• time;2024-08-28 10:55:04

The EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 has been enforced since February 18, 2024, and its control requirements cover the entire lifecycle of battery production, reuse, and recycling.

Starting from August 18, 2024, multiple new requirements will come into effect, including hazardous substances, labeling, performance durability, battery management system requirements, safety of fixed battery energy storage systems, conformity assessment, declaration of conformity, CE marking, operator obligations, and other requirements, covering all types of batteries. Enterprises involved in the entire battery industry chain need to pay special attention to the dynamic control of battery regulations to ensure compliance when exporting products to the European Union.

The new battery law of the European Union specifically refers to Act (EU) 2023/1542. The European Commission submitted a proposal on battery regulations on December 10, 2020, introducing a new bill to reduce the adverse effects of waste batteries in order to protect the environment and human health. The bill was officially passed on July 10, 2023 as the "Battery and Waste Battery Act". On July 28, 2023, the EU official gazette published the "New Battery Law", which stated that the law will officially come into effect on the 20th day from the date of publication (August 18, 2023) and will be enforced in general terms six months later (February 18, 2024).

The new round of nodes will be implemented starting from August 18, 2024. 01

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New regulatory requirements for nodes

Requirements for Hazardous Substances

The new battery regulations require that all types of batteries not only meet heavy metal restriction requirements, but also pay attention to the hazardous substance requirements specified in Annex XVII of REACH regulations and the EU ELV directive.

Starting from August 18, 2024, manufacturers of fixed battery energy storage systems, LMT and EV batteries are required to provide battery health status and expected service life parameters in the battery management system in addition to meeting the labeling requirements mentioned above.

Declaration of conformity and CE marking

Starting from August 18, 2024, all fixed energy storage systems, LMT batteries, and electric vehicle batteries must be equipped with a battery management system that can store and provide critical data on battery health and expected lifespan. Manufacturers are required to draft an EU Declaration of Conformity (DoC) in accordance with regulatory requirements and affix the CE mark on their products.

Requirements for Import Trademark Signature

According to Article 41 of the regulations, importers shall indicate their name, registered trade name or trademark, mailing address, contact point, and if applicable, website and email address on the battery. If this is not possible, the required information should be provided on the packaging or in the documentation accompanying the battery. The contact information should be in a language that is easy for end-users to understand, determined by the member states that will provide batteries in the market, and should be clear and easy to understand.

Manufacturer label requirements

According to Article 38 of the regulations, manufacturers shall ensure that batteries are accompanied by clear, understandable, and easy to read instructions and safety information, and that they are in one or more languages that the end user can easily understand. The specific language shall be determined by the Member State where the battery is placed on the market or put into use.

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Main content of regulations

Scope of application: All categories of batteries used in the European Union (excluding military, aerospace, nuclear and other special purposes) (mainly five categories), including batteries imported from non EU countries to the EU: portable batteries; Starting, lighting, and ignition batteries (SLI batteries); Electric vehicle batteries; Light duty vehicle battery (LMT battery); Industrial batteries.

Specific requirements:

Harmful substances. By December 31, 2027, with the support of the European Chemicals Agency, an assessment report must be issued for hazardous substances in batteries. The purpose is to control the content of harmful substances in the battery.

Carbon footprint requirements. It is required that batteries disclose information related to their carbon footprint, which should be accompanied by prominent, clear, readable, and indelible labels to indicate the carbon footprint performance level corresponding to each individual battery.

Recycling requirements. By August 18, 2028, or 24 months after the relevant authorization laws come into effect (LMT batteries apply from August 18, 2033), the technical documentation accompanying battery products should include information on the quantities of regenerated lithium, nickel, and cobalt in the battery active materials, as well as the minimum percentage share of lead present in each battery model and in each manufacturing plant's batteries annually and recovered from waste.

Durability requirements. Starting from August 18, 2024, technical documents containing electrochemical performance and durability parameters are required for electric vehicle batteries, rechargeable industrial batteries (2KWh or above), and LMT batteries.

Detachable and replaceable. The regulation has been implemented for 42 months, requiring portable batteries to be detachable and replaceable for end users. LMT batteries are clearly dismantled and replaced by professional personnel. And batteries mainly used in humid environments and some medical devices do not need to meet this requirement.

Battery label information: The bill requires all batteries to be labeled with some necessary information and the main identifiable information of the battery (i.e. battery label), including but not limited to: service life, charging capacity, separate recycling requirements, hazardous substances and safety risk notification. Depending on the type of battery, QR codes will provide a quick query entrance to present sufficient battery information. Key raw materials for newly added batteries exceeding 0.1% must be labeled. And the type of fire extinguishing agent.

Digital Battery Passport: Starting from February 18, 2027, LMT batteries, industrial batteries with a capacity greater than 2kWh, and electric vehicle batteries that are put on the market or put into use should have electronic records, namely digital passports. The digital passport has different information that can be linked to different individuals, mainly divided into four parts: publicly accessible information; Only open to individuals and committees with legitimate interests; Information for reference only by certification bodies, market supervision authorities, and committees; Information and data that are only accessible to individuals with legitimate interests.

Source: China Europe Carbon Neutrality