EU Batteries Regulation to come into effect on January 1st, 2022

To tackle global climate change and promote green and low-carbon economic and social development, the EU Commission has proposed that Europe will take the lead in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. To achieve this goal, it has focused on the battery industry, and put forward and implemented several measures, including the evaluation of the EU Batteries Directive every three years, in 2017, and the promulgation of the Strategic Action Plan on Batteries, in 2018. In the following two years, the European Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan were introduced, reiterating the importance of the sound and sustainable development of the battery industry.

On December 10, 2020, the EU Commission announced the EU Regulation concerning batteries and waste batteries, with the aim to promote the sustainable development of the battery value chain. This regulation covers portable batteries, automotive batteries, industrial batteries, and electric-vehicle batteries, and has 13 chapters, 79 articles, and 14 annexes. Moreover, the EU Commission plans to introduce more than 30 implementing/delegated acts to support the implementation of the regulation that will come into effect on January 1st, 2022. The new regulation will help Europe establish a sustainable, competitive, and innovative battery value chain.

Established in 1872, TÜV Rheinland is the world’s leading technical service provider. Our expert team can provide one-stop solutions covering interpretation of regulatory requirements, gap analysis, capacity-building, and conformity assessment, and help enterprises respond effectively to the EU Batteries Regulation and access the EU market.

Reduce the possible negative impacts on the environment and society at all stages of the battery life cycle

• Contributing to responsible sourcing
• Using and sourcing resources, including raw and recycled materials, efficiently and responsibly
• Reducing GHG emissions across the entire battery life cycle
• Reducing risks to public health and to environmental quality and improve the social conditions of local communities

Promote the development of circular economy

• Increasing resilience and closing the materials loop
• Reducing the EU's dependence on imports of materials of strategic importance
• Ensuring appropriate collection and recycling of all of waste batteries

Ensure orderly operation of the battery value chain

• Fostering the production and placing on the EU market of high-quality batteries
• Ensuring functioning markets for secondary raw materials and related industrial processes
• Promoting innovation and the development and take-up of EU technological expertise

An outstanding feature of the EU Batteries Regulation is that its requirements cover all stages of the battery life cycle from the production and processing of battery raw materials, to the use of battery products, and the recycling of decommissioned and discarded batteries. In response to the new requirements, enterprises need to take prompt actions in product development, raw material procurement, and supply chain management, and formulate and implement mid- to long-term plans. The regulation will pose huge challenges to the battery value chain, especially for new energy vehicle and power battery manufacturers that are trying to enter the EU market.

• Specifies which substances could be considered hazardous and introduces new restrictions of hazardous substances building on the experience of REACH implementation
• Introduces requirements in staged approach on the carbon footprint of electric vehicle batteries and rechargeable industrial batteries: first information, then classification, eventually mandatory thresholds
• Introduces requirements in staged approach on the recycled content in industrial batteries, electric vehicle batteries and automotive batteries: rules for calculation first, then declaration and eventually mandatory minimum levels
• Introduces information requirements on the performance and durability of rechargeable industrial and electric vehicle batteries
• Introduces requirements on the supply chain due diligence obligations for the manufacturers, importers or distributors of rechargeable industrial batteries and electric-vehicle batteries
• Strengthens the existing extended producer responsibility requirements
• Introduces requirements on the recycling efficiencies and material recovery level of waste batteries
• Introduces requirements related to the repurposing and remanufacturing of industrial batteries and electric-vehicle batteries
• Commits to setting up the electronic exchange system for battery information by 1 January 2026 and introduces requirements on the battery passport

Specific requirements of the EU Battery Regulation