Scalability¶
Layer 1 throughput¶
Protocol parameters from Cardano network documentation. Values as of March 2026; subject to on-chain governance.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Block time | 20 seconds |
| Max block size | 90,112 bytes (~90 KB) |
| Simple TPS | ~9-18 |
| Batched TPS (multi-output) | ~40-70 effective |
| Annual capacity (15 TPS sustained) | ~473 million transactions |
With batching (30 products per transaction), L1 can register ~14 billion products/year — far more than the EU market requires.
The bottleneck is not throughput but cost: at scale, individual L1 transactions become expensive compared to L2.
Layer 2: Hydra¶
graph TD
A[Manufacturer] -->|opens| B[Hydra Head]
C[Logistics Provider] -->|joins| B
D[Recycler] -->|joins| B
B -->|~1,000 TPS| E[DPP Lifecycle Events]
E -->|batch settle| F[Cardano L1]
F -->|final anchor| G[On-chain Record]| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| TPS per Hydra Head | ~1,000 |
| Demonstrated peak | 1 million TPS (Hydra Doom Tournament, December 2024) |
| Latency | Sub-second within a head |
| Settlement | Periodic batch commits to L1 |
DPP use cases for Hydra¶
- Real-time SoH updates for EV batteries (voltage, temperature, cycle count)
- Supply chain event logging (warehouse transfers, quality checks)
- High-frequency manufacturing (one event per product per station on the line)
- Batch settlement — aggregate events into a single L1 transaction periodically
LW3's DPP platform explicitly uses Hydra for EV battery supply chain tracking with CIP-68 tokenization.
Future improvements¶
| Enhancement | Impact |
|---|---|
| Ouroboros Leios (Input Endorsers) | Significant L1 throughput increase |
| Block size increases (governance) | Currently 90 KB, incrementally adjustable |
| CIP-150 (Block Data Compression) | Higher effective block capacity |
| Mithril | Fast chain sync for light clients / verifiers |
DPP granularity¶
The granularity of a DPP — whether it covers a product model, a production batch, or an individual unit — varies by sector and is defined in sector-specific regulation or delegated acts.
| Level | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
model |
One DPP per product design | A t-shirt model, a paint formula |
batch |
One DPP per production batch | A factory run of 10,000 units |
item |
One DPP per individual unit | An EV battery with unique serial and SoH tracking |
Batteries: item-level (confirmed)¶
The Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 is explicit. Article 77(1):
"each LMT battery, each industrial battery with a capacity greater than 2 kWh and each electric vehicle battery placed on the market or put into service shall have an electronic record ('battery passport')."
Article 77(2) confirms each passport contains both model-level data and "information specific to the individual battery, including resulting from the use of that battery" — State of Health, charging cycles, operating conditions.
This makes sense: each battery degrades differently, so item-level tracking is necessary.
All other sectors: delegated acts decide (not yet defined)¶
ESPR Article 9(2)(d) states that delegated acts shall specify:
"whether the digital product passport is to be established at model, batch or item level, and the definition of such levels"
As of March 2026, no ESPR delegated acts have been adopted. The granularity for every non-battery sector is not yet legally defined. Expected levels based on industry analysis:
| Sector | Delegated act status | Expected granularity | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batteries | Adopted (Reg. 2023/1542) | Item | Unique degradation, SoH tracking |
| Iron & steel | Pending (~2026) | Likely batch (per heat/lot) | Bulk material, batch production |
| Textiles | Pending (~2027) | Likely batch or model | Commodity items, no unique serial |
| Tyres | Pending (~2027) | Unknown | DOT codes exist but regulation unclear |
| Electronics | Pending (~2029) | Likely mixed | Item for phones (serials exist), model for cables |
| Construction | Pending (CPR + ESPR) | Likely model or batch | Bulk/commodity products |
UNTP: issuer/regulator decides¶
The UNTP spec supports all three levels via the granularityLevel property but does not prescribe which to use. It is purely descriptive — declaring what level a given passport was issued at.
Volume requirements¶
Volume estimates
Battery volumes are derived from IEA Global EV Outlook 2024 EU sales projections (~3M EVs/year by 2027) plus industrial and LMT batteries. Non-battery sector estimates are order-of-magnitude approximations based on the number of distinct product models/batches, not individual units — exact figures depend on delegated act granularity decisions.
| Sector | Granularity | Estimated DPPs/year | L1 feasibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batteries (EV + industrial + LMT) | Item | ~4-5M | Comfortable |
| Iron & steel | Batch | ~100k-1M | Trivial |
| Textiles | Model/batch | ~100k-1M | Trivial |
| Tyres | Unknown | Unknown | Depends on granularity |
| Electronics | Mixed | ~100k-1M | Trivial to comfortable |
| Construction | Model/batch | ~100k-500k | Trivial |
Batteries are the only confirmed item-level sector and produce ~4-5M DPPs/year — well within L1 capacity. All other sectors, if batch/model level, are trivially L1.
Hydra L2 becomes relevant for lifecycle events — real-time SoH updates on millions of individual batteries, or high-frequency supply chain event logging — not for initial DPP registration.