EU - Proposal for a Regulation Concerning Batteries and Waste Batteries

​Since 2006, batteries and waste batteries have been regulated at EU level under the Batteries Directive (2006/66/EC). A modernization of the framework is necessary because of changed socioeconomic conditions, technological developments, markets, and battery uses.

Demand for batteries is increasing rapidly and is set to increase 14 fold by 2030. This is mostly driven by electric transport making this market an increasingly strategic one at the global level. Such global exponential growth in demand for batteries will lead to an equivalent increase in demand for raw materials, hence the need to minimize their environmental impact.​

In the proposal it lays down sustainability and safety requirements in Chapter II. In addition to the restrictions set out in Annex XVII of REACH Regulation, batteries shall not contain hazardous substances for which Annex I contains a restriction, with limits of 0.002% and 0.0005% for cadmium and mercury respectively which is the same as the current requirement. Additionally, it also proposes to restrict cadmium and mercury with the limits of 0.01% and 0.1% respectively in batteries used in vehicles.

The labeling limit for lead (by marking with the chemical symbol Pb) is considered to extend to all batteries including batteries used in vehicles after June 30, 2023.

And it also requires industrial batteries, electric vehicle batteries and automotive batteries with internal storage and a capacity above 2kWh that contain cobalt, lead, lithium or nickel in active material to be labeled properly with information about the amount of cobalt, lead, lithium or nickel recovered from waste present in active materials in each battery model and batch per manufacturing plant from January 1, 2027.

There are also other requirements, such as performance and durability requirements, end-of-life management - increase separate collection, recycling and materials recovery.

This will support development of circular and resource-efficient approaches, reduce dependency on virgin materials and the environmental impacts of their extraction and contribute to renewable energies achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

The EU notified WHO on January 26, 2021 for the proposed regulation. And it sets a deadline for comment until April 26, 2021.