EU Commission's proposed Battery Regulation and its impact on businesses

Battery regulation - what does it mean for your company?

On 10 December 2020, the EU Commission presented a proposal for a battery regulation intended to replace the Battery Directive currently in force. The aim of the Commission is to create a comprehensive sustainability framework for all phases of the life cycle. In this article, we focus on the new regulations, especially for traction batteries in the automotive sector.

Is your company affected?

All companies involved in the production of traction batteries are affected.

From when do which rules apply?

The directive is still under negotiation between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. Once agreed, it should enter into force shortly after with various rules being introduced in phases.

• As of July 1, 2024, a carbon footprint statement must be submitted for all traction batteries.
• As of January 1, 2026, traction batteries must be marked with a label indicating the CO2 intensity performance class.
• From 1 January 2027, manufacturers of traction batteries will have to provide information on the percentage of recycled cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel.
• From 1 July 2027, traction batteries will then have to comply with a specified maximum CO2 footprint.
• As of January 1, 2030, traction batteries must then contain certain proportions of recycled materials (12 percent cobalt, 85 percent lead, 4 percent lithium and 4 percent nickel.
• From 1 January 2035, the proportions of recycled materials will be increased once again (20 percent cobalt, 10 percent lithium, 12 percent nickel).

How is the quality of the reports assured?

Third party verification by notified bodies is necessary for reporting provisions on the Carbon Footprint statement, the information on recycled content and due diligence in the responsible sourcing of raw materials.

What are the special challenges?

• Transparency in the calculation of the Carbon Footprint and a functioning exchange of CO2 data along the supply chain are utmost importance.
• Understanding the exact content of the four raw materials (nickel, cobalt, lead, lithium) inside the batteries and verifying whether or not those were recycled.

How do we help you?

Together with experts from renowned large, medium-sized and small companies with experience in sustainability reporting, we have developed a software solution that makes it easier for you to implement the new directive.

• We facilitate data exchange with suppliers and ensure that necessary information from the supply chain arrives correctly and without additional effort.
• We allow you oblige the information requests from your customers but allow you to protect business-critical information about your supply chain from being exposed to the data receiver at the same time.
• We explain the new standards in an understandable way and help with the calculations. In this way, we relieve you and your suppliers of tedious work steps and simplify data entry.