News & Insights
August 2023
The new EU Battery Regulation enters into force this month, 20 days after its publication in the European Union's Official Journal. In six months, on 18 February 2024, it will go into effect. This makes transparent supply chains a must for the electric vehicle (EV) industry. Here’s a short overview what it means for manufacturers.
What is the EU Battery Regulation?
The main intention of the regulation is that it requires producer responsibility for the collection, treatment, and recovery of batteries. The collection targets for portable batteries will be raised in two steps, first to 63 percent by the end of 2027 and then to 73 percent by the end of 2030. For the newly created category of batteries from "light means of transport", a category which includes e-bikes and e-scooters, a collection target of 51 per cent is to go into effect at the end of 2028 before being raised to 61 per cent at the end of 2031.
What does the regulation mean for manufacturers?
Manufacturers will have until February 2027 before they are obligated to ensure that portable batteries can be easily removed from appliances and replaced.
The Regulation also stipulates that at least 50 per cent of the lithium from spent batteries must be recycled by the end of 2027 and at least 80 per cent by the end of 2031. Depending on market and technological developments as well as on the availability of lithium, these requirements can still be modified by the European Commission via delegated acts. For nickel-cadmium batteries a recycling efficiency target of 80 per cent must be achieved by the end of 2025; at the same time an efficiency target of 50 per cent becomes binding for spent batteries of other chemistries.
What are the recycled material use targets under the regulation?mean for manufacturers?
The Battery Regulation introduces the first mandatory targets for the incorporation of recycled materials in new industrial batteries, starter batteries (SLI batteries) and rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles. As of August 2031, these batteries are to contain the following minimum percentage shares: 16 per cent cobalt, 85 per cent lead and 6 per cent of both lithium and nickel from recycling. From 2036 onwards, the requirements will increase to 26 per cent for cobalt, 12 per cent for lithium and 15 per cent for nickel.
Why is supply chain traceability a must?
The legislative defines a method for calculating and verifying the amount of raw materials such as cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel derived from battery production waste or consumer waste in new batteries and accumulators is to be defined by delegated act within the next three years. The calculation of recycled content makes it necessary for manufacturers to collect this information from upstream of the supply chain.
The Regulation stipulates targets should be set such that they take into account the availability of waste from which such materials can be recovered. Supply chain traceability can help in managing the increased demand of recycled raw materials.
How can ProFuelTrace help the EV supply chain?
ProFuelTrace is built on the groundbreaking digital platform ProSOS, which makes collecting and reporting of trustful supply chain data extremely simple for manufactures. The Digital Product Passport (DPP) module for EV battery materials can be easily integrated into your existing digital landscape. To know more, book a demo with the ProDecipher team today.