The new Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries, which was adopted by the EU Parliament and Council on July 12, 2023 and came into force on August 17, 2023, ultimately repeals the old Battery Directive 2006/66/EC. It will apply directly in all member states from February 18, 2024.
The regulation will bring many changes for all economic operators. It takes into account the entire life cycle of the battery, from production to waste treatment, including the recovery of raw materials.
The scope of application includes practically all categories of batteries, regardless of their physical properties or the chemical systems used (Article 1 (3)):
[„3. This Regulation applies to all categories of batteries, namely portable batteries, starting, lighting and ignition batteries (SLI batteries), light means of transport batteries (LMT batteries), electric vehicle batteries and industrial batteries, regardless of their shape, volume, weight, design, material composition, chemistry, use or purpose. It shall also apply to batteries that are incorporated into or added to products or that are specifically designed to be incorporated into or added to products.“]
This means that all batteries, regardless of their physical properties and chemical composition, use, purpose, whether built into or added to products, are covered by the scope of the new regulation. As well as end products that use batteries of all kinds.
The requirements can be found in the following articles:
- Restrictions on substances – Article 6
- Carbon footprint – Article 7
- Recycled content – Article 8
- Performance and durability – Articles 9 and 10
- Removability and replaceability – Article 11
- Labeling, marking and information – Articles 13 and 14
- Conformity of batteries – Articles 15 to 20
- Due dilligence of economic operators – Articles 47 to 53
- Digital battery passport – Articles 77 and 78
From August 18, 2024, batteries must meet the requirements for conformity assessment and CE marking. From this date, batteries must undergo one of the aforementioned conformity assessment procedures (Article 17), an EU Declaration of Conformity (Article 18) must be issued and the CE marking (Article 19) must be affixed before they are placed on the market. The general principles according to Article 30 of the Regulation (EC) 765/2008 continue to apply. Three known modules from Decision 768/2008 are named in Annex VIII as conformity assessment procedures: Module A, Module D1 or Module G, depending on, if they are produced in series or not.
Module A (Annex VIII), the procedure with „internal production control“, is likely to be used in the vast majority of cases.
From August 18, 2025, all batteries shall be marked with the symbol for separate collection of batteries (‘separate collection symbol’) as shown in Part B of Annex VI.
From August 18, 2026, some more different labelling and marking requirements will apply (Article 13 (1-3))
From February 18, 2027, portable batteries and LV batteries must be removable and replaceable. These products must be accompanied by instructions and safety information for use, removal and replacement. Products that are intended to be washable or rinsable, for example, are exempt. Also from this date, all batteries shall be marked with and QR-Code, according to Article 13 (6), described in Annex VI Part C.
The feasibility and potential benefits of setting up deposit systems for batteries, in particular for general purpose portable batteries, will be assessed by the Commission by December 31, 2027.