Nothing is sacred, including batteries.
Do you have concerns about technology intruding on your life and privacy? We have reached a point where even batteries —yes, batteries— are documented and recorded. What am I talking about? You may have never heard of a digital battery passport (DBP), but pay attention because at some point this may effect you.
At this time digital battery passports will be required in the European Union for all new batteries 2.0 kilowatt-hours (166 amp-hours @12 volts) or larger manufactured after February 18, 2024. There is no requirement in the United States…yet.
What is a digital battery passport?
The digital battery passport is a protocol or system for documenting all aspects of a battery. This includes:
- Name of manufacture and production date
- Serial number
- Component content
- Component country of origin
- Technical specifications
- Safety information
- Information about “carbon footprint”
- Chain of custody; previous operators and history of use.
- Recall information.
- Information regarding regulatory compliance.
The interface is a QR code on each battery. Users scan the code and access a database with all the information for that specific battery. The database is maintained by the “economic operator,” which in most cases will be the manufacturer or commercial customer.
WEF GRAPHIC
The advantages.
There’s a lot to like about digital battery passports. Firstly, all the information is in a central, standardized database. There is no need to keep paper records. If a battery is passed on to a new user, its complete history will follow. The database can also contain safety recalls and other time-sensitive information. When the battery is at the end of its service life, the passport has instructions on how to properly dispose of it. It really is a one stop shop for anything you need to know about a battery. This system is very useful for large commercial operators with a lot of batteries to manage.
Things that should concern all of us.
Not everything about digital battery passport is awesome. There are several issues of concern to off grid hams. Most importantly, the passport system by default tracks batteries and who is using them. As if privacy weren’t already a quaint anachronism, this is one more thing “they” will know about you. This alone is enough to sour me on the entire concept.
I will clearly state up front that the following red flags are theoretical, meaning, they are not currently part of what a digital battery passport does, nor are there any known plans to implement them, but the potential is certainly there.
Digital battery passports do not actively collect real time data from the battery and upload it to a database. So, at least for now, there is no provision in the DBP protocol that allows anyone to “spy” on you through your batteries. The “red flag” is that we live in a world where televisions, thermostats, vacuum cleaners, doorbells, and all sorts of mundane household devices are connected to the internet. It’s not too much of a stretch to predict that sometime soon batteries could be added to the list.
The second possibility is that end users (that would be you and me) will be “allocated” a certain quantity of batteries or battery energy. Once you hit your limit, you would be prohibited from owning any more batteries until one of your existing batteries is retired. Worse, a working battery could be shut down remotely until you fulfill some sort of requirement to have it turned back on. All of this of course would be in the name of controlling climate change and “carbon footprint”.
But wait, there’s more.
Under the DBP system, every time a battery is bought, sold, transferred, or retired, the transaction and people/entities involved are documented. But that’s not the worst part.
The greatest concern I have about the digital battery passport is that it is being promoted by the World Economic Forum. I could easily dedicate an entire article going on a tirade about everything that is wrong with the WEF, but that is way outside the focus of this blog. Please just believe me that this organization and its motives should never be trusted.
Power and control seldom happens in an instant. It comes incrementally, which is a deliberate ploy to make an otherwise unacceptable idea palatable. Sociologists and political scientists refer to this principle as the Overton Window. Those seeking power and control always implement seemingly innocuous policies, and in the beginning maybe they are benevolent and well meaning. Still, the potential for it to escalate is very real.
Keeping things in perspective.
At this time there’s no immediate cause for alarm, but this is not a “nothing burger” either. I classify this as a “remain calm but pay attention” -level issue. The DBP program is used only in the European Union and applies only to batteries 2 kW-h or greater. So, for now, your handheld radio and power tool batteries are “safe”.
Would it ever be expanded to the United States and/or small batteries that everyday consumers use? No one can credibly predict what might happen, but we live in a crazy world so do not rule out any scenario no matter how far-fetched it may be. The USA has an election in less than a year, the result of which can change the trajectory of energy policy dramatically. It’s too soon to say if digital battery passports are a “slippery slope” that could evolve into something with ulterior motives, so it’s best we keep a watchful eye on this one.
I’m not really surprised. Like it or not batteries, whether lead acid or lithium or whatever, are considered to be a safety hazard and potentially toxic waste as well. A few more high profile accidents involving lithium batteries is all it’s going to take to push the government for tighter controls over the sale, distribution and manufacture of batteries. Plus disposing of non-function batteries is troublesome as well due to toxic materials, residual energy still stored in them, etc. I think you’re going to see a push to start tracking consumer electronics as well in order to force people to recycle them instead of tossing them into a landfill.
At the moment I’m more concerned with the supply side. Most lithium cells, at least the vast majority of the ones you and I and your readers use, come from China. All it would take to cause a major disruption is the political situation turning a bit more sour than it already is. The US is ramping up production but almost all of that new production is going to be going into EVs and large scale public utility usage. China is already restricting the export of essential raw materials that go into battery production.
There are a lot of possibilities that sound freaky, but I would not discount any idea. Some form of regulation is good, such as controlling the toxic waste from retired batteries. But it seems like a lot of this is really about power and control.
I could see how current technology could enabled a need to connect the battery for a periodically “check-in” to remain operational. Like having to allow it connect by Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to call home and report. An app on a cell phone would be all it need to to reset it. Once people are conditioned it will become the norm.
Slowly conditioning people to accept new ideas they might otherwise reject is exactly what the Overton Window principle I mentioned in the article describes. Changes are made incrementally in the hopes that no one will notice.
Oh boy – the battery police are coming. Maybe I’ll be a felon at 15.2kWh of Phi blocks. Chris, the one thing you didn’t mention is a possible requirement for a shunt specifically reporting and uploading usage like charging (tax on sun usage) and discharging (consumption tax). I mean, some places have meters on well pumps. If that can fly this is a small leap further. Or maybe one can skirt by if there is a voltage threshold instead of kWh so you can fill a shed with 6 or 2vdc lead blocks.
In all seriousness years ago, and what one would roll their eyes at hearing, are in place or being debated. And those pesky off gridders are way to independent. They have to be reigned in and be part of the collective. The big problem is the forces have to find ya. They go after the easy stuff. Purchases are the gotcha.
I would offer that one living off grid is much more environmentally conscious and focused on conservation regarding RE than the flip the switch people. But this is just a complexity. I don’t want to see your well reasoned posts become tin foil hat stuff. But I am old and I think my Phis might outlast me. Fingers crossed.
Lastly, one the solar forums I frequent, there are a bunch of off gridders all over the world. This is the first time I have heard of this upcoming. Do you have a reference?
Monitoring and taxing off grid energy usage is not a far fetched “tin foil hat” scenario. In some areas they are already pushing to regulate collected rainwater and wood burning stoves. Yes, a lot of this stuff is very narrow in scope but that is by design. Little by little they take more and more. One day you wake up and the world is changed, and not for the better.
As for references, the link in my article goes to the World Economic Forum website that has a simple one-page synopsis of digital battery passports as well as additional links. If that’s not enough, then just google “digital battery passport” and you’ll get more info than you can handle.
Off Grid Ham has many goals, one of which is to report on the under the radar issues that get passed over by others. If your friends on the solar forum have not heard of the topics discussed here, then I hope you’ll invite them to come on over and get in the loop.
“One day you wake up and the world is changed, and not for the better.” That’s for sure. I will be sharing the WEF DBP/GBA reference and this site.
Good catch on this topic.
This is nothing new for commercial battery users. I used to be able to source used batteries that were used but good enough for the shack. This all stopped around 2015 or so, when battery chain of possession became a rule. Not surprised to see it in the EU and won’t be long before it’s required for everyone.
Just means you won’t be able to DIY as easily, unfortunately.