<p>As digital technologies gain prominence in sustainability governance, digital product passports are coming to the forefront of policy and industry attention. This study examines the role of the digital battery passport (DBP) within the EU’s evolving regulatory architecture, where digitalization, environmental policy, and industrial strategy increasingly converge. Positioned at the intersection of environmental governance, industrial policy, and global trade, the digital battery passport functions not only as a tool for enhancing circularity and product lifecycle transparency but also as an instrument of regulatory influence and strategic autonomy. Using Germany’s leadership in shaping the digital battery passport as a case study, the paper traces the shifting positions of stakeholders, from initial scepticism to active leadership, and explores the political-economic motivations behind this transformation. Drawing on theories of standard-setting, regulatory power, and green industrial policy, the analysis reveals how the design of the DBP embeds specific priorities related to data governance, market access, and the configuration of global value chains. The findings suggest that the digital battery passport exemplifies a new generation of digital sustainability instruments that blur the lines between digital and physical products, and between environmental objectives and industrial competitiveness. As such, the battery passport reflects broader tensions in the EU’s pursuit of strategic regulation, raising important questions about future governance of global battery value chains.</p>