Anyone who has a digital battery passport set up does not only pay for its creation. The Battery Regulation (Article 77) requires a provider to keep the passport accessible for ten years after the battery is placed on the market. Those ten years are not a side note: it is an ongoing obligation that counts towards the price you pay, in addition to the one-time setup.
The costs of those ten years typically consist of three components: the storage and security of the data over that entire period, updating the passport whenever something changes about the battery or the data, and ensuring that the QR code and the underlying link continue to work even if you switch software providers or your company changes its name. How much exactly that costs depends on factors that differ per company.
Where the amount comes from
Hosting data for ten years is something different from a website you run for a couple of years. The information must remain accessible to supervisory authorities, recycling companies and subsequent owners of the battery, even if your own ICT environment changes in the meantime. That requires an infrastructure that is not dependent on one subscription or one employee who knows how it works. Providers factor this into a fee per passport or per year, often separate from the one-time setup.
In addition, changes during the term play a role. If the composition of a battery model changes, a supplier is replaced, or a piece of data turns out to have been entered incorrectly, the passport must be updated. How often that happens varies greatly between an importer with a stable assortment and a dealer who regularly switches battery types.
What determines the price
The number of battery models is the most important factor. One passport for a single e-bike model costs considerably less than ten years of hosting for an assortment of thirty variants, each with its own cell chemistry and supplier. The complexity of the data also plays a role: an industrial battery with multiple components and extensive technical documentation requires more maintenance than a simple light electric vehicle battery.
A third factor is who does the maintenance. If you handle the updates to the passport yourself, you pay mainly for hosting capacity. If you leave the updating to the party that set up the passport, there is a service component on top. For companies without their own ICT department, this is often the more practical choice, but it is good to know in advance what is and is not included.
One-time setup versus ongoing costs
It is wise to look at these two items separately. Setting up a passport is a one-time investment; the ten years of hosting thereafter is a recurring cost item that is charged per year or per contract period. A quote that only mentions the setup does not give a complete picture of what the passport will cost you over the entire term. When discussing this with a provider, it is therefore useful to ask for the rate for the full ten years, not just for the first year.
What happens if the service provider stops
Because the obligation runs for ten years, the continuity of the provider is relevant. If a provider stops within that period, the battery supplier itself must ensure that the passport remains accessible. This can have consequences for costs if data has to be transferred to another party. For more information on this, you can find on batpas.eu an overview of how the data and hosting are structured with us, so it is clear where the information comes from and how continuity is arranged.
Because costs per company vary, a tailor-made indication is often more useful than a fixed amount. On batpas.eu you will find a overview of the rates for setup and ten years of hosting, and you can use the product scan with a few questions to get a first indication of what applies in your situation. For background on other cost questions regarding the battery passport, the knowledge base with topics per situation is a good starting point.
Do you not yet have a clear picture of what is needed for your assortment? Take the free quick-scan or read through the topics in the knowledge bank — both provide a first indication without obligations of where you stand.