A unique string of characters used to identify batteries and enable a web link to the battery passport under the EU Battery Regulation.
Unique identifier is the battery-passport identity layer. It identifies batteries and enables a web link to the battery passport, but it is not the battery passport, not the data carrier, and not a generic product identifier in the ESPR sense.
A unique identifier is the battery identity string that enables a web link to the battery passport. It is not the passport itself and not the same as the data carrier used to access it.
A unique identifier is a unique string of characters used for the identification of batteries and for enabling a web link to the battery passport. It is the identity layer that keeps a battery and its passport record connected. The data carrier is the machine-readable access point; the unique identifier is the identifying value; the battery passport is the structured electronic record associated with the battery.
The most common mistake is to collapse the unique identifier, data carrier, and battery passport into one thing. They play different roles. A data carrier is scanned, the unique identifier identifies the battery and supports the web link, and the battery passport is the record containing or providing access to required information. The unique identifier should also not be treated as a generic ESPR unique product identifier without checking the legal source and product scope.
The EU Battery Regulation defines unique identifier in Article 3, point 66 as a unique string of characters for the identification of batteries that also enables a web link to the battery passport. This definition is battery-specific and should be read together with the Article 77 battery-passport obligation and related data-carrier requirements.
For implementation, the unique identifier needs to remain stable and unambiguous across the battery passport lifecycle. It must support traceability, access, updates, replacement scenarios, and links between physical batteries, lifecycle data, and compliance records. If the identity layer is weak, battery passport data becomes hard to trust even if the surrounding interface looks complete.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries
a unique string of characters for the identification of batteries that also enables a web link to the battery passport;
Reference: Article 3, point 66
This term matters when teams design battery records, labeling schemes, or digital systems that must identify a specific battery over time. Without consistent identity, even accurate compliance information becomes hard to trust or reuse.
Unique identifier is where battery-passport theory meets object identity. It is not the passport and not the label; it is the anchor that helps the same physical battery must stay connected to the same digital record through production, use, service, transfer, and end-of-life events.