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A new (second) life for batteries

23.02.2021

In the context of the European Green New Deal, one of the EU Commission’s aims is to minimise (further) the environmental impact of products and to increase the spread of electric vehicles. In light of this, the EU Commission has now decided to revise the requirements for batteries. To this end, the current Battery Directive, Directive 2006/66/EC, has been fundamentally revised. After the German law implementing the Battery Directive (BattG) was amended only on 3 November 2020, the EU Commission presented its proposal for fundamentally new battery legislation on 10 December 2020. To do so, EU Commission chose a much more far-reaching legal instrument: a Regulation. Unlike Directives, Regulations are directly applicable and automatically become part of the legal systems of the Member States. Because they do not have to be transposed into national law, they do not open up any leeway in transposition and thus achieve maximum harmonisation of requirements across all Member States.

The draft of the new EU Battery Regulation takes into account the entire life cycle of the battery, from production to use and disposal. Below some key points from the proposal of the EU Commission will be addressed and presented.

Declaration on carbon footprint

From July 2024, traction batteries and reusable industrial batteries with internal storage with a capacity of over 2kW may only be placed on the market with what is known as a declaration of the carbon footprint, which is the total volume of greenhouse gases emitted or removed in a product system. This is to be included with every battery model and battery batch in each production business.

For this purpose, the batteries will be classified in different power classes according to their carbon intensity and maximum values for the carbon footprint will be introduced. From January 2026, batteries must be labelled accordingly and from July 2027 must comply with the corresponding maximum carbon level.

Minimum content of recovered material

From January 2027, for industrial and traction batteries with internal storage containing cobalt, lead, lithium or nickel in active materials, information should be provided on the amount of recovered materials contained in them. In addition, from January 2030 and January 2035, certain minimum amounts of recovered substances must be contained in batteries.

Stricter requirements for all-purpose batteries

From January 2026, all-purpose portable batteries will only be allowed to be placed on the market if the parameters for electrochemical performance and durability are met. The exact parameters will be adopted by the Commission in a delegated act. Consideration will even be given to phasing out the use of non-rechargeable all-purpose batteries.

Interchangeability and safety

Appliances with portable batteries have to be designed in such a way that waste batteries can be easily removed and replaced. This will require adaptation of some mobile phone models in particular.

Stationary battery energy storage systems must also be safe in normal operation and intended use. To this end, it must be demonstrated that they have been tested in accordance with the most modern testing methods in relation to the safety parameters set out in Annex V of the new Regulation.

New labelling and information requirements

From January 2027, batteries are to be labelled in a clearly visible, legible and indelible manner. These include, but are not limited to, service life, charging capacity, separate collection obligation, presence of hazardous substances and safety risks. In addition, a QR code is to be printed or engraved to ensure access to all this information.

Rechargeable industrial and traction batteries must have a battery management system to store information and data in order to determine ageing status and expected service life.

Obligations in connection with end-of-life management

The Member States have to set up a mandatory register to monitor compliance with the requirements of end-of-life battery management by the manufacturers.

In future, the Member States are to achieve better collection rates for portable waste batteries: a rate of 65% is to be achieved by the end of 2025, and even 70% by the end of 2030. The aim is to ensure that all portable batteries are collected regardless of type, brand or origin. Special collection points are to be set up for this purpose. Manufacturers of starter, industrial and traction batteries must collect them free of charge and without obligation to purchase a new battery. In addition, all waste batteries collected must mandatorily be fed into a recycling process. A very important new proposal is the simplification of the re-use of batteries from electric vehicles. These are to be further used, for example, in second-life applications as stationary energy storage systems or integrated as energy resources in electricity grids.

“Battery passport”

From January 2026, individual industrial and e-vehicle batteries placed on the market or put into service with a capacity of more than 2kWh will be assigned a specific electronic file (“battery passport”) to be linked to information on essential characteristics of the battery.

It is now up to the European Parliament and the European Council to transpose this Commission proposal into applicable law. Whether and how this is done is likely to be apparent in the course of the year.

Compliance & Investigations
Regulatory and Governmental Affairs

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