DPP software
for the digital product passport

One framework, many product groups: where the digital product passport is heading

The digital product passport is not an isolated solution for one sector. It is a building principle of EU product regulation. The frame is set by the Ecodesign Regulation ESPR (EU) 2024/1781. Product groups get their own product passport step by step through delegated acts. The principle stays the same. A machine-readable data carrier sits on the product, usually a QR code. It leads to a product page with structured data. Behind it stands the goal of a working circular economy. Whoever buys, repairs, reuses or recycles a product finds the necessary information in one place.

DPP software is the workbench for this. It captures the required data, keeps it in a clean structure, publishes the product page and delivers the exports that authorities, customers and partners expect. How the digital product passport differs from the battery passport is explained in our article battery passport vs digital product passport. All guides, deadlines and tools around the first mandatory product group are bundled in the battery passport hub.

Why batteries go first

The first binding implementation of the product passport idea is not in the ESPR itself but in the Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. Its Chapter IX, that is Articles 77 and 78, requires a battery passport from 18 February 2027 for LMT batteries, industrial batteries above 2 kWh and EV batteries placed on the EU market. On the same day, the obligation begins to register each of these passports in the EU registry.

The battery passport anticipates much of what awaits other product groups later. The QR code on the battery is mandatory and must lead to the passport (Art. 13(6) and (7), Annex VI Part C). Which data belongs in the passport and who may see it is governed by Annex XIII: public fields, fields for persons with a legitimate interest and an authority level. Whoever implements the battery passport properly learns the craft for every later product passport, from the data model to registration.

For the battery perspective in detail: the battery passport software page shows all seven data categories as a guided workflow, and the battery passport hub sorts guides by use case, from energy storage to importers.

Four capabilities to measure DPP software by

Whether for batteries today or for further product groups tomorrow: four capabilities decide whether DPP software actually carries the legal text or is just a form with a QR code.

1. A data model that reflects the legal text

The data scope of a product passport is not defined in the provider's brochure but in the law. For batteries, Annex XIII defines the fields, and the requirements differ by battery type. Good DPP software reflects this field by field instead of putting the same form in front of every user. For this, DPP Hero works with a field registry across five battery types (EV, LMT, industrial, stationary storage, without BMS): mandatory fields and visibility are stored per type, and the editor only shows what applies to your type. The structure of the data capture follows the DIN SPEC 99100 guideline.

2. Access levels from the very first field

A product passport is not a public data sheet. Annex XIII has three levels: public fields, fields with legitimate interest and the authority level. How access with legitimate interest is to work in practice must be set out in an implementing act under Art. 77(9). Its deadline expired on 18 August 2026 without the act being adopted; the Commission's timeline now names Q4 2026. DPP software must still enforce the separation technically from the start, not only once the act arrives. With DPP Hero, restricted values are never even selected server-side for the public passport page, and suppliers see restricted values in share links only as a status, never as content.

3. EU registry: be prepared instead of promising completion

The EU registry rewards precision. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778 has been in force since 6 August 2026; the registry is a directory of identifiers, commodity code and hash, and stores no passport content. A sandbox environment has been running since 20 July 2026. Registration of battery passports is still blocked on the EU side, however, because the semantic catalogue is missing; according to the EC helpdesk, the catalog and registry APIs are planned for Q4 2026. Later, only an eIDAS-verified economic operator may register. Any software promising a finished registry connection today is therefore promising too much. The credible path is the other one, and it is the one DPP Hero takes: prepare identifiers, data structure and exports so that registration is possible without rework as soon as the registry opens.

4. Standards and exports instead of lock-in

Your passport data must be able to leave the software in standard formats at any time. With Decision (EU) 2026/1736, the EU has harmonised six DPP standards; their use is voluntary, and the presumption of conformity applies to ESPR product passports, not to the battery passport. For interfaces, EN 18222 is the upcoming API standard; the DIN version is available as a draft so far, and the final version is announced for September 2026. The DPP Hero REST API is aligned with the methods of EN 18222; a full conformity assessment is still outstanding. On export you receive JSON in the Battery Passport Data Model v2.0 with blocking schema validation, plus DIN SPEC JSON, PDF in German and English, and a CSV import for the opposite direction. Switching providers will not fail because of your data.

The data carrier: QR code, NFC, RFID, and what the legal texts actually require

One question comes up in almost every tender. Does it have to be a QR code, or will an NFC chip do? The answer depends on which legal text applies to your product. The two relevant ones differ at exactly this point.

Under the Ecodesign Regulation

The ESPR defines the data carrier in a technology-open way. It means “a barcode, a two-dimensional symbol or another automatic data capture medium that can be read by a device”. An NFC or RFID tag expressly falls under it. Article 10(1) sets three conditions. The data carrier is linked to a persistent unique product identifier. It sits on the product, the packaging or the accompanying documents. And it complies with the ISO/IEC 15459 series. Which variant is permitted is decided by the delegated act per product group. There is no blanket yes to NFC.

For batteries

Here the position is narrower, and it is often misrepresented. Article 13(6) leaves no choice: “From 18 February 2027, all batteries shall be marked with a QR code as described in Part C of Annex VI.” Part C requires strong color contrast and a size that ordinary readers in mobile phones can handle. Article 77(3) adds that the QR code is linked to a unique identifier complying with the standards ISO/IEC 15459-1 to 15459-6 or equivalent ones. The regulation does not prohibit an NFC tag on the product in addition, but it may not replace the QR code. The door is not fully closed, though: Article 13(8) allows the Commission to provide for alternative smart labels in addition to or instead of the QR code by delegated act. Until that act exists, the QR code remains the only permitted form.

In DPP Hero every published passport carries a canonical address in GS1 Digital Link format. You export the QR codes from it as SVG or PNG, for series also as a bulk ZIP. The passport hangs on an address, not on a carrier. The same address can therefore be written to other media, an NFC tag alongside the mandatory QR code for example.

DPP Hero in practice: from empty account to published passport

DPP Hero is pure self-service: create an account, choose a battery type, get going. The editor guides you through the data categories of DIN SPEC 99100 in seven steps and only shows the fields that apply to your battery type. Data held by suppliers is collected via share links: the supplier fills in their section directly without a login of their own, and restricted values stay protected.

Before publishing there is a publish gate. It checks the GS1 identifiers, the mandatory data of your organization and the completeness of all seven steps. Only when everything is in place does the passport go live. It becomes a public passport page without login and at no cost to the viewer. It is reachable through a canonical URL in GS1 Digital Link format. You export QR codes as SVG or PNG, as a bulk ZIP up to 500 pieces, on request with your own domain. Every change to the software is dated in the changelog.

With DPP Hero, published passports are not silent web pages. Every passport is signed, a public verify endpoint recomputes hash and signature live, and changes go through versioning. Whoever checks a passport does not have to take the provider's word for it; they can recompute it themselves.

The battery details, from the legal framework to the seven data categories in depth, are on the battery passport software page. Prices are open on the pricing page; there are no sales calls and no demo appointments, you test the product directly.

Who changed what, and when

A product passport is a statement to authorities and customers. That raises the question who set a value and when, at the latest once somebody asks. Software that only knows the current state cannot answer it.

What an audit log has to deliver

Three things are needed for traceability: who acted, what changed and when. That is the change history of the passport data, kept as an audit trail. In DPP Hero the log keeps the actions on products, keys and organization data. Likewise on manufacturing sites and share links, each with actor and timestamp. For supplier entries through a share link that means: the submission is in there and can be read later.

Where the log can be read

In your account the activity log is a view of its own, and the v1 API returns the same entries through GET /audit-log, newest first and paginated. You can filter by action, resource type and individual resource, for example every change to one particular product. That answers the question of who last changed an entry before release, without asking around. If you want to connect the data programmatically, the interface is documented in the API documentation.

Connecting to ERP, PIM and PLM

The data for a product passport rarely sits in one place. Master data and identifiers are usually in the ERP, text and media in the PIM. Technical values and bills of materials sit in the PLM, test reports and life cycle assessments with service providers. Anyone selecting software settles early how these sources come together. That is where the effort arises, not in filling single fields.

DPP Hero offers two routes for this, and we say honestly what is missing. There is a REST interface in version 1 with products as a resource. Plus a bulk endpoint for many products in one call. Plus a separate endpoint for the condition data and endpoints for files and images. Outputs come as JSON, GEFEG JSON, PDF and QR code. Alongside there is a guided CSV import in the interface. What does not exist are ready-made connectors for individual ERP or PIM products. You or your systems house build that link through the interface.

A point often missed in selection: openness is a legal duty, not a voluntary extra. Article 10(1) ESPR requires open standards and an interoperable format. The data must be transferable “through an open interoperable data exchange network without vendor lock-in”. Article 77(5) of the Battery Regulation says the same for the battery passport. This is not about every inconvenience in export but about technical transferability. Releasing passport data only in your own format does not meet the requirement. So in the selection meeting ask how the data gets out again.

The road to February 2027

Between today and the 18 February 2027 deadline lie three work packages you can tackle one after the other. None of them requires an IT project, but all three need lead time.

Collect the data

Most of the time is spent not on the software but on gathering the data. It comes from your own house and from suppliers. Create the passport early. The type-specific fields show at once what your battery type requires. For supplier data send share links instead of spreadsheets by email. How this software fits into the digital product passport is explained on the overview page.

Publish the passport and apply the QR code

From 18 February 2027, the QR code on the battery must lead to the passport. So plan backwards: the passport must be published before the labeling goes into production. The publish gate ensures that no incomplete passport goes live, and the QR exports deliver the codes in print-ready formats.

Prepare the registration

Registration in the EU registry is not possible yet. The semantic catalogue and registry APIs are expected for Q4 2026. What you can settle now is the verification of your company as an economic operator. Only an eIDAS-verified operator may register. DPP Hero keeps identifiers and data structure ready so registration works without rebuilding once it opens.

Which industries the product passport hits first

“Digital product passport” sounds like a single project but is a framework with a schedule. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation sets the frame; the concrete requirements arrive per product group in separate acts. When your group is up is decided by the Commission working plan.

The schedule with years

Communication COM(2025) 187 of 16 April 2025 names the priorities from Article 18. Those are iron and steel, aluminium and textiles with a focus on apparel and footwear, plus furniture including mattresses, tyres, detergents, paints, lubricants and chemicals, as well as energy-related products and ICT and other electronics. For the acts the plan names iron and steel in 2026. Textiles, tyres and aluminium follow in 2027, furniture in 2028 and mattresses in 2029. Electrical and electronic equipment appears there not as a product group of its own but as a horizontal requirement on recycled content and recyclability, likewise for 2029; ICT products ride along on that and on the energy-related products. Anyone producing in machinery, plant or vehicle construction is affected earlier through inputs like steel and aluminium than expected. Machinery and automotive have no product group of their own in the plan. Construction products run through the construction products regulation and stay within the scope of the ESPR. For cement its recital 50 names delegated acts at the earliest by 31 December 2028 and at the latest by 1 January 2030.

What you get from it beyond the obligation

The same data set answers questions that come up in the company anyway. In after-sales the scan leads to the exact build of an individual unit instead of a model brochure. In sales the passport page is the only channel to the end customer that belongs to you. Not the dealer, not a portal. In a purchasing meeting a documented recycled content figure replaces a claim. And in the second-hand market it is access to usage and condition data that makes the residual value assessable in the first place. Taken together the passport is a direct channel, not a compliance form. Because every entry is documented rather than claimed, it builds trust in your brand.

None of this runs by itself. It only happens if the data is maintained and the passport page is readable. Treat the passport as a compliance form and you get a compliance form. Treat it as a product page with a guarantee of permanence and you get a channel.