EU Commission's proposed Battery Regulation and its impact on businesses
July 6, 2023
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 Battery Regulation, especially for traction batteries in the automotive sector, and the latest update on that.
Who is affected by the EU Battery Regulation?
The Battery Regulation 2023 applies to all companies, manufacturers, retailers, as well as importers and exporters in the battery industry. This applies to the following types of batteries:
Conventional device batteries,
Batteries for lightweight transportation such as e-bikes,
Vehicle batteries,
Traction batteries,
Industrial batteries.
From when does which Battery Regulation 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?
The EU Battery Regulation brings forth particular challenges that require attention:
To be transparent in calculating the Carbon Footprint,
To exchange CO2 data throughout the supply chain to accurately evaluate and minimize the environmental impact of batteries,
To understand the specific content of raw materials like nickel, cobalt, lead, and lithium within batteries,
To verifying the recycling status of those raw materials.
Addressing these challenges calls for collaboration among different parties, implementing effective tracking systems, transparent reporting methods, and adopting responsible practices for sourcing and recycling. These efforts aim to ensure the sustainable and environmentally friendly production and utilization of batteries.
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 to 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 hastily and help with the calculations. In this way, we relieve you and your suppliers of tedious work steps and simplify data entry.
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