On July 28th, 2023, the Official Gazette of the European Union officially promulgated the Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and used batteries, revised the Directive 2008/98/EC and the EU Regulation 2019/1020, and replaced the Directive 2006/66/EC. The new regulation came into effect on the 20th day after its promulgation (i.e. August 17th, 2023).

Content of new regulations:

The new battery regulations will apply to all types of batteries within the EU (except for military, aerospace, nuclear energy and other special purposes). According to different usage scenarios, the batteries are divided into the following five categories:

1. Portable battery

★ sealed type

★ Under 5 kg

★ Do not belong to other types of batteries.

2. Start the lighting ignition battery.

★ Used for vehicle ignition, lighting, or starting.

★ Auxiliary or standby batteries for vehicles and other transportation or mechanical transportation equipment.

★ referred to as SLI battery

3, light electric vehicle battery

★ sealed type

★ Under 25 kg

★ Drive L-shaped vehicles.

★ Do not belong to electric vehicle batteries.

★ LMT battery for short

4. Industrial batteries

★ Batteries designed for industrial use

★ or batteries for industrial use after reuse.

★ or other batteries exceeding 5kg and not belonging to LMT/SLI/EV.

5. Electric vehicle battery

★ Battery for traction of hybrid or pure electric vehicles

★ Battery used for L-type light vehicles, but weighing more than 25kg.

★ EV battery for short

For these five types of batteries, the regulations put forward detailed requirements from the following aspects:

● Sustainability and safety: including hazardous substances limitation, carbon footprint, recycled materials, performance and durability, battery removal and replacement, safety, etc.

● Label information

● Due diligence

● Waste battery management

● Battery passport

● Green public procurement

The regulations also specify the responsibilities of battery manufacturers in detail, and further strengthen the supervision over the circulation of batteries in the EU market.

Background of new regulations

Since the draft of the new EU battery regulation was issued in December 2020, the content and control requirements of the new battery regulation have changed greatly compared with the original EU battery directive, which has attracted great attention from battery manufacturers and upstream and downstream industries. After more than two years of consultation, discussion and content revision, the new EU battery regulation was finally officially promulgated and will take effect on August 17, 2023. The EU aims to promote the competitiveness of European industries through this law.

Warm tips

The new regulations regulate the whole life cycle of batteries from production to reuse and recovery, and ensure their safety, sustainability and competitiveness, which has great influence on battery-related enterprises. ZRLK suggested that relevant enterprises should pay attention to the latest requirements of laws and regulations in time to ensure that products can enter the EU market safely and legally. If you want to know more about the requirements of battery/battery product testing and certification, or if there are batteries/battery products that need to be tested and certified, please feel free to contact us, and our engineers will serve you as soon as possible!