Batteries and waste batteries; Wastes (ICS 13.030), Galvanic cells and batteries (ICS 29.220)

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning batteries and waste batteries, repealing Directive 2006/66/EC and amending Regulation (EU) No 2019/1020 (COM(2020)798) (130 page(s), in English; 28 page(s), in English)

This draft Regulation concerns sustainability, safety, labelling and information requirements for the placing on the Union market of batteries as well as due diligence requirements for economic operators and requirements for the end-of-life treatment of waste batteries.

The product requirements concern specifically: restrictions of hazardous substances (all batteries), reporting, labelling and - to be specified by subsequent legislation - maximum level of carbon footprint over the life cycle (electric vehicle and industrial batteries), minimum level of recycled cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel (automotive, electric vehicle and industrial batteries), performance and durability (portable, electric vehicle and industrial batteries), removability and replaceability (portable batteries), safety (stationary battery energy storage systems), labelling (all batteries), information on the state of health and expected lifetime (electric vehicle and industrial batteries), and a battery passport (electric vehicle and industrial batteries).

It further contains a requirement for the economic operators that place electric vehicle and industrial batteries on the EU market to establish supply chain due diligence policies with regard to the sourcing of cobalt, natural graphite, lithium and nickel, and chemical compounds based on these necessary for the manufacturing of the active materials of batteries.

The requirements for the end-of-life management of batteries include: registration by producers, extended producer responsibility, collection of waste batteries, requirements related to treatment, recycling, repurposing and remanufacturing, providing end-of-life information, and reporting to competent authorities.