Battery Passport and Trade Secrets

Trade secrets in the battery passport are protected by the access tier structure in Annex XIII and by the confidentiality provisions in the Regulation, not by withholding information that the Regulation requires, and an operator who withholds required information on trade secret grounds, without checking the tier and confidentiality rules, risks an incomplete record. The tier structure gives detailed composition, dismantling information, part numbers and safety measures to persons with a legitimate interest and the Commission, rather than to the general public, and it gives test reports to authorities, rather than to every reader. The protection is therefore a tier protection, in which sensitive detail is shown to those who need it for a legitimate purpose, and not shown to those who do not. A reader who expects sensitive detail in the public tier misunderstands the design, and an operator who publishes sensitive detail in the public tier overdiscloses.

The scope is trade secret protection in the Annex XIII structure, as checked on 28 October 2026. The guide does not state trade secret law, and it does not advise on whether any particular information is a trade secret.

What information is commercially sensitive in a passport?

Information that is commercially sensitive in a passport includes detailed composition, including materials used in cathode, anode and electrolyte, part numbers and sources for replacement spares, dismantling sequences, tools and warnings, and safety measures, as Annex XIII places those fields in the legitimate interest tier. The sensitivity arises because the detail reveals manufacturing know how, supplier relationships and design choices that a competitor could use, and the Regulation recognises that sensitivity by tiering the detail. Model level public information, such as category, chemistry in general terms, capacity and carbon footprint, is less sensitive, because it describes the battery at a level that a buyer or recycler needs without revealing the detailed know how. The sensitivity of a field should be assessed field by field, not by treating the whole record as sensitive or as public.

How does the Regulation protect confidentiality?

The Regulation protects confidentiality through the access tiers, and through provisions stating that information duties are without prejudice to obligations to preserve the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information under Union and national law, as Article 73 states for its documentation and as the tier structure reflects for the passport. The protection does not create a general right to withhold, because a field that Annex XIII requires in a tier must be supplied in that tier, with the tier limiting who sees it. An operator who claims confidentiality for a field should state the field, the tier, the confidentiality basis and the information that is withheld from which tier, so that a later reader, or an authority, can check the claim. A general claim that the whole record is confidential, without field detail, is weak, and it should not be accepted without a field by field check.

How are legitimate interest readers checked?

Legitimate interest readers are checked through the record system procedure, which establishes identity, role and purpose, before granting access to the legitimate interest tier, and the check should be recorded with the reader, the purpose, the date and the fields accessed, so that access can be audited. A reader who needs dismantling information for recycling, for example, should state the recycling purpose, while a reader who needs safety measures for repair should state the repair purpose, and the system should grant the tier that matches the purpose, not a general access to every field. Access without a purpose check, or access granted on a general claim of interest, undermines the tier protection, and the access log is the evidence that the check happened. The procedure details depend on the record system, and this guide states no system procedure.

What does a trade secret table look like?

A trade secret table maps the field, the tier and the protection, so that overdisclosure and withholding are both visible. The table below uses the Annex XIII tiers in general terms.

What should an operator do when a supplier claims confidentiality?

When a supplier claims confidentiality for a field, the operator should ask for the field, the tier, the confidentiality basis and the alternative information that can be supplied, such as a summary, a range or a method note, and should record the claim and the response. Where the field is required in a tier, the operator should supply the field in that tier, relying on the tier protection, rather than withholding it, and should record the tier decision. Where the field is not required, or where the supplier cannot supply it, the gap should be recorded in the gap register, with the confidentiality claim stated as the cause. A confidentiality claim should never be used to invent a field, because an invented field is a fabrication, and a gap is a stronger position than a fabrication.

How do trade secrets and safety interact?

Trade secrets and safety interact where safety measures are commercially sensitive but safety critical, and the interaction is resolved by tier, with safety measures shown to legitimate interest readers who need them for safe work, rather than withheld from those readers or published to the general public. A safety measure withheld from a repairer or recycler on trade secret grounds creates a safety risk, while a safety measure published to the general public overdiscloses detail that the tier structure protects. The tier is the balance, and an operator who withholds safety measures from a legitimate interest reader, or who publishes them publicly, has misapplied the balance. The safety and trade secret checks should be done together, field by field, with the tier decision recorded.

What limits apply to trade secret readings?

The limits are that this guide describes the tier and confidentiality structure in general terms, and does not decide whether any particular information is a trade secret. This guide gives general educational information only and is not individual legal advice. An operator with a specific confidentiality question should check the Regulation text and the applicable confidentiality law as checked on 28 October 2026 before acting.