The next CircularTech Forum edition lands at Hannover Messe on 22 April 2026 at 15:00. The theme β Standardization & Market Adoption β is exactly the conversation the DPP industry needs to be having right now, as the first wave of enforcement transitions from theoretical to operational.
We'll be there as visitors, not exhibitors this time β focused on listening to the regulators and standards bodies shaping the next 18 months of implementation, and sharing what we've learned across our customer base.
Why this edition matters
Most DPP conversations through 2024 and 2025 were about what the regulation requires. The conversation in 2026 is shifting to how β and that's exactly what this session is built around.
The agenda touches the developments that operators care about right now:
- The upcoming European Product Act (EPA) β with expectations building toward Q3 2026
- The evolving concept of the DPP Registry and what it means for system architecture
- A standardization, interoperability, and phased implementation approach β both at data level (mandatory vs. optional parameters) and system level
- DPPs across value chains β from batteries to textiles and beyond
- The role of Ecodesign Forums in shaping practical implementation
These aren't theoretical questions anymore. The DPP Registry architecture decision affects how every brand will integrate into the EU verification infrastructure. The mandatory-vs-optional split will define how brands prioritize their data-quality investments.
Who's speaking
What makes this session worth the trip is the speaker list. The voices in the room are the ones writing the rules:
- Daniel Pacner β Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) e.V.
- Prof. Thomas Knothe β JTC 24, CEN and CENELEC
- Stefka Dzhumalieva β European Commission, DG GROW
- Franziska Zibold β European Commission, DG GROW
- Floris Schiks β Makersite
- Torsten Freund β BASF, Chem-X Projekt
- Alexander KΓΆnig β GS1
- Adrian GrΓΌner β Neoception GmbH
- ...and more
Two officials from DG GROW (the EU Commission directorate writing the implementing acts), VDA representing the automotive industry's lobbying position, JTC 24 from the standards bodies, GS1 on identifier infrastructure β that's the full stack of decision-makers who will define how DPP actually rolls out.
Most public DPP events feature consultants explaining what the regulation says. This one features the people writing it, plus the platforms implementing it. The signal-to-noise ratio is much better.
What we're listening for
Three things specifically:
1. The DPP Registry architecture
The Commission has been signaling that there will be a central EU-level registry that holds passport pointers (not full passport data) and acts as the cross-border verification layer. The architecture β federated vs centralized, who hosts, what's mandatory vs optional β has been moving. We'll report back on what's confirmed in the session.
2. The mandatory/optional data split per category
Brands are over-investing in data they don't actually need to ship by deadline, and under-investing in the data they do. Clearer guidance from DG GROW on which fields are mandatory at first-enforcement vs phased-in over the following 18 months would let brands prioritize properly.
3. The cross-category interoperability question
A brand selling both batteries and electronics hits two different schemas with overlapping fields. The standardization work at JTC 24 is supposed to harmonize this. We want to understand how far along that work is and what brands should design for now to avoid rework later.
Why we're attending as visitors
We've been an active exhibitor at past CircularTech events, including CTF2025 in Cologne last September. For this edition, we'd rather be in the audience β the standards conversation is more valuable to absorb than to pitch into.
The product roadmap for Hashentic over the next 12 months depends on getting these standardization decisions right. If the DPP Registry settles on a federated DID model, our Xordex private-blockchain architecture is well-aligned. If it settles on a centralized EU-hosted registry, we adapt our integration layer accordingly. Either way, the better we understand the direction, the better we serve customers.
Practical info
- Date: 22 April 2026, 15:00
- Location: Hannover Messe, Hannover, Germany
- Format: Panel discussion + Q&A
- Capacity: Limited β early registration recommended
- Registration: Via the official CircularTech Forum link
If you're going
If you'll be in Hannover that week and want to compare notes β on chip selection, schema mapping, or platform architecture β we'd be glad to grab coffee. Hashentic's contact form is the fastest way to get on the calendar; we'll be at Hannover from the 21st through the 23rd.
For background reading before the session, our EU DPP 2026 Compliance Checklist and EU Battery Regulation 2026 deep-dive cover the operational angle on the topics this panel will discuss at the policy level.
The most useful events are the ones where the people writing the rules and the people implementing them are in the same room. This is one of them. See you there.
