The new EU Battery Directive will soon enter into force

This year the European Parliamant announced the new EU Battery Directive. This new directive will definitively enter into effect at the 17th of August, 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal. The current EU Battery Directive will then lapse. The new directive will entail new obligations.

What will the directive mean for you?

Producers and importers will soon need to satisfy a high number of new rules and obligations. We have summarised the most important of these.

1. Sustainability and safety requirements

Many of the new regulations surround sustainability and safety. You will need to inform consumers about a number of matters. For instance, you will soon have to:

• calculate the carbon footprint across the full life cycle of a battery;
• provide information on the performance and sustainability parameters of a battery;
• provide information on how consumers should use, dispose of and replace batteries;
• indicate the amounts of recycled lead, cobalt, nickel or lithium in a battery.

2. Labelling and information requirements

The labelling of and information about the batteries will also differ from previously. For instance, you will have to:

• assign a QR code, identification number and/or serial number to a battery and provide it with a physical label stating the manufacturing date and the date on which the battery entered the market;
• maintain a battery management system with data on the parameters.

3. Conformity assessment

To be able to assess the conformity of batteries, you will soon need to indicate the conformity of a battery and place a CE marking on the battery.

4. Due diligence obligations

You will soon also need to satisfy due diligence obligations. These concern supply chains, environmental concerns, human rights, safety and health.

5. Battery passport

You will have to assign each battery a battery passport that states the name of the battery producer, the composition of the battery, the carbon footprint, the battery operation and its expected longevity.

6. Registration

You will soon have to register as a producer so that a competent authority can check whether you are following the requirements for managing discarded batteries.

7. Extended producer responsibility (EPR)

More extensive rules for producers and importers who are the first to bring the batteries to the market will be set. Through a network of drop-off points, producers must finance and organise aspects including the separated collection and processing of discarded batteries.

8. Reuse and recycling

Finally, the new directive will also set out a number of reuse and recycling regulations. For instance, you will have to:

• reclaim a minimum level of materials for end-of-life batteries;
• satisfy the minimum recycling efficiency level (expressed in average weight).

All in all, the new directive will result in quite a few new rules and regulations for you. Would you like to know what each regulation exactly entails and means for you? Then consult this extensive document created by our Belgian colleagues at Bebat. In this document, you can read everything about the new directive and about what it exactly means for you. Would you rather see a quick and complete overview? Then take a look at this handy infographic created by Bebat.

Does the directive apply to all batteries?

The directive distinguishes five types of batteries. The same obligations do not apply to all types. In this infographic from our Belgian colleagues, you can see the various obligations for each of the five battery categories.

When will the new directive enter into force?

Some of the obligations will enter into force at the 17th of  august 2023, 20 days after the publication of the directive, while others will only enter into force later on. An overview of the exact dates is displayed in the infographic.

Why has the EU drafted this new directive?

The new EU Battery Directive stems from the EU Green Deal and the EU circular economy action plan. With this new directive, the European Commission aims to:

• achieve harmonised EU product norms for batteries;
• establish a well functioning market for secondary resources;
• reduce the negative environmental effects of batteries.

Do you have any questions?

You can find answers to the most frequently asked questions in the infographic and document created by Bebat. Do you still have questions about the directive and your obligations after reading these? Then we’d be happy to help you. You can contact Harm Noorman by email at [email protected].

Download dossier (Bebat)

Download infographic (Bebat)