December 12, 2022 - The Council and the European Parliament today reached a provisional political agreement on a proposal to strengthen sustainability rules for batteries and waste batteries. For the first time the legislation will regulate the entire life cycle of a battery – from production to reuse and recycling – and ensure that they are safe, sustainable and competitive. The deal is provisional pending formal adoption in both institutions.
“Batteries are a key element of the EU’s shift towards zero-emission modes of transport. As demand for batteries will grow by more than ten-fold by 2030 we need to make sure we have enough batteries and that they are sustainable throughout their supply chains. The new rules will promote the competitiveness of European industry and ensure that end-of-life batteries will be properly collected and recycled so that useful materials are recovered and toxic substances are not released into the environment,” commented Marian Jurečka, Czech minister of the environment.
The provisional agreement reached between the Council and the Parliament will apply to all batteries including all waste portable batteries, electric vehicle batteries, industrial batteries, starting, lightning and ignition (SLI) batteries (used mostly for vehicles and machinery) and batteries for light means of transport (e.g. electric bikes, e-mopeds, e-scooters).
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