Technical interoperability and legal compliance with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation: proposal for a minimal digital product passport data model

Abstract The digital product passport is becoming an essential tool to increase transparency about the sustainability of products and to boost the circular economy in the European Union. With the revised Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation having entered into force in July 2024, the digital product passport will become a necessary extension for many products placed on the European market. Industry practitioners are faced with the challenge of fulfilling content requirements while maintaining interoperability at the same time. Although industry practitioners face challenges in implementing digital product passports, existing research has largely focused on digital product passport systems, often overlooking the crucial aspect of digital product passport data. Work on this data typically falls short of addressing comprehensive interoperability. This research therefore proposes a minimal digital product passport data model that integrates current regulatory requirements while ensuring interoperability through the use of standardised submodel templates of the asset administration shell. We demonstrate that the current regulatory requirements can be met, but foreseeable extensions will require adjustments and therefore close synchronisation between standardisation initiatives and the institutions that further specify regulatory requirements.