According to a press release from the European Parliament, the new law covers the entire battery cycle, from design to end of life, and will apply to all types of batteries sold in the EU – smartphones, household appliances, scooters, cars or electric bicycles, industrial batteries etc.
The agreement provides that portable batteries incorporated into appliances should be removable and replaceable by the end user. Also, all batteries will need to carry labels and QR codes with information related to their capacity, performance, durability, and chemical composition, as well as the “separate collection” symbol. Finally, like some industrial batteries, batteries for scooters and cars must have a “digital battery passport” detailing their characteristics.
According to the deal, a carbon footprint declaration and label will be obligatory for EV batteries, light means of transport (LMT) batteries and rechargeable industrial batteries with a capacity above 2kWh.
Other measures that are foreseen by the regulation:
- Collection targets are set at 45% by 2023, 63% by 2027 and 73% by 2030 for portable batteries, and at 51% by 2028 and 61% by 2031 for LMT batteries;
- Minimum levels of recovered cobalt (16%), lead (85%), lithium (6%) and nickel (6%) from manufacturing and consumer waste must be reused in new batteries;
- All waste LMT, EV, SLI and industrial batteries must be collected, free of charge for end-users, regardless of their nature, chemical composition, condition, brand or origin;
- By 31 December 2030, the Commission will assess whether to phase out the use of non-rechargeable portable batteries of general use.
Regulation has also set targets for the collection and minimum use of recovered metals in new batteries. In addition, all waste batteries must be collected, free of charge for end-users, regardless of their nature, chemical composition, condition, brand or origin.
The EU Parliament and Council will have to approve the agreement before it can come into force formally.