EU DPP · Steel & aluminium

The Digital Product Passport for steel and aluminium.

ESPR 2024/1781 · iron, steel and aluminium named as intermediate products in the ESPR working plan · CBAM definitive regime live since 1 Jan 2026.

The ESPR working plan names iron, steel and aluminium as priority intermediate products — and the same mills and exporters already face CBAM, the EU's carbon border adjustment, in its definitive regime since January 2026. Both ask the same underlying question: can this material prove where it came from and what it embodies?

ESPR 2024/1781Intermediate productsCBAM (from 1 Jan 2026)EPCIS 2.0UNTP
What the rule requires

Materials that carry their own paperwork.

A passport for intermediate products

The working plan extends the DPP beyond consumer goods to iron, steel and aluminium — data on origin, composition and embodied characteristics travelling with the material downstream.

CBAM's embedded-emissions accounting

EU importers of steel and aluminium surrender CBAM certificates against embedded emissions under the definitive regime. Verifiable production data is the difference between measured and default — usually punitive — values.

Identity that survives industry

Coils, billets and extrusions face heat, abrasion and transformation. Carrier selection for metals is an engineering problem, not a labeling decision.

Chain of custody downstream

A carmaker's DPP inherits the steel's data. Mills that can hand customers verifiable material passports become preferred suppliers in every regulated chain.

The dates

The timeline, as it stands.

CBAM's definitive regime is already live; the ESPR delegated acts for intermediate products set DPP fields and dates. Exporters to the EU feel CBAM first and the DPP second — the data spine is shared.

CBAM definitive regimesince 1 Jan 2026
ESPR in force2024
Intermediates delegated actsworking plan
Downstream DPP inheritance2027–2030
What to do now

Three moves that de-risk the deadline.

01 · Step

Build the production-data spine

Heat numbers, cast records, energy inputs: structure the data CBAM importers already ask for — the DPP will draw from the same well.

02 · Step

Solve the carrier problem early

On-metal tagging and batch-level identity need testing against real mill conditions. Aeroz runs carrier trials as part of the audit.

03 · Step

Pilot with one downstream customer

Pick one EU customer and hand them verifiable material passports for one product. Preferred-supplier status is won one proof at a time.

How Aeroz fits

The material's story, machine-verifiable.

Aeroz binds batch and unit identity to metals with industrial-grade carriers, writing production and custody events to an append-only EPCIS 2.0 log. The same record that satisfies a DPP delegated act gives CBAM importers the verifiable production data that beats default values — and gives UAE and GCC exporters a compliance story the EU border understands.

FAQ

DPP for steel & aluminium, answered.

Are steel and aluminium really in DPP scope?

Yes — the Commission's ESPR working plan names iron, steel and aluminium as priority intermediate products, so passport requirements reach them through delegated acts, feeding data downstream into finished-goods passports.

How do CBAM and the DPP relate?

CBAM prices embedded carbon at the border under the definitive regime live since 1 January 2026; the DPP structures product data for the market. They share a data spine: verifiable production records tied to identifiable material.

What carrier works on bare metal?

Specialized on-metal and harsh-environment inlays, batch-level tagging, or carrier-at-packaging with cryptographic linkage — chosen per product form. This is an engineering selection Aeroz makes during the audit, with read-rate evidence.

Why would a non-EU mill do this?

Because its EU customers must surrender CBAM certificates and will inherit DPP obligations. Mills that ship verifiable data with their material make their customers' compliance cheaper — and win the order.

Readiness audit

Know exactly where you stand — in 14 days.

A fixed-fee Aeroz audit maps your products against dpp for steel & aluminium requirements and returns a written readiness assessment, a data-mapping review, and a scoped pilot plan with cost and timeline.

Fixed fee 14-day written report No commitment to proceed