Industrial Accelerator Act: Batteries, Steel and DPP
The EU proposed the Industrial Accelerator Act on 4 March 2026. What it means for batteries, steel and aluminium — and how it connects to DPP readiness.
What Is the Industrial Accelerator Act?
On 4 March 2026, the European Commission published a proposal for the European Industrial Accelerator Act. The package introduces procurement preferences for Made-in-EU and low-carbon products in selected strategic sectors, while also setting conditions for certain major foreign investments. For InfoDPP readers, the most relevant areas mentioned around this package are:
- steel
- cement
- aluminium
- batteries (through the investment-conditions part of the package)
The goal is to support European industrial competitiveness by making Made-in-EU and low-carbon products more attractive in public procurement.
For DPP purposes, this should be read as an indirect data-readiness signal, not as a new passport obligation.
What This Is Not
The Industrial Accelerator Act is not a Digital Product Passport regulation. It does not create new DPP obligations, data fields, identifier requirements or passport deadlines.
It is a separate legislative proposal that exists alongside the ESPR and the Battery Regulation, not inside them.
Its relevance to DPP is indirect: it can reward some of the same origin, emissions and traceability capabilities that future DPP workflows may also use.
Why It Matters for DPP Readiness
Even though the Industrial Accelerator Act is not a DPP act, it creates practical consequences that overlap with DPP preparation:
1. Origin certification becomes more valuable
Procurement preferences for Made-in-EU products mean that companies will need to prove where their products were manufactured. That requires structured origin data — the same kind of data that a future DPP would also need.
2. Low-carbon evidence needs a data backbone
Procurement preferences for low-carbon products require verifiable emissions data. For batteries, this connects directly to the carbon-footprint requirements under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. For steel and aluminium, it aligns with the data that CBAM reporting already demands.
3. Traceability expectations grow across the metals value chain
The proposal adds another policy signal around origin, emissions and traceability for industrial materials. Companies that already invest in structured product data, supplier evidence and batch-level traceability will be better positioned — whether the next step is a DPP delegated act, a procurement framework or both.
What This Means Per Sector
Batteries
Battery manufacturers already face the most concrete DPP timeline. The battery passport under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 applies from 18 February 2027 for covered categories. The Industrial Accelerator Act adds another reason to have clean origin and emissions data ready — not just for the passport, but also for public procurement channels.
For more on the battery passport timeline, see: Battery DPP Deadline: What to Do Before February 2027
Steel and aluminium
Steel and aluminium importers already manage a dual compliance track: CBAM requires emissions reporting, while ESPR positions these materials as a priority group for future DPP obligations. The Industrial Accelerator Act adds another policy signal around traceable, low-carbon and EU-produced materials.
For more on CBAM and DPP for metals, see: CBAM and DPP for Steel and Aluminium
Cement
Cement is included in the Industrial Accelerator Act scope but is not currently among the ESPR priority sectors for DPP. The proposal is nonetheless relevant for cement producers already investing in emissions tracking and origin documentation.
What Has Not Changed
It is important to be clear about what the Industrial Accelerator Act does not do:
- It does not create a new DPP obligation for any sector
- It does not change the battery passport deadline of 18 February 2027
- It does not adopt or finalise any ESPR delegated act
- It is a proposal, not yet adopted law — it still needs to go through the legislative process
What to Watch Next
- Whether the proposal progresses through the European Parliament and Council
- How procurement rules interact with sector-specific DPP obligations once delegated acts are adopted
- Whether the origin and traceability expectations in the proposal influence the scope of future ESPR data requirements
Read Next
- Battery DPP Deadline: What to Do Before February 2027
- CBAM and DPP for Steel and Aluminium
- Digital Product Passport for Iron, Steel and Aluminium
- Digital Product Passport for Batteries
Official Source
Need to connect origin, emissions and product data in one structured record? Start free on OriginPass.eu and test a structured product-data workflow.