Battery chemistries at a glance
Which cell chemistry fits which application - and which properties will be mandatory in the digital battery passport from 2027? An overview for manufacturers, importers and buyers.
- LFP dominates stationary storage and bus EVs - safe, long-lasting, cobalt-free, low carbon footprint.
- NMC and NCA stay in the premium EV segment - highest energy density, but more cobalt and nickel in the passport.
- Sodium-ion is ready for BESS and entry EVs in 2026 - no lithium, very low carbon value.
- Solid-state reaches production from around 2028 - highest density, new passport fields are being defined right now.
Chemistry decides almost everything
Energy density, lifetime, safety, price, carbon footprint and recyclability all hang directly on the cell chemistry. Anyone who has to issue a passport in 2027 declares many of these properties - incorrect figures are not a cosmetic flaw but a conformity breach.
EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 requires, in the public part of the passport, among other things the cathode and anode material composition and details on fire and leakage safety. Annex XIII also lists the carbon footprint per kWh and the recycled content of critical raw materials (cobalt, lithium, nickel, lead); according to the Commission's data point list (version 2.0 of 15 August 2026), neither is to be filled in as of February 2027. All of it is chemistry-dependent.
The six relevant chemistries
Values are typical ranges for high-volume production in 2025/2026. Individual manufacturers fall above or below the stated range.
CO₂: ~55 kg/kWh · Safety: ●●●●●
BESS, LMT, bus, standard EV
CO₂: ~75 kg/kWh · Safety: ●●●●●
Passenger EV, premium LMT, power tools
CO₂: ~78 kg/kWh · Safety: ●●●●●
Long-range passenger EV
CO₂: ~85 kg/kWh · Safety: ●●●●●
Fast-charge bus, UPS, industrial
CO₂: ~40 kg/kWh · Safety: ●●●●●
BESS, entry EV, LMT
CO₂: n/a · Safety: ●●●●●
Premium EV (from ~2028)
Which chemistry for which use case?
There is no blanket answer - but three rules of thumb help:
1) Stationary & long-standing: Anyone planning a home or grid-scale storage system (BESS) is almost always right with LFP or sodium-ion. Weight is irrelevant; what counts is cycle life, safety (no thermal runaway with LFP/Na-ion) and cost per kWh. Both chemistries are cobalt-free - a big plus for the regulation's due-diligence obligations.
2) Mobile & energy-hungry: Cars with 500+ km range, premium e-bikes and lightweight drones need energy density. Here NMC and NCA dominate. The price: a higher carbon footprint, more cobalt/nickel and therefore more effort in supply-chain audits.
3) Fast-charge and high-cycle uses: Transit buses, forklifts, grid-support buffer storage, data-centre UPS - wherever charging happens hundreds of times a day, LTO beats everything else. Low energy density, but 10,000+ cycles and worry-free fast charging.
What of it has to go into the passport?
From 18 Feb 2027 the first four of the following chemistry-related fields are mandatory in the public part of the passport, among others. Annex XIII also names the carbon footprint and recycled content, but according to the Commission's data point list neither is to be filled in on the deadline: the carbon footprint still lacks the delegated act on the calculation method, and recycled content follows the dates in Art. 8.
What will happen 2027–2030
Three movements are clearly emerging: sodium-ion becomes the standard alternative to LFP in the BESS market - CATL, BYD and HiNa already ship high volumes. In the mobility segment LFP will keep taking share from NMC, because the carbon footprint is smaller and cycle life is more than enough for 90 % of real driving profiles. And solid-state will land in premium EVs from around 2028 - with new passport fields for solid-electrolyte composition that the EU Commission is currently drafting in delegated acts.
Anyone developing a product today that reaches the market in 2028 should make the chemistry choice not only by requirements spec, but by passport effort. An LFP bank is significantly easier to document than an NMC-811 bank - that saves several days of work on every variant.
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