A Circulor alternative for your battery passport

Circulor specialises in upstream battery traceability. Here is when it fits, when an open, multi-sector infrastructure like Arianee fits better, and what to ask both.

Published on 14 October 2026 · Updated on 20 October 2026

In brief

Proving material origin back to the mine: Circulor. Rolling out a battery passport on your own data, across several product categories and on an open protocol: Arianee. Both needs exist, and the regulation does not require the same tool for both. Circulor (London) provides battery passports backed by material traceability; Arianee provides open, multi-sector digital passport infrastructure, 4M+ passports across all sectors as of 11 September 2026, ranked second by ABI Research in August 2024.

Dans ce guide

What is Circulor?

Circulor is a London-based supply chain traceability provider. According to its website, it offers battery passports and digital product passports, plus a four-level supply chain Trust & Assurance framework. It targets carmakers, battery cell manufacturers and their testing, inspection and certification (TIC) partners.

Its most visible reference is the Volvo EX90: Circulor presents the passport announced on 4 June 2024 as the first full-scale battery passport on a production vehicle. The passport covers the origin of critical materials (cobalt, nickel, graphite, lithium), the battery’s carbon footprint and its recycled content.

According to its homepage accessed on 20 October 2026, Circulor states 1.4 million vehicles traced, more than 624,000 digital product passports issued and 175 facilities across 44 countries in its network. These figures are self-reported, vary across circulor.com pages and have not been verified by Arianee.

When is Circulor the right choice?

•You build electric vehicles or cells and must prove raw material origin back to the mine.
•You need third-party (TIC) verification and assurance levels across all tiers of the supply chain.
•A reference carmaker already live with the provider matters in your decision.

Arianee is not positioned on mine-level traceability. For that specific need, compare Circulor with other upstream traceability specialists.

When does a Circulor alternative fit better?

Your situation	What to look for
You sell e-bikes, scooters, motorcycles or devices with a battery	A passport that is simple to roll out at high volume and readable by the end customer and the repairer, not only by the manufacturer.
Your catalogue spans several categories (batteries, appliances, textile…)	One infrastructure for all obligations, rather than one tool per regulation.
You want to limit vendor dependence	An open protocol, usable exports, continuity of identifiers and written exit terms.
Your battery data is already in your ERP or PIM	Import, field-by-field validation and publication, without an additional upstream collection if your data already exists.

Circulor vs Arianee: what are the differences?

Criterion	Circulor (per circulor.com)	Arianee
Core strength	Upstream traceability of batteries and critical minerals, back to the mine	Digital passport on open infrastructure, from producer to repairer and recycler
Target customers	Carmakers, cell manufacturers, testing and certification partners	Brands and manufacturers across sectors: batteries, appliances, luxury, fashion
Public reference	Volvo EX90 (2024)	Ecosystem × Fnac Darty, Breitling; battery references are discussed during scoping
Data origin	Primary data collected along the supply chain and verified (145 suppliers on the platform, per Circulor, June 2024)	Data from your ERP, PIM and suppliers, validated before publication
Beyond batteries	Digital product passports built on ESPR and prEN 18239 templates (per circulor.com); 15 critical materials traced back to the mine	Same infrastructure for ESPR, WEEE, AGEC and the Battery Regulation
Portability	To verify: export, identifiers, exit	Open protocol, association governance; also verify: export, identifiers, exit

What does Arianee offer for a battery passport?

•Open infrastructure. The Arianee protocol is open and has been in production since 2018.
•Data validation. The platform checks your battery data field by field before publication. See the battery passport solution.
•One obligation, several uses. The same passport can serve compliance and customer service: warranty, repair, second life.
•External recognition. In its 22 August 2024 assessment of nine DPP providers, ABI Research ranks Arianee second overall and one of two Market Leaders, alongside Avery Dennison. Read the original assessment.
•Deployed volume. 4M+ passports across all sectors, figure confirmed on 11 September 2026. It does not measure the battery sector alone.

For electric bikes and scooters, see the e-bikes and scooters page.

What should you ask a battery passport provider?

01.What exact scope? Battery categories, data covered, access levels (authorities, repairers, recyclers, the public).
02.Where does the data come from? Supplier collection, import from your ERP, manual entry: who supplies what, who validates.
03.What integration work? Real connectors, supported versions, work left to you.
04.What exit? Usable export, continuity of identifiers and access, contractual terms.
05.What total cost? Integration, issuance, hosting, maintenance, support and exit fees, at equivalent volume.

The guide to choosing a DPP provider details these criteria. The regulatory guide sets out the scope that applies to your batteries.

Sources

•Circulor: official website, accessed 20 October 2026
•Circulor: Volvo EX90 battery passport announcement
•IEEE Spectrum: the Volvo EX90 battery passport
•Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Article 77
•ABI Research: DPP vendor ranking, 22 August 2024

This page is published by Arianee, a competing provider. Information about Circulor comes from public sources accessed in October 2026 (last checked on 20 October 2026) and describes the offer as Circulor presents it. Please verify it directly with Circulor.

Frequently asked questions

What is Circulor?

Circulor is a UK supply chain traceability provider. It offers battery passports and digital product passports, plus traceability for critical minerals, aimed at carmakers and cell manufacturers. It equipped the Volvo EX90 in 2024.

What is the difference between Circulor and Arianee?

Circulor focuses on upstream traceability evidence, from raw material to battery. Arianee provides an open digital product passport infrastructure that works across sectors and relies on the data you supply, validated before publication. The two approaches can complement each other.

When is Circulor the right choice?

If your main need is to prove the origin of an electric vehicle battery’s materials back to the mine, with third-party verification, Circulor has a public reference on that scope. Compare it with other upstream traceability specialists; Arianee is not positioned on that need.

When should I choose Arianee over Circulor?

When you need a passport that several audiences and several product categories can use: e-bikes and scooters, industrial batteries, products that contain a battery. Or when data portability and an open protocol weigh in your decision.

Is the battery passport mandatory?

Yes. Article 77 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires a battery passport from 18 February 2027 for every electric vehicle battery, industrial battery above 2 kWh and light means of transport (LMT) battery placed on the market or put into service in the EU. The economic operator placing the battery on the market remains responsible (Article 77(4)), whichever technical provider it uses.

Can I switch battery passport providers?

It depends on the contract and the data format. Before signing, ask for a usable export, continuity of identifiers and access, and the exit terms. Ask every provider the same question, Arianee included.

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