Electric cars, bicycles and scooters, as well as smartphones, tablets and computers: batteries are now everywhere, they surround us and quietly enter our everyday life. But above all, they are the key to getting out of fossil fuels.
This is why Europe is striving to become independent from Asia, the continent that today supplies most of the raw materials and finished batteries. To this end, two recent EU initiatives were created to regulate the battery market and the Critical Raw Materials Act.
Life cycle
The first initiative is a resolution that was finally approved in July 2023 and went into effect last February. The document includes a number of rules covering the entire life cycle of batteries: from production to recycling, including primary and re-use.
The aim is to provide safe, durable and competitive batteries. The rules also apply to all types of batteries: used in vehicles, electronic devices, industry and starting systems, lighting, etc.
The battery regulation is based on minimum targets that manufacturers must meet to collect waste (ie end-of-life batteries): 63% by 2027 and 73% by 2030. For car batteries, the standards are 51% by 2028 and 61% by 2031.
There are also lithium recovery targets (50% by 2027 and 80% by 2031) and minimum recycled content levels that batteries must meet: 16% for cobalt, 85% for lead, 6 % for lithium and 6% for nickel. For nickel-cadmium batteries, the target is 80% by 2025.
The provision in particular provides for the possibility for the user to remove and replace the batteries of the devices. Then there are efficiency, durability and safety criteria, as well as limits on hazardous substances such as mercury, cadmium and lead.
Finally, there are labeling requirements and information about ingredients and recycled content. The "electronic passport of the battery" and the QR code.
Security
The second initiative is the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRA). It aims to ensure a safe and stable supply of minerals useful for the transition. Thus, it lists raw materials (34) and strategic materials (17) and sets indicators to cover the annual consumption of raw materials.
He also talked about simplifying permits: a maximum of 27 months for mining projects and 15 months for processing and transformation projects. “In order to facilitate the development of strategic projects, the European institutions determine that Member States will establish single points of contact at the appropriate administrative level and at the appropriate stage of the value chain of critical raw materials.“