Kia Becomes the First Carmaker to Publicly Test a Cell-Level Battery Passport
Kia is taking transparency in electric mobility to new extremes. In Europe, the company is testing a system that tracks the health of every individual battery cell in real time — a “Battery Passport” so detailed it resembles the black box of an aircraft. For consumers it promises clarity; for privacy advocates it may sound a little too Orwellian.
Kia Europe conducted the first real-world trial using its new technology in the EV3, whose battery pack integrates a monitoring system developed by Dukosi. The system transmits data from each cell directly to a digital passport, recording the State of Health (SoH) and making it visible to owners, technicians and regulators through the vehicle’s infotainment interface. When the battery undergoes service or repair, the data updates automatically, creating a transparent log that tracks every step of the battery’s life cycle as meticulously as an aircraft’s maintenance record.
This is more than a lab experiment. The trial forms part of DATAPIPE, an EU-funded project led by Delft University of Technology and Hyundai Motor Group in partnership with Hyundai Mobis and the Dutch recycling network ARN. Its goal is to test, in real conditions, how the upcoming EU Battery Passport regulation — taking effect in 2027 — could work in practice.
Under the regulation, every traction battery sold in Europe must have a unique digital identity containing more than a hundred data fields: manufacturing details, chemistry, origin, service history and recycling information. Kia’s approach goes one step further by adding real-time data at the individual cell level. This granularity could eventually allow the replacement of single cells instead of entire modules, cutting maintenance costs and extending usable lifespan.
The technology is being promoted as a triumph of transparency, but it also raises important data questions. Who owns the information that reveals how and when you charge, drive and maintain your car? As data flows among manufacturer, workshop and regulator, the battery becomes not just an energy source but a connected, constantly monitored object.
Kia says the Battery Passport will be standard on all of its European EV and hybrid models by 2027. The official aim is to extend battery life, reduce waste and build trust in the used EV market.
By being the first carmaker to bring a functional EU-compliant prototype to public roads, Kia has delivered both a technical milestone and a social experiment — a glimpse into a future where transparency, sustainability and surveillance may travel in the same vehicle.
