The European Council adopted a new regulation on batteries

The European Parliament and Council Regulation will apply to all batteries, including all waste portable batteries, electric vehicle batteries, industrial batteries, starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries (mainly used in vehicles and machinery) and light vehicle batteries. bicycles, electric mopeds or electric scooters).

Briefly on the content

• The goal of the new rules is to support the circular economy by regulating batteries throughout their entire life cycle. The Regulation therefore sets end-of-life requirements, including collection targets and obligations, as well as material reuse targets and extended producer responsibility.
• The Regulation sets targets for manufacturers regarding the collection of waste portable batteries (63% by the end of 2027 and 73% by the end of 2030) and introduces a specific collection target for waste batteries of light vehicles (51% by the end of 2020) % until the end of 2031).
• It will also set targets for the use of lithium from waste batteries. By 2027, 50% of lithium should be used from waste batteries, and by the end of 2031, a total of 80%. Depending on market and technology developments or the availability of lithium, these values ​​may be changed by means of delegated acts.
• The regulation sets mandatory minimum levels of recycled content for industrial batteries, SLI batteries and electric vehicle batteries. These levels are initially set as follows: 16% for cobalt, 85% for lead, 6% for lithium and 6% for nickel. Batteries will have to be accompanied by information about the recycled content.
• The recycling efficiency target is set at 80% for nickel-cadmium batteries and 50% for other waste batteries by 2025.
• The regulation also stipulates that by 2027, portable batteries built into equipment should be able to be removed and replaced by end users. However, operators have enough time to adapt their products to this requirement. This provision is important for the consumer. Light vehicle batteries will have to be replaced by an independent expert.
• The regulation introduces requirements for labeling and information, for example, regarding battery components and recycled content, as well as an electronic "battery passport" or QR code. To give Member States and market operators enough time to prepare, the labeling requirements will start to apply from 2026 and the QR code from 2027.