The Global Battery Alliance (GBA) is the latest global industry body to register the development of a UNTP extension of the UN Transparency Protocol (UNTP), linking its flagship Battery Passport initiative to the broader, open-source UNTP architecture.
A UNTP extension is a registered proposal to adapt the UN Transparency Protocol to the specific needs of a sector, supply chain, or data ecosystem, laying the groundwork for interoperability, credential design, and verification mechanisms. This move represents a significant step toward enhancing transparency, compliance, and ESG data management within the rapidly growing battery sector, which spans electric vehicles, consumer electronics, industrial storage, and other applications where battery provenance, sustainability, and performance are under increasing scrutiny.
GBA Battery Passport Background
The Global Battery Alliance is a public-private collaboration platform established at the World Economic Forum in 2017. With over 160 members including companies, governments, NGOs, and academic institutions, the GBA is working to build a sustainable, responsible, and circular battery value chain by 2030.
In January 2023, the GBA unveiled its Battery Passport proof of concept at the World Economic Forum in Davos. This initiative aimed to establish a digital representation of a battery, encapsulating verified information about its materials, manufacturing history, and ESG performance. The primary goal was to enhance transparency and sustainability within the battery supply chain.
At the time, Inga Petersen, Executive Director of the GBA, emphasised the significance of this development:
"The Battery Passport is a pivotal embodiment of the digital and green 'twin transition' – it utilises the digital world to facilitate the decarbonisation of the real world and to promote circularity."
The GBA said its vision was to create a framework that not only tracks the carbon footprint and material provenance of batteries but also ensures adherence to human rights standards throughout the supply chain. This initiative was seen as a step towards achieving a sustainable, responsible, and circular battery value chain by 2030.
Following the initial announcement, the GBA has conducted pilot programs to test and refine the Battery Passport framework.
- 2024 Pilots: Ten consortia, including major battery manufacturers and digital solution providers, participated in pilots focused on collecting real-life sustainability data, developing ESG scoring methodologies, and testing data verification processes. The participating cell manufacturers represented over 80% of global electric vehicle battery manufacturing capacity.
- Rulebook Development: The GBA developed seven rulebooks through a multi-stakeholder process, covering areas such as Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Biodiversity, Circular Design, and Human Rights Due Diligence. These rulebooks set baseline expectations and leading practices to guide companies in addressing risks and sustainability impacts within their supply chains.
Introducing the Global Battery Alliance Transparency Protocol (GBATP)
The registered extension outlines a future framework for digital credentials to support the Battery Passport ecosystem. It aims to create credentials for things like sustainability certification, carbon calculation, site-level reporting, and verification of conformance to agreed rules. These credentials would support consistent, trusted digital reporting across the battery supply chain, from raw material extraction to final product assembly, while enabling alignment with existing and evolving regulatory and market requirements.
The registration signals that the GBA is exploring how global trust protocols like the UNTP could underpin the next phase of digital transparency in the battery sector.
This development contributes to the growing momentum behind the UNTP as a practical, relevant global protocol, now being extended and adapted to the specific needs of the battery supply chain.
🔗 View the GBATP on the UN/CEFACT site
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