Introducing the 2025 DPP Excellence
Jury Board
The CircularTech Digital Product Passport Excellence Awards aim to recognize outstanding contributions that drive forward the implementation of digital product passports across industries. These awards spotlight pioneers who are shaping a more transparent, sustainable, and circular economy through innovative digital solutions.
The awards target key groups including Solution Providers, Projects and Initiatives, Industrial Companies, and Individuals in GreenTech.
The jury is composed of a select group of highly respected experts and thought leaders from across the digital product passport ecosystem. Their deep domain knowledge, cross-industry experience, and commitment to sustainability ensure a rigorous and fair evaluation process. This exceptional jury brings diverse perspectives that enrich the selection, guaranteeing the awards recognize truly groundbreaking and impactful achievements.
Dr. Birgit Boss
Senior Expert Digital Twins and Standardization, Bosch Connected Industry
Dr. Birgit Boss is a leading expert in the field of Digital Twins and industrial standardization. At Bosch Connected Industry, she serves as Senior Expert for Digital Twins and Standardization, driving cross-industry interoperability and innovation. She is a board member of the Industrial Digital Twin Association (IDTA) and chairs the Technical Committee for Modelling in Catena-X (TC4M), playing a pivotal role in shaping data standards for digital ecosystems.
Dr. Boss contributes her deep expertise to several high-impact working groups and initiatives: she is a member of the Review Team of the Catena-X Expert Group on the Digital Product Passport (DPP), the Joint Modelling Expert Group “Battery Passport” of IDTA and Catena-X, and the CEN-CENELEC JTC24 on DPP Systems. Additionally, she serves in IEC TC65 WG24, which focuses on the Asset Administration Shell, and is a PMC member of the Eclipse Digital Twin Top Level Project, further advancing open-source collaboration in digital twin technologies.
Tilmann Vahle
Chemicals Lead Germany, Quantis
Tilmann Vahle is a leading expert in sustainable mobility and the circular economy, with over a decade of experience at the intersection of policy, industry, and innovation. As Chemicals Lead Germany at Quantis, he advises companies in the chemicals and industrial sectors on advancing their sustainability transformations.
Previously, Tilmann served as Director for Sustainable Mobility and Batteries at Systemiq, where he co-founded the Battery Pass consortium and led the batteries work stream of the Circular Economy Initiative, helping to shape Europe’s approach to digital product passports. His earlier roles include positions at EY Sustainability and Volkswagen Corporate Foresight, where he worked on regulatory strategy and future mobility scenarios. A recognized thought leader, Tilmann continues to drive impact by aligning digital innovation with circular and net-zero goals across industries.
Dr. Torsten Freund
Battery Passport Project Manager, BASF
Chair, DIN DKE SPEC 99100 Committee
Head of PMO, ChemX Project
Dr. Torsten Freund is a seasoned chemist and sustainability expert with over 25 years of experience at BASF. He currently serves as Battery Passport Project Manager, leading the development and implementation of digital battery passports to enhance transparency, regulatory compliance, and circularity in the battery value chain.
In addition to this role, he is Head of the Project Management Office (PMO) for the ChemX project, where he contributes to advancing digital and sustainable transformation in the chemical sector.
From 2020 to 2023, Dr. Freund was seconded to the Global Battery Alliance (GBA), where he led the development of the GBA Battery Passport—an innovative digital twin concept for electric vehicle batteries designed to report key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance indicators. This work supports EU Green Deal objectives and global climate commitments.
As Chair of the DIN DKE SPEC 99100 Committee, Dr. Freund oversaw the creation of the first standard defining data attributes for the EU digital battery passport, providing industry-wide guidance for regulatory alignment. His cross-sector experience, strategic leadership, and commitment to sustainability make him a key contributor to the future of digital product passports and responsible supply chains.
Eduard Wagner
Senior Researcher and Vice Group Manager for System Networks and Communication Technologies, Fraunhofer IZM
Eduard Wagner is a sustainability expert with deep expertise in circular economy, battery systems, and digital product passports. As a Senior Researcher and Project Manager at Fraunhofer IZM, he leads initiatives at the intersection of electronics, mobility, and environmental innovation.
Eduard coordinates and contributes to several high-impact projects in the field of digital sustainability. He is the project coordinator of “Product Information 4.0” (UBA), leads work packages in EU projects like CIRPASS (information architecture and electronics sector) and INCREACE (ecodesign and environmental assessment in WEEE recycling), and advises industry partners on implementing the EPREL database and preparing for the digital product passport. As part of the Battery Pass consortium, he has advanced digital battery passports to promote transparency and circularity in battery value chains.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Knothe
Head of Department Process Management and Factory Planning, Fraunhofer IPK
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Knothe is a seasoned expert in process management, IT service engineering, and factory planning. With over 26 years at Fraunhofer IPK, he has led the Department for Process Management and Factory Planning since 2010, following over a decade as a project manager. His work focuses on integrating digitalization into industrial value chains and optimizing production systems.
In addition to his role at Fraunhofer, he has been an Honorary Professor at Technische Hochschule Wildau since 2017. Prof. Knothe also plays a key role in European standardization: since March 2024, he has chaired the CEN-CENELEC Joint Technical Committee 24 on Digital Product Passport System and Architecture, contributing to the development of harmonized frameworks for digital circular economy infrastructures.
Dr. Holger Berg
Vice Director, Circular Economy Division & Co-Head, Digital Transformation Research Unit, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy
Dr. Holger Berg is a recognized expert at the intersection of digital transformation and sustainable development. As Vice Director of the Circular Economy Division and Co-Head of the Digital Transformation Research Unit at the Wuppertal Institute, he focuses on how digital innovation can enable circular economy strategies and drive industrial transitions toward sustainability.
His research explores the transformative potential of digital technologies—such as Digital Product Passports and Circular Economy Data Spaces—in shaping resilient, low-impact economic systems. Dr. Berg advises governments, the European Union, and various national and international organizations on policy and strategy for the digital circular economy. He is a long-standing coach to startups and innovators and serves on multiple advisory boards at the nexus of digitalization and sustainability.
Dr. Berg also represents the Wuppertal Institute as Co-Lead Partner of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) initiative Digital for Circular Economy (D4CE), promoting global collaboration to harness digital tools for sustainable resource use.
