The European Union has approved new regulations aimed at enforcing greater battery recyclability in its member states. Jefferson Chase, senior manager communications for Germany Trade & Invest issued a press release on PR Newswire on July 12, 2023 confirming the details. We provide a summary of the press announcement here, and share a few thoughts of our own.
Is Greater Battery Recyclability Commercially Viable?
This is an open question whether overseas manufacturers will play ball with EU standards. Europe is a relatively small market compared to India and China. The details we describe below could be enough to direct overseas battery maker attention elsewhere:
- Battery producers will be responsible for collecting specific volumes of their waste portable batteries.
- The European Union sets these percentages at 63% by end 2027, and 73% by end 2031.
- The regulations also set specific collection targets for waste batteries from light electric vehicles.
- But this time targets for battery producers are 51% by end 2028, and 61% by end 2031.
However, there is more to these European Union standards for greater battery recyclability than just those few points. The press release also mentions specific goals for industrial, electric vehicle, and starter lead-acid batteries. Content documentation is also included, and there are targets for all batteries by end 2025.
A Major Step Change for European Battery Policy
These new rules are a step on the way towards making batteries the first, truly closed-loop industry in Europe. Local battery makers, especially in the industrial heartland of Germany, will have little choice but to comply. They should also have been aware of these impending changes, and had time to plan how to meet them.
We shall watch with interest for what happens next. Will EU battery makers cross their ‘rubicon’ of change, and seize the opportunity to dominate local markets? For surely the rest of the world will have to follow suit, and they should then be experts in greater battery recyclability.
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