the market, to ensure that all data required is entered in the digital record and that the information is correct and up to date.
Battery passports will therefore require input from:
Mining and refining companies
Cell and battery producers
Vehicle brands
Battery servicing, refurbishing, and recycling companies
[...]The battery passport must contain information on:
Identification of the battery in the form of a unique identifier.
Basic characteristics of the battery including type and model.
Statistics on performance and durability must also be updated over the battery lifecycle by parties conducting repair or repurposing of the battery.
The specific performance characteristics required in battery digital product passports are detailed in Chapter IX of the Battery Regulation Amendment. Technical documentation on the electrochemical performance and durability of the battery must be provided, including details on how this data was obtained. This is to ensure the batteries meet the minimum requirements for battery performance and capacity in order to guarantee batteries on the market are operational and efficient over a sufficient lifetime.
[...]
Information stored in the battery passport will need to be selectively shared with three distinct groups: the general public, regulatory bodies, and battery service and end-of-life processors. Each group of users will need to have different read and write permissions for the data in each battery passport, so that everyone has the information they need while data privacy is maintained. The precise data points each group of users requires access to are detailed in Annex XIII. [...]
From 1st February 2027, all EV and industrial batteries over 2 kWh sold into the EU market will require a unique battery passport retrievable using the unique product identifier in the form of a QR code.
What are the chances that anyone can produce software to do all this, securely, for millions of batteries?
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Automakers accelerating release of upgraded models, unlike typical 5-year cycle for gasoline cars; Hyundai introduces updated Ioniq 5, and BYD will soon unveil refreshed SEAL; how will this impact used car market?
In recent weeks, two refreshed car models have been launched: Hyundai's Ioniq 5 and BYD's SEAL. Both models, introduced in 2021 and 2022 respectively, are receiving significant updates ahead of the typical five-year facelift cycle. This global automotive industry standard generally involves cosmetic upgrades to keep cars relevant.
However, these updates are more than just aesthetic. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 now features a substantial battery upgrade, increasing from 72.6 kWh to 84 kWh. This enhancement boosts the top model's range from 480 km to over 550 km. Other upgrades include new wheel designs and interior materials, but the major improvements lie beneath the surface.
[...] These updates reflect a broader trend among electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers, who have announced major enhancements to existing models. Unlike mid-life upgrades in gasoline cars, which often focus on superficial enhancements like sound systems and wheel designs, EV upgrades are core technological improvements. This trend is driven by several factors.
[...] Recent trends in the used EV market show that the introduction of significantly upgraded models or superior competing models can deter buyers unless substantial discounts are offered. The new Ioniq 5's increased range and the SEAL's faster charging capabilities could negatively affect the resale value of older models.
Related:
- Auto Woes
- EU Battery Passport - Lifetime Record of BEV and Other Large Li Batteries
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- A Chinese EV Squeezed 650 Miles Of Range From Its 150 kWh Battery
- Why are All the EVs so Expensive?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 18 2024, @01:44PM (5 children)
People need passports to travel internationally.
Now batteries will also need a passport, issued at "birth", with their entire history logged into the data base.
Will you really own your battery electric car when government and various companies know your driving history (deep discharges, high power demand for acceleration, etc)?
Of course this could be useful information when buying a used BEV, so there is something for people who buy used cars and dig deeper into the car history. Friends have bought used BEVs and I think all they know about the battery is what the "miles/Km available" number is after a full charge.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 18 2024, @02:09PM
... something .... something ... THE MATRIX.
(Score: 4, Touché) by Mojibake Tengu on Thursday April 18 2024, @03:35PM
Unless you can trade a child for a charged battery pack, people and batteries are not unifiable objects, yet.
Though the future looks bleak.
In twenty, thirty years, your sapient car may determine the human passenger represents lesser value than a fresh battery, even if sold as organs donor...
Rust programming language offends both my Intelligence and my Spirit.
(Score: 3, Troll) by Unixnut on Thursday April 18 2024, @04:02PM (2 children)
Well, it isn't like they haven't given us advance notice of their desire: You will own nothing and be happy [wikipedia.org]
With that in mind you should not be surprised when things like this come up.
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Friday April 19 2024, @09:12AM (1 child)
> Well, it isn't like they haven't given us advance notice of their desire
It is erroneous to conflate the World Economic Forum with the EU
(Score: 2) by Unixnut on Friday April 19 2024, @11:26AM
Not really, they are all interconnected.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Username on Thursday April 18 2024, @02:18PM (5 children)
I see this as some chip in the battery that stores the info that can be accessed via jtag or something.
Passport makes it seem stupid, call it a battery changelog or battery history.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by VLM on Thursday April 18 2024, @04:58PM (4 children)
It's simpler than that, if the data is user-accessible, it'll be fake.
Go on Amazon and try to buy a legit 18650 with real ratings.
Its like how Christmas tree LEDs were marketed as "100 watt equivalent". Its an entire industry built around lying to the consumer. Yeah, they're gonna tell the truth for the first time ever because some bureaucrat said they have to, LOL, as if that's going to happen.
So it'll be fake data...
(Score: 2) by Username on Thursday April 18 2024, @05:19PM
Maybe the ecology and origin part, but I think being about to say "replaced cells 1234-4321 with pn: xyz lot: 666 on 7-14-25" would help with the overall battery repairability, and the RMA of defective cells.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 18 2024, @05:20PM
> Go on Amazon and try to buy a legit 18650 with real ratings.
I went to https://www.digikey.com [digikey.com] thinking it might be a more industrial source. Have purchased Ni-Cd and Ni-MH cells from them in the past to repair things like a dustbuster, with good luck. But after a few attempts at searching, I agree with you, the 18650 hype is overwhelming.
Maybe the only way to get good cells now is to be an OEM with a lab to test incoming product?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 18 2024, @06:50PM
When I want a couple of 18650's I buy a mid-price "power bank" that looks about the right size to accommodate two. Run it through a couple of cycles to test its capacity, and then disassemble it.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by quietus on Friday April 19 2024, @10:59AM
One of the most common tricks with second-hand car dealers here (the EU) was to fake the mileage on a car.
Any car older than 3(4?) years needs to go a yearly check at an official verification center here (EU). One of the parameters checked there is the mileage; something your car repair shop is also legally obligated to do with every visit. These checkup data are combined with the engine serial number into a central database, called the car-pass. When you buy a second-hand car, the seller is obligated to provide you with a print of this car-pass, which you can check against the official database [car-pass.be].
It seems fairly logical to have a similar check for the battery in EVs, as much of the resale value of such a car will be dependent on the (officially) most expensive part of that car, the battery.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Mojibake Tengu on Thursday April 18 2024, @03:25PM (1 child)
Illegal batteries and grey markets with them.
Just like with alcohol. I bet this is just a prerequisite for battery taxes and customs tariffs. Elites always know the best suckpoints of the epoch.
Rust programming language offends both my Intelligence and my Spirit.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 18 2024, @04:17PM
> Illegal batteries and grey markets with them.
Interesting -- I can see older batteries being re-built with dead cells removed and replaced with better ones (this may be happening on a small scale already). The replacement cells could be either new, or more likely "used-good" from a donor used battery. However, this is labor intensive, so may happen in low wage areas...or perhaps even be automated?
I wonder (speculation) if the Battery Passport scheme allows for re-built batteries like this? As you say, this may become a grey market.
(Score: 5, Informative) by VLM on Thursday April 18 2024, @04:51PM (1 child)
Two comments:
The problem with "globalists" and fake greenwashing bullshit is people give them the benefit of the doubt when they really mean circularize as in something like the "human centipede" movie from a couple years back.
The other comment is this is some impressive paperwork worship from self-destructive hyper-authoritarians, but outside in the real world Amazon is full of total bullshit products like 18650 cells marketed as storing 9900 mAh (not a made up figure, I'm looking at that now on another monitor to verify).
For those who don't know about the scam, for various physical chemistry reasons it's impossible to get over "meh 3 aH" at a high discharge rate or maybe 3.5 aH at an artificially low discharge rate in a 18650 size, but marketing people know bigger numbers sell more, so its a race to ever higher imaginary numbers. $7.50 each for fake marked 9900 mAH but comments indicate the tested value is closer to 1000 mAh, they're probably used/discarded laptop cells with new wrapper sold as new. I honestly don't know if its POSSIBLE in 2024 to buy real lithium batteries, the fakes have pushed the real ones off the market. I truly don't think there are non-fake 18650s sold on Amazon anymore, crazy time to be alive.
Much like Sears vacuum cleaners that plug into normal wall outlets but market nine horsepower motors. Or in the old days, every 50 watt hifi amplifier had multiple stickers with multiple price tags promising "600 watts of music power equivalent". Or more recently, every 500 watt computer power supply had multiple marketing stickers claiming all kinds of possible output powers up to a KW or so. If you're buying consumer crap you can assume the marketing material is completely fake and there is no governmental regulation, they don't care beyond making press releases.
So I'm not sure how an industry built entirely around deception will react to a "battery passport". I suspect it'll be much like the infinite number of Chinese cell phone chargers than have no input-output isolation and no RFI suppression and don't output half their rating without catching fire but they do have fake certification lab tags, and nobody cares, because if they did care, the days of buying a charger for a euro would be over. I assume this is how battery passport product will be sold, they'll just be more fake stuff to go with the already fake batteries.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by quietus on Friday April 19 2024, @11:05AM
(See my earlier comment, resale fraud)).
Gee, VLM, it sounds like you think the free market isn't all rose covered pink unicorns and all that. Which makes me wonder: you do have a certification authority [europa.eu] for consumer goods in the United States, don't you?
(Score: 4, Informative) by RamiK on Friday April 19 2024, @11:53AM
The MCUs in rechargeable batteries as small as your smartphone already report back voltage levels and temperature reading and are BOM in the cents so it's trivial to mandate they'll use similarly pinouts and protocols and respond to some AT style command and return a part identifier or something since so many of them already do just that.
As for the software end, it's already done in a fragmented sort of way for smartphones (see magisk's Advanced Charging Controller module [github.com]) so it's really all just a matter requiring a set of readings in the form of standardization to get everyone to behave without having to script for each and ever device and battery model.
compiling...
(Score: 2) by DadaDoofy on Saturday April 20 2024, @06:48PM
EVs are WAY too cheap! Let's fix that by adding yet another expensive and unnecessary regulation. What is this? Cut 997 or so?