How the Digital Product Passport Will Transform the Metals Industry: ESPR Compliance and Circularity
- Spherity
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
In brief: Steel and aluminium are named among the product groups for which future delegated acts under the ESPR are planned, though no fixed timeline exists yet. In parallel, the Critical Raw Materials Act is advancing traceability for raw materials. For the metals industry, these are two complementary regulatory tracks pointing toward the same principle: traceable, verifiable product data across the full lifecycle.
Why Metals Are Coming Into Regulatory Focus
Metals such as steel and aluminium are core materials for construction, automotive, and machinery, while also being energy- and resource-intensive to produce. The European Commission explicitly names steel and aluminium among the product groups for which product-specific delegated acts under the ESPR are expected to follow, alongside textiles, tyres, furniture, and ICT.
Two Regulations, One Shared Goal
The ESPR (EU 2024/1781) has been in force since July 2024 and is given specific shape through sector-specific delegated acts. The Critical Raw Materials Act pursues a related goal: making the origin and availability of critical raw materials within the EU more traceable. For metal producers and processors, this creates a dual compliance requirement that is more efficiently addressed with a shared data infrastructure than with two separate systems.
What Data a Metals DPP Will Likely Require
While the specific delegated act for metals is still pending, comparable product groups point to likely requirements:
Alloy composition
Recycled content and raw material origin
Durability and usage data
Supply chain evidence, particularly for critical raw materials
Who Is Affected
Producers and processors of steel and aluminium, construction companies using metal products, the automotive industry as a downstream buyer, and recyclers at end of life.
How Spherity's VERA Supports the Metals Industry
VERA, Spherity's platform for digital product passports built on W3C DID/VC, allows companies to establish digital identities and verifiable claims for metal products ahead of the final delegated act. Through VERA-X, certified for Catena-X and Manufacturing-X, this data can be integrated directly into existing industry data spaces, relevant for metal suppliers to the automotive and construction sectors.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Digital Product Passport for Metals
Is there already a fixed timeline for metals? No. Steel and aluminium are named as future product groups; a binding timeline through a delegated act has not yet been set.
What is the difference between the ESPR and the Critical Raw Materials Act? The ESPR governs product-related requirements such as the Digital Product Passport, while the Critical Raw Materials Act targets supply security and traceability of critical raw materials within the EU.
Is it worth preparing before the final delegated act exists? Yes. Companies that build digital identities and data infrastructure early can extend them once requirements are finalized, instead of starting from scratch.
