Agreement on EU Battery Regulation

Agreement on EU Battery Regulation

The negotiations on the new battery regulation have been wrapped up.

In December, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission agreed on a political compromise. Council and Parliament still have to formally approve the proposal. The vote in Parliament is scheduled for 7 March.

The regulation replaces the battery directive, which has been in force since 2006, and aims to meet the recent developments in the battery market and  increased environmental and sustainability requirements.

Unlike the old directive, the new regulation is directly applicable in all member states and does not require prior national implementation, with one exception: end-of-life requirements, including EPR and continuously setting minimum requirements to Member States, are to be transposed into national law.

Here is an overview of the most important changes:

• new battery categories: portable batteries, starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries, electric vehicle batteries, industrial batteries, and light means of transport batteries
• new labelling and information requirements for SLI, electric vehicle and industrial batteries, including a carbon footprint declaration, carbon footprint performance classes, as well as maximum thresholds for carbon footprint
• battery passports for SLI, electric vehicle and industrial batteries, providing information on the carbon footprint, performance and durability parameters, as well as the material composition of the battery
• requirements on the minimum recycled content of batteries, and
• higher collection rates for waste portable batteries (45% from 31 December 2023, 63% from 31 December 2027, 73% from 31 December 2030)

The regulation will enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, which is expected to be in April. However, some aspects of the regulation, such as the provisions on the end-of-life management of batteries, will not apply until 24 months later.

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