A vote by a European Parliament plenary meeting to adopt new regulations concerning the cradle-to-grave battery industry could make it harder to negotiate a “fit for purpose” regulatory framework.
The vote was in line with the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) committee’s adoption of proposals in February.
That vote considered technological developments and amended provisions in areas governing recycling, materials and sustainability and added a category for “batteries for ‘light means of transport’ (LMT)”, such as e-bikes.
However, battery manufacturer association EUROBAT believes the position of the European Parliament in the upcoming trilogue will hinder Europe’s decarbonisation path and achieving its energy security targets.
EUROBAT is concerned amendments the European Parliament is expected to support in the upcoming trilogue could affect the quality of the final text of the Batteries Regulation— of which a proposal for a regulation was published in December 2020.
This could jeopardise the sustainable growth of the industry in Europe, with knock-on effects for the decarbonisation of the EU economy and for energy security, say the association.
EUROBAT believes the definition of a battery should refer to finished products that are ready to use to avoid additional administrative costs for batteries, modules and packs produced in Europe, compared with ready to use imported batteries.
It is also calling for the original equipment manufacturer to bear producer responsibility if batteries are placed on the market embedded in equipment.
EUROBAT president Marc Zoellner said: “We take stock of the vote in the European Parliament plenary session on the Batteries Regulation and call on all stakeholders to address the key stumbling blocks in the proposal during the trilogue
“The Batteries Regulation needs to provide visibility to the battery industry, which has been taking enormous steps to reduce its carbon footprint. Without a sound regulatory framework, batteries cannot continue to enable Europe to achieve its ambitious 2030 and 2050 climate and energy goals.”
Read more on EUROBAT’s position here
Europe’s battery overhaul
Plans to overhaul the European battery industry from the design phase to end-of-life were adopted last month when ENVI voted 74 votes in favour, eight against and five abstentions.
The vote constituted its position on proposed rules to govern the entire battery product life cycle, and took into account technological developments and amended provisions in several areas governing recycling, materials and sustainability.
The report constitutes European Parliament’s negotiation position with EU governments on the final shape of the legislation.
The Commission’s proposal for battery regulation aims at strengthening the functioning of the internal market, promoting a circular economy and reducing environmental and social impacts throughout all stages of the battery life cycle.
The initiative is closely linked to the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the New Industrial Strategy.
MEPs backed proposals include:
- Rules on a carbon footprint declaration and labelling, a maximum value for the life cycle carbon footprint, as well as minimum levels of recovered cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel for reuse in new batteries.
- By 2024, portable batteries in appliances, such as smartphones, and batteries for LMT must be designed for easy and safe removal and replacement by consumers or independent operators.
- Any economic operator placing any batteries on the EU market must comply with requirements addressing risks around the sourcing, processing and trading of raw materials, chemicals and secondary raw materials. MEPs want the battery industry to follow internationally recognised due diligence standards across their entire value chain.
- More stringent collection targets for portable batteries (70% by 2025, compared to the Commission’s original proposal of 65%; and 80% by 2030 instead of 70%). They also introduce minimum collection rates for LMT batteries (75% by 2025 and 85% by 2030). All waste automotive, industrial and electric vehicle batteries must be collected.
