Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542
Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries entered into force on 17 August 2023, has been applied since 18 February 2024 and repealed Battery Directive 2006/66/EC on 18 August 2025. Some parts of the old Directive remain in force until specific dates in 2026 and 2027. The new Regulation aims to improve the green credentials of batteries throughout their entire lifecycle, including recycling.
Scope
All categories of battery placed on the market or put into service within the EU are covered by the EU BR, with various requirements and deadlines for each category. It is largely ‘technology agnostic’ and does not set out different rules for each battery chemistry.
Batteries incorporated within products
If batteries are incorporated within products (including machinery and other equipment), the legal entity placing the product on the market is a ‘producer’ in the context of the EU BR.
Producer responsibilities
Producers must register with the relevant competent authority in each member state where products are sold. They must also prepare a Declaration of Conformity (DoC) and translate it into the language of the member state in which the product is placed on the market. However, if a product is subject to more than one EU act requiring a DoC, then one DoC lists all the relevant acts complied with.
Depending on the category of battery and its capacity, there are documentary requirements relating to performance, durability, instructions, safety and carbon footprint.
Battery passports
From 18 February 2027, industrial batteries with a capacity greater than 2 kWh must display a QR code that provides access to the battery passport, which will be created by the original manufacturer (not the manufacturer incorporating the battery within their product).
Portable batteries
Requirements relating to portable batteries for general use are currently less stringent. The key points relate to removability, replaceability, recycling rates and labelling. Minimum performance and durability requirements come into force in 2028.
Take back and collection
Producers must put in place a take back and collection system. Producers of industrial, SLI and EV batteries are required to accept from end-users, free of charge, all waste batteries for their respective category. This obligation is not restricted to batteries producers have sold, and is regardless of the battery’s brand, chemical composition or condition.
Alternatively, producers may join a take back scheme operated by an appropriate producer responsibility organisation.
Producers must report annually on the numbers of batteries sold and collected, and what has happened to them.
CE marking
Batteries must be CE marked and, space permitting, display certain information on the label (eg manufacturer, battery category, place and date of manufacture, capacity, chemistry, hazardous content, etc).
Economic operators
The EU BR covers the roles and responsibilities of economic operators. EU authorised representatives (EUARs) can be mandated to perform certain tasks on behalf of the producer. As a minimum, the mandate must cover: retention of the DoC, technical documentation, verification report, approval decision and audit reports for at least ten years; provision of information and documentation requested by national authorities; and co-operation with national authorities on action taken to eliminate risks posed by batteries covered by the mandate. Where batteries present a risk, EUARs must notify market surveillance authorities immediately.