VeChain VET Builds EU Digital Product Passport System With UK Research Center

Felix Pinkston Feb 12, 2026 09:41

VeChain partners with UK's AMRC and Rekord to deploy production-scale Digital Product Passport infrastructure ahead of mandatory EU compliance deadlines starting 2027.

VeChain has processed over 300,000 Digital Product Passport events on its blockchain through a partnership with the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and enterprise data platform Rekord, positioning the network as early infrastructure for mandatory EU product traceability requirements.

The collaboration targets compliance with the EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, which entered into force in July 2024 and begins mandatory enforcement with batteries in February 2027. A central EU digital registry for all DPP data is scheduled to launch around July 19, 2026.

What the Regulation Actually Requires

Every regulated product sold across the EU's 27 member states will need a Digital Product Passport—a machine-readable record covering composition, origin, environmental impact, repairability, and end-of-life handling. The rollout is phased: batteries first in February 2027, followed by textiles, furniture, tyres, and detergents. Iron, steel, aluminium, and electronics follow through 2028-2029, with construction products completing the schedule by 2030.

Manufacturers without DPP compliance risk losing access to a market of 450 million consumers. The ESPR arrives alongside the EU Deforestation-free Regulation and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, making lifecycle traceability a market access requirement rather than a competitive advantage.

The Technical Setup

The AMRC—part of the UK's High Value Manufacturing Catapult network with nearly 100 industrial partners including Boeing, Rolls-Royce, and BAE Systems—processed over 100,000 DPP events on VeChainThor in December 2025 alone. That's industrial-scale throughput, not pilot program numbers.

Rekord's API layer connects existing enterprise systems to on-chain verification without requiring manufacturers to rebuild their technology stacks. Production logs, supply chain events, and sustainability records get converted into tamper-proof records. Each product receives a unique identifier linked via QR code, NFC, or RFID, with scans revealing verified sourcing and production history.

VeChain's fee delegation system means factory floor operators never need to hold crypto tokens—manufacturers sponsor gas fees through smart contracts, making the blockchain layer invisible to end users.

Market Context

The global DPP market sits at roughly $186 million in 2024, with MarketsandMarkets projecting growth to $1.78 billion by 2030 at a 45.7% CAGR. That growth is driven by regulatory mandate, not speculation—compliance deadlines create guaranteed demand.

VeChain's existing enterprise relationships provide a foundation here. Walmart China already uses VeChainThor for food safety tracking. BMW tested the network for vehicle data provenance. DNV built commercial audit and certification products on the infrastructure.

The December 2025 Hayabusa mainnet upgrade introduced full Delegated Proof-of-Stake consensus and upgraded EVM compatibility, while achieving MiCA compliance ahead of most competitors.

The Readiness Gap

Here's the uncomfortable truth for manufacturers: despite approaching deadlines, most remain stuck in planning or pilot mode. DPP roadmaps significantly outnumber production-ready systems. The AMRC has noted this partnership represents one of the first technology stacks capable of meeting ESPR requirements at industrial throughput.

With 14 million on-chain addresses and the regulatory clock ticking toward 2027, VeChain is betting that blockchain's decade-long search for a killer enterprise use case just got answered by Brussels bureaucrats. Whether manufacturers adopt fast enough to hit those deadlines remains the open question.

• vechain
• digital product passport
• eu regulation
• supply chain
• espr