What does it cost to apply the QR code to your batteries?
The costs for the QR code on a battery consist of three parts: the material of the label or engraving, the work to apply that code to the product or packaging, and the linking of that code to the product passport behind it. For a separate component, this is usually an amount of a few cents to a couple of euros per unit. What makes up the total is especially the volume: with one hundred batteries, the setup weighs more heavily than with one hundred thousand.
The most important variable is not the code itself — which in most cases is cheap to generate — but the way in which it is durably applied to the battery. A sticker on a smooth casing is different from an engraving in a metal casing that lasts ten years, or a label that must be resistant to moisture, heat and vibrations. This requirement for readability during the lifetime of the battery is set out in the regulation itself; how you practically meet it is up to you and your supplier.
The label or engraving
A printed sticker with QR code is the cheapest option, but not always the most durable. For batteries that operate outdoors, in a machine or in humid conditions, companies more often choose a laminated label, a burned-in code or an engraved variant. The additional cost lies in the durability of the material, not in the QR code itself.
Application to the product
This is often where the largest cost item is, and it is easily overlooked. Is the code applied by hand during assembly, or automatically printed as part of an existing production process? For an importer receiving ready-made e-bike batteries, it involves an extra operation per box; for a manufacturer that assembles itself, the label can be incorporated in a step that already existed. That difference determines whether the costs per unit are marginal or actually add up noticeably.
Linking to the product passport
The QR code is only useful if it refers to a working, up-to-date product passport. That linking — generating a unique code per battery or battery type, hosting the underlying data and maintaining it — is a separate item alongside the physical application. Those who want to set this up themselves face different questions than those who outsource it; on how the data is compiled into a product passport you can read how these two components — the code and the data behind it — come together in practice.
What affects the price per unit
In addition to volume and application method, a few factors play a role that are not always immediately visible. The location on the product: a code on a replaceable exterior requires different attachment than a code on a fixed internal component. The environment in which the battery operates: outdoor use, vibrations or high temperatures make different demands than a battery that operates indoors in an office device. And the question of whether you sell one type of battery in large quantities, or rather a wide and changing range with small volumes per model — the latter makes setup costs per model relatively heavier.
The question of who is responsible for applying it also plays a role. When importing ready-made products, this step sometimes already falls to the manufacturer in the country of origin; if you carry out assembly yourself or repackage in the Netherlands, the operation and thus the cost item falls to you. For those who have not yet clarified this, it is one of the first things to discuss with your own supplier or assembly partner.
How you assess this for your own situation
Because costs depend so heavily on print run, material and production process, a fixed amount per battery cannot be given — and any company that does promise that is selling you an estimate as if it were a fact. A good estimate starts with three questions: how many different battery types do you stock, in what environment do they function, and where in your process does an extra action fit best. With a few questions that map out your situation you'll get a first direction without any obligation.
The costs for the QR code are, by the way, separate from the costs for the passport itself; on the overview of tariffs for the passport you can see what that part costs separately. Anyone wondering whether their own situation falls under the obligation will find in the knowledge base with explanations per subject the background information that goes with it, with a reference to the official text.
For the exact explanation of your own situation — which type of battery, what role you play, what durability requirements apply to the label — the official regulation or a lawyer remains the appropriate point of contact. If you would first like to get an idea of what is needed for your assortment, the free quick-scan is a good starting point.