New EU Regulation on sustainable and circular batteries

Setting a future-proof regulatory framework for sustainable batteries has been among the key priorities under the European Battery Alliance.

We welcome the provisional political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council on Friday aiming to make all batteries placed on the EU market more sustainable, circular and safe. The new Regulation will replace the existing Batteries Directive from 2006. And when entering into force, sustainability requirements on carbon footprint, recycled content and performance and durability will be introduced gradually from 2024 onwards. A more comprehensive regulatory framework on Extended Producer Responsibility will start applying by mid-2025, with higher collection targets being introduced over time. For portable batteries the targets will be 63% in 2027 and 73% in 2030, while for batteries from light means of transport, the target will be 51% in 2028 and 61% in 2031. All collected batteries have to be recycled and high levels of recovery have to be achieved, in particular of valuable materials such as copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel and lead.

For more information, refer to the press release on the European Commission website.