Elfira Blumenthal is a mechanical engineer and, after 40 years in the industry, is now a freelance author specializing in standards and standardization. The VDE SPEC 90035 series was created under her leadership.
| PrivatWe talk at length about sustainability, about the scarcity of resources, about the urgent need for electrification. But we are still lagging behind when it comes to one key component of the energy transition: batteries. They are the heart of modern mobility and decentralized energy use, and at the same time a prime example of isolated technical solutions that are rarely compatible with each other. This problem not only hits consumers, who are regularly forced to buy a new batteries when they change devices. It also affects waste disposal companies, workshops and recyclers, which are often denied the opportunity to reuse intact energy storage systems. The result is unnecessary electronic waste, squandered resources and unused potential to curb CO2 emissions. A genuine circular economy is almost impossible to achieve without a cross-system approach to batteries.
We are therefore working with DKE to change this situation. Our goal is clear: uniform standards for modular, reusable battery systems. Together with industry and standardization experts, we have published VDE SPEC 90035 – a technical specification that describes how a manufacturer-independent battery system with standardized interfaces can function. The documents are publicly accessible and form a practicable basis for interoperable solutions.
I know from many conversations that the will to work together is there. But it is caught between economic interests, technical details and conflicting political objectives. This is precisely why standardization is so important. It offers both a neutral space to clarify complex requirements and a binding framework within which everyone involved can plan. Of course, this process is not a sure-fire success. But it is necessary if we want to prevent every new battery product from creating a new, compartmentalized system.
Now is the right time to overcome this fragmentation. The technical foundations are on the table. One thing is clear: without common standards, batteries will remain disposable products with all the environmental and economic consequences that entails.
