Source: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/pl/headlines/economy/20220228STO24218/nowe-przepisy-ue-dla-bardziej-ekologicznych-i-etycznych-baterii
Batteries are becoming a strategic market, which is why the European Parliament has adopted new legislation to address environmental, ethical and social issues related to them.
EU roads are expected to be on the road by 2030 at least 30 million zero-emission electric vehicles. Although electric cars are expected to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they also have an environmentally harmful minus: batteries.
On 14 June, the European Parliament adopted an update Unionist the Batteries and Accumulators Directiveto ensure that batteries and accumulators can be reused, regenerated or recycled after their end of life.
The new rules are linked to EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy and EU industrial strategy. They are to cover the entire life cycle of a product, from design, through consumption, to recycling.
Once formally approved by the Council, the new rules will enter into force directly. They will allow for more balanced, efficient and durable batteries.
Members of the European Parliament called for Introducing a new battery category - to 'light means of transport', such as e-bikes or e-scooters, due to their increasing use and technological development. The new category will be introduced in addition to the existing battery categories: portable, automotive and industrial.
By 2030, global demand for batteries is expected to increase 14-fold, with the EU potentially accounting for 17% of this demand. This is mainly due to the development of the digital economy, renewable energy and low-carbon mobility. The increase in the number of battery-powered electric vehicles will make this market strategic on a global scale.
Batteries will have to be labeled to inform about their carbon footprint so that their impact on the environment is more transparent. It will be mandatory for batteries for electric vehicles, batteries for light means of transport and industrial batteries with a capacity of more than 2kWh. In addition, it will cover the entire life of batteries and batteries and will guarantee that new ones will contain minimum levels of certain raw materials.
In 2020, almost half (47%) of portable batteries and batteries sold in the EU have been collected for recycling. For each type of battery, there are specific recycling processes due to the different metals and chemical compounds used in their manufacture.
Stricter collection targets have been included in the new regulations for portable batteries (45% by 2023, 63% by 2027 and 73% by 2030) and batteries for light transport (51% by 2028, 61% by 2031).
In addition, all waste from light transport batteries, automotive batteries, industrial batteries and electric vehicles must be collected free of charge to end-users, irrespective of their nature, chemical composition, condition, brand or origin.
Under the new rules, minimum levels of recovered cobalt (16%), lead (85%), lithium (6%) and nickel (6%) from production and consumer waste must be reused in new batteries.
Battery production is highly dependent on Import of key raw materials, especially cobalt, lithium, nickel and manganese, which have a significant impact on the environment and society.
To counter human rights abuses and ensure more ethical sourcing of batteries, the new regulations introduce due diligence obligations for their manufacturers. They will have to comply with the requirements regarding the social and environmental risks associated with the acquisition, processing and trade of raw materials and secondary raw materials. All operators placing batteries on the EU market, with the exception of SMEs, will be required to develop and implement this due diligence policy.
The new rules will make batteries easier to remove and replace and provide consumers with better information. Portable batteries in devices should be designed so that users can easily remove and replace them. This requirement will become mandatory 3.5 years after the entry into force of the legislation. More information will be given regarding capacity, performance, durability, chemical composition, as well as the “selective collection” symbol of the battery.
12/2/25
Wastes Service Group becomes Strategic Partner of the New Mobility Congress
