The Industrial Digital Twin Association (IDTA) has published the IDTA 02099-1: Digital Product Passport – Part 1 Submodel Template, a new standard that defines how Digital Product Passports (DPPs) can be implemented in a consistent way using the Asset Administration Shell (AAS). This is the first publication in a planned series aimed at supporting the practical deployment of DPPs while ensuring interoperability and compliance with upcoming European regulations.

Digital Product Passports will become a key element of the future Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). Their purpose is to provide a digital record of a product throughout its entire lifecycle, including information on its composition, environmental sustainability, carbon footprint, repairability, reuse and recyclability. By making this information accessible to manufacturers, distributors, consumers and public authorities, DPPs will promote greater transparency and support the transition towards a more circular economy.

With this new publication, IDTA takes another important step towards turning these regulatory requirements into practical implementations. The Submodel Template defines a standardized structure for the mandatory metadata that every DPP should contain and demonstrates how the Asset Administration Shell can serve as the modular foundation for building compliant Digital Product Passports. Instead of developing different solutions for each industry or product, the approach relies on reusable and standardized building blocks.

This modular architecture offers significant advantages for organizations. It enables the reuse of existing information models, simplifies access and permission management, allows new data to be added without modifying existing structures, and ensures interoperability across companies and digital platforms. As a result, Digital Product Passports can be deployed more efficiently, consistently and at scale.

A clear example of this approach is the Battery Passport, which already combines several standardized IDTA Submodels to create a complete and regulation-compliant digital passport for batteries. The new template extends this concept to a much broader range of products that will require Digital Product Passports in the coming years, laying the groundwork for harmonized implementation across Europe.

The publication of IDTA 02099-1 further strengthens the role of the Asset Administration Shell as one of the key technological enablers for digital twins and Digital Product Passports. It represents another milestone towards the adoption of common industrial standards and the development of a more interoperable, transparent and data-driven industrial ecosystem.

You can read the full launch document for the new Submodel Template at this link.