Digital Product Passport – Check-In #5

Before the 5th Check-In, a short general presentation on the DPP was held on July 2, 2024. The slides can be downloaded here.

Plattform Industrie 4.0 now regularly shares updates on the Digital Product Passport (DPP) through its “DPP Check-In” sessions. These Check-Ins compile concrete updates on various aspects of the Digital Product Passport (e.g., EC activities, standards, projects & initiatives), and provide a space for discussion, exchange, and questions. In the fifth Check-In on July 2, 2024, updates from the CIRPASS project were presented, CIRPASS-2 was introduced, and the focus topic was the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) for the DPP. This article summarizes the discussed points and answers key questions from the session. To receive all updates and invitations to future DPP Check-Ins, please register here or contact Verena Halmschlager via email.

CURRENT STATUS: DPP & ESPR

A brief overview of the DPP can be found in the DPP Fact Sheet (as of 07/24), a more detailed version is available in the “Digital Product Passport – Status Quo” (as of 12/23), or in the first DPP Check-In. You can also find the Plattform Industrie 4.0 DPP overview page here and event presentations from November 2023 in Vienna here.

The Ecodesign Regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 28, 2024, and will enter into force on July 18, 2024. A work plan for 2025–2028 is expected in the coming months. From 2026, product-specific regulations will follow via Delegated Acts. A transition period of 18 months is expected after adoption (except in special cases).

Currently, the following are considered priority products: Iron and steel, aluminium, textiles (especially clothing and footwear), furniture (including mattresses), tyres, detergents, paints, lubricants, chemicals, energy-related products, ICT products, and other electronics.

Textiles as well as iron and steel are expected to be the first product groups covered by Delegated Acts, with the DPP entering into force in 2027. Batteries (from 2027) and construction products (from 2028) will follow in separate regulations. The European Commission plans to update the list of priority products regularly.

The latest draft of the Ecodesign Regulation (Article V) lists the following Ecodesign criteria, which will be defined per product group in Delegated Acts:

  • Durability
  • Reliability
  • Reusability
  • Upgradability
  • Reparability
  • Maintainability
  • Presence of substances of concern
  • Energy consumption and efficiency
  • Water use and efficiency
  • Resource use and efficiency
  • Recycled content
  • Remanufacturability
  • Recyclability
  • Material recoverability
  • Environmental impacts (including CO2 and environmental footprint)
  • Amount of expected waste

The current timeline of the DPP is shown in the following graphic:

CIRPASS UPDATE

The CIRPASS homepage, the European Commission’s Coordination and Support Action (CSA) on the DPP, offers a wide range of information (also summarized in previous Check-Ins). In the 5th Check-In, the new documents “DPP System Roadmap” and “DPP Prototypes” were introduced.

The DPP System Roadmap focuses on Identification Schemes, Data Carriers, DPP System Components, Dataspace Integration, and Prototyping & Deployment, with four framing questions: Where are we today? Where are we going? Where could we go? Where should we go?

The DPP Prototypes document presents a consolidated vision of a cross-sectoral DPP system. It’s a widely supported description for a broad audience that includes information, IT, governance rules, and required standards.

CIRPASS-2

Launched in May 2024, “CIRPASS-2” is the European flagship project for the Digital Product Passport, with Plattform Industrie 4.0 as one of 50 partners. The project moves DPP implementation from theory to practice and will demonstrate DPPs in real environments across value chains in textiles, electronics, tyres, and construction – with 13 use cases.

The four main goals of CIRPASS-2 are:

  • Deployment and validation of DPPs across four target value chains at scale and in real conditions
  • Focus on B2B activities to promote circular economy practices
  • Support for ongoing CEN/CENELEC standardization work
  • Demonstration of interoperability between pilot projects
  • Support for SMEs and DPP-as-a-Service implementation
  • Facilitate DPP adoption in other sectors affected by future EU regulations

There will be five expert groups open to external participants. Each group is limited to 100 people; registration is open until full. To join, send an email to Carolynn Bernier (carolynn.bernier@cea.fr). The aim is to enable two-way communication between the consortium and the wider community. Participation equals approx. 10–20 working days over 3 years and includes 2 optional in-person meetings. Participants can be publicly listed on the CIRPASS-2 homepage.

Additional Updates

Stakeholders can already contribute to the Preparatory Study for Iron & Steel and the Preparatory Study for Textiles from the European Commission.

On May 22, 2024, the European Commission hosted a webinar on the Ecodesign Regulation, covering the regulation itself and specific aspects like the destruction of goods. The Ecodesign Forum – a stakeholder group to ensure proper consultation – was introduced. The group includes member state experts and other interested parties who can apply for participation starting in Q3 2024. A dedicated webinar on the Digital Product Passport is also planned (date TBD). Watch the webinar here, and access the slides here.

The Circular Tech Forum continues to serve as a DPP network. The next event is scheduled for September 16, 2024, in Cologne.

The Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO) and FMTI are organizing a webinar series on the Ecodesign Regulation. Upcoming sessions in July 2024 include:

  • Market surveillance in Austria
  • AI and legal protection in DPP data analysis

The Asset Administration Shell (AAS) and the DPP

Various IT systems are relevant to the DPP context – including data spaces, E-Class, blockchain, and the Asset Administration Shell (AAS). At the 5th Check-In, Salzburg Research focused on AAS in relation to the DPP.

The AAS addresses interoperability in connected environments: machines and components must exchange data autonomously. Industry uses different information models like OPC UA, AutomationML, and the AAS, which provides a detailed digital description of components. The AAS is a key technology for digital twins and widely adopted in mechanical and plant engineering.

It’s part of the Reference Architecture Model for Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) and could be a building block for DPP implementation. Learn more in the Salzburg Research presentation. The AAS-based project “DPP 4.0” also illustrates how AAS can be used to implement a DPP system.

USEFUL INFORMATION:

The next Check-In is expected in September. To be added to the mailing list, please sign up here or email Verena Halmschlager.