The European Union’s Digital Product Passport, or DPP, is now moving into phased implementation. The system is designed as a digital identity for products, components, and materials, storing information tied to sustainability and circularity.
DPP sits under the EU’s ESPR framework
According to the European Commission, the DPP is defined as a digital identity for products, components, and materials. It comes from the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, or ESPR. The regulation took effect on July 18, 2024, replacing the previous ecodesign directive and extending to almost all physical products.
In practice, the framework creates an electronic file for each product. That file can include material composition, origin and supply chain data, carbon footprint and environmental impact, repairability, and recycling information. Consumers, manufacturers, and regulators can retrieve the data by scanning a QR code or another data carrier attached to the product.
The stated goal is to support the circular economy, reduce greenwashing, and strengthen regulatory compliance.
2026 marks wider application, while batteries come first in 2027
The DPP will not be imposed across all product categories at once. The rollout is staged by category. ESPR will apply in full from July 19, 2026, and the EU’s central DPP registry system is scheduled to launch at the same time.
Batteries will be the first mandatory category. Under the Batteries Regulation (EU 2023/1542), digital battery passports will become mandatory in February 2027 for electric vehicle batteries, industrial batteries, and batteries with capacity above 2kWh. Small portable batteries will follow in August 2027.
From 2027, textiles, aluminum, and tires are also set to be added. The EU plans to expand coverage through delegated acts, with a target of having almost all products sold in the bloc equipped with a DPP before 2030.
Blockchain is optional, not mandatory
The report notes that treating the Digital Product Passport as the same thing as blockchain is not accurate. The DPP framework is technology-neutral. The regulation requires data to be secure, traceable, and accessible, but it does not force companies to use blockchain and does not rule out standard database systems.
Blockchain may still be used in cases that involve multiple participants, tamper resistance, and cross-supply-chain traceability. Some supply chain tracking projects and real-world asset tokenization, or RWA, models may use it as an underlying layer. Still, blockchain is not a required condition for DPP compliance. In that sense, DPP is the policy objective, while blockchain is one of the available tools.
Why the framework matters for Taiwan exporters
This is not only a European regulatory story. If battery, textile, and electronics products from Taiwan are to be sold into the EU market, exporters will need supply-chain data that meets DPP requirements, including traceable records for material sourcing and carbon footprint information.
For Taiwan’s export-oriented manufacturers, the practical question is not the slogan itself but what the DPP specifically requires and whether their existing supply chains can provide the needed data.