BPO—A battery production ontology for traceable, transparent, and sustainable electric vehicle batteries

The growing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in industries such as electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy storage underscores the need for tools that ensure transparent, sustainable, and compliant production processes. This paper presents the Battery Production Ontology (BPO), a comprehensive framework designed to standardize the representation and traceability of LIB production lifecycles. By modeling key aspects such as material flows, energy consumption, carbon emissions, and production activities, the BPO supports environmental impact assessments, supply chain transparency, and process optimization. The BPO is aligned with existing standards, including the EU’s digital battery passport requirements, ensuring interoperability across diverse systems. Developed using a structured methodology, the ontology underwent rigorous validation. Real-world case studies demonstrated its capacity to model emissions, trace materials, and represent production sequences, while quantitative assessments confirmed its scalability, reasoning efficiency, and accuracy for industrial applications. Additionally, the ontology integrates seamlessly with external standards like BONSAI, FOAF, Schema, and OWL Time, fostering semantic reuse and interoperability. By addressing the critical need for transparency and sustainability in LIB production, the BPO provides stakeholders with a robust tool to drive the green energy transition and achieve global sustainability goals. • A novel ontology models the lifecycle of lithium-ion battery (LIB) production. • Enhances traceability, sustainability, and compliance with EU battery regulations. • Integrates material flows, energy use, and emissions for lifecycle assessment (LCA). • Validated through case studies and quantitative performance evaluations. • Aligns with BONSAI, FOAF, Schema, and the EU Digital Battery Passport standards.