The European Union has approved new standards related to the design, production and waste management of batteries sold in the European Union.
Almost a year ago the European Parliament approved the regulation that mobile phones, tablets and cameras share a single type of charger, USB C, regardless of the brand that the devices were (including Apple, which in the EU should launch iPhones with USB-C). And now, at last, the EU is looking at another area that also needed a change: the battery.
With 587 votes in favour, 9 against and 20 abstentions, the MEPs supported the text resulting from the negotiations with the Council of the EU to update the community regulations on batteries. The new legislation takes into account “technological development and future challenges in the sector”, and covers the entire life cycle of batteries, “from design to the moment they are disposed of”.
Although the European Union statement does not expressly say that mobile phones have to have a removable casing to remove the battery, it does state that the portable batteries of the devices must be “designed so that consumers themselves can remove and replace them.” easily”. This does not necessarily mean going back to phones from a few years ago with removable covers, but it does seem like the easiest and simplest solution, a priori.
To give an example, in 2009, 99% of mobile phones on the market had a removable battery and in 2018, the figure was less than 9%. Thus, new changes are planned that are closer to the former, although with new challenges to overcome, such as the resistance to water offered by a large part of the mid-range and the entire high-end range and which is achieved with watertight joints. .
Waste also plays a key role in this new law, as the EU wants to be stricter in this regard. For portable batteries (mobile phones, tablets, etc.) the goal is to collect 45% in 2023, 63% in 2027 and 73% in 2030. For LMT batteries (light means of transport, such as scooters or bikes utilities), the target is 51% in 2028 and 61% in 2031.
From here, the EU wants to reuse the materials of its composition for the manufacture of new batteries. Thus, it estimates reaching 50% by 2027 and 80% by 2031 for lithium and for cobalt, copper, lead and nickel, 90% by 2027 and 95% by 2031.
The law has not yet entered into force. After the vote in plenary, the Council will have to formally approve its text so that it can later be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and then, yes, it will come into force. If all goes well, it will be a matter of a few months.
Once it goes live, it will also be necessary for the brands to take their time to make the pertinent changes in the designs and change their production processes before reaching the market. Therefore, manufacturers will have three and a half years once the law is approved to carry out this solution that allows “consumers themselves to easily remove and replace them.”
