Annex XIII Explained: the Data Your Battery Passport Must Carry

If the battery passport is the container, Annex XIII is the packing list. It is the part of the EU Battery Regulation that defines what information a passport has to carry. This guide gives a plain-language tour of what Annex XIII covers, so you know what you will be collecting and from whom.

What Annex XIII is

Annex XIII of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 sets out the information to be included in the battery passport. It is a defined data set rather than free text, which is what makes every passport comparable and machine-readable. The attributes span the battery's identity, its environmental profile, how it performs, what is in it, and the documents that back all of that up.

The main groups of data

The attributes fall into a handful of recognisable groups:

• Identity and general information. What the battery is, its category and model, manufacturer details, and the identifiers that let it be traced.
• Chemistry and composition. The cell chemistry and the materials the battery is made from, which several other fields depend on.
• Carbon footprint. The declared footprint of the battery, prepared to the regulation's method. See the carbon footprint declaration.
• Recycled content. The share of recovered material in the relevant metals. See recycled content declaration.
• Performance and durability. The attributes describing how the battery performs and holds up over its service life.
• Hazardous substances and safety. Substances of concern and the safety information handlers need.
• Supporting documentation. Test reports, declarations and other documents that evidence the figures above.

One thing worth knowing about how Annex XIII is written: it is organised by who may see each field, not by topic. Its four parts line up with the access tiers, so the public model-level information sits in one part, the more detailed composition and dismantling information in another, the conformity test reports in a third, and the data specific to an individual battery (such as state of health and usage history) in a fourth. Many entries point to other parts of the regulation rather than restating them, for example the carbon footprint under Art. 7, recycled content under Art. 8, and the general label information in Part A of Annex VI. The attributes also apply only to the extent relevant to your battery category (Art. 77(2)): a few, such as the remaining-capacity threshold for exhaustion, apply only to electric vehicle batteries.

Access tiers apply per field

Annex XIII does not make everything public. Fields are assigned to access tiers, so the general public sees some, parties with a legitimate interest see more, and authorities see the full set. When you plan your data collection, it helps to know which tier a field sits in, because that affects what will be visible on the open web. See battery passport access tiers.

Where the data comes from

Most Annex XIII data originates with the manufacturer, not the importer. Chemistry, carbon footprint, recycled content and performance figures are things your supplier holds or can produce. A few fields, such as the operator identity tied to placing the battery on the market, are yours. The practical implication is to send your supplier one structured request covering the whole Annex XIII set, rather than chasing fields individually. See what your supplier must send you.

What to do with this

1. Use Annex XIII as your checklist. Treat each group above as a section of data to collect per model.
2. Split it by source. Mark which fields come from the supplier and which are yours.
3. Note the tier. Flag which fields will be public so nothing sensitive is exposed by accident.

In short

Annex XIII of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 defines the data a battery passport must carry: identity, chemistry, carbon footprint, recycled content, performance and durability, hazardous substances, and supporting documentation. Most of it comes from your supplier, it is served in access tiers, and it is the checklist you build each passport against.