Conceptualization of a digital product passport to enable circular and sustainable automotive value chains – the combustion engine use case

Despite stricter emission controls and the planned reduction of newly sold Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) cars, adequate repairing and recycling of old ICE cars remains vital, reflected also by the recent EURO7 standard that explicitly refers to repairability. Digital Product Passports (DPPs) have gained attention as enablers of transparent and traceable value chains and improved product lifecycle management. While the focus has been put on creating DPPs for electric vehicle batteries, research on the potentials and requirements for DPPs for the ICE and its well-known components, like the exhaust gas turbocharger, does not exist. Thus, this study systematically investigates what information such DPP needs to contain to support value chain actors’ sustainability/circularity-related decision-making. A mixed-method approach is applied. The Supply Chain Oriented Process to Identify Stakeholders (SCOPIS) method, as well as two expert workshops (N = 8 and N = 6) and an expert survey (N = 8) served for identifying the stakeholders and their most relevant information requirements. The results consist of a refined and prioritized list of information requirements, a conceptual model of a DPP for the turbocharger, and the presentation of two use cases: refurbishment and recycling. This contribution serves as the foundation for handling ICEs sustainably and circularly.