Tagging the Future: RAIN RFID and the Digital Product Passport
The European Union (EU) is going to mandate the tagging of countless new durable goods with a unique, permanently readable identifier - linking to the Digital Product Passport (DPP).
In competition with other major economic regions, the EU is pursuing an ambitious path to become carbon neutral and sustainable: the European Green Deal. Following this, the EU has proposed initiatives covering the entire lifecycle of a product. The goal is to prevent waste and keep the utilized materials in use for as long as possible, stimulating circular economy practices and promoting sustainable consumption. However, to obtain, utilize, keep and access all the information required to achieve that goal, there must be a solution at hand. And this is where the Digital Product Passport (DPP) enters the scene.
According to the project consortium in charge of developing standards for the DPP, it “is a structured collection of product-related data with pre-defined scope and agreed data management and access rights conveyed through a unique identifier, and which is accessible via electronic means through a data carrier. The intended scope of the DPP is information related to sustainability, circularity, value retention for re-use, remanufacturing, and recycling.”
RFID technology enabling superior “unique identifiers” for the DPP
RAIN RFID is for sure a very compelling options for “unique identifiers” that carry a link to “product-related data” and are “accessible via electronic means,” aka RFID readers. As DPP components, RAIN RFID inlays and tags can capitalize on their general advantages such as robustness and longevity (especially when they are embedded or covered under protective layers), no line of sight for reading the data from distances of up to 10 meters, cost-efficiency and low carbon/waste footprint, combined with well-ensured accessibility through existing reader infrastructures in supply chains and retail stores.
A sure bet: Advanced and Specialty RAIN RFID inlays and tags will make a difference
The more precisely RAIN RFID inlays and tags are matched to the products they tag and the environments they are used in, the bigger their potential benefits are. While industrial and electric vehicle batteries, the first products to be subject to mandatory DPPs from 2027, are large and uncritical in terms of aesthetics and are used under well-assessable operating conditions, this will not be the case for all goods in the wide array of other product groups including chemicals, consumer electronics, apparel, furniture or toys.
Tagging of these goods will greatly benefit from Tageos’s strengths in innovative, high-performance RAIN RFID inlays and tags, and its newly opened Innovation Center of Excellence in Munich for the development of specialty products that are precisely tailored to their individual application environments and needs.
Be prepared – with Tageos
Tageos is closely monitoring all DPP developments and can support its customers with a broad portfolio of existing high-quality RAIN RFID inlays and tags as well as developing new specialty inlays and tags for special goods. If you would like to learn more about the DPP in general, we recommend the following links: