A decarbonized future requires sustainable batteries

Batteries play an increasingly important role in our daily lives. Not only our smartphones are powered by batteries, also chainsaws, drills and cars will soon run on batteries only. Battery applications are key for electrification and innovation as we leave our dependency on fossil fuels behind to meet our climate targets.

However, the use of batteries will take on such proportions that by 2030 the need for batteries will be 14 times greater than today. A modernisation of the current Battery Directive was necessary to make it fit for the coming era of batteries and to increase our incentives for a circular economy.

Renew Europe welcomes the vote in ENVI committee today on the new fully harmonized regulation for batteries and waste batteries. Appropriate measures are taken throughout the entire lifecycle of batteries to achieve clear targets for safety requirements, for the collection of waste batteries and a proper reuse of materials, while batteries of all sizes are incorporated in the Due Diligence Scheme and consumers will have easy access to all relevant information through a QR- code.

Karin Karlsbro (Liberalerna, Sweden) Renew Europe’s shadow rapporteur on this report, says:

“The European batteries regulation is a whole new type of environmental legislation model that follows the product through its entire life cycle - from manufacturing to consumption and all the way to recycling into new products. The EU is creating a new sustainability legislative model for an entire industry and that requires responsibility to human rights and the environment. A fully harmonized regulation, applicable in all member states also increases predictability for all stakeholders involved. The new European batteries regulation is a win for us and for the climate. Instead of throwing out your old electronics it will be much easier to replace the worn out batteries with new recycled ones. A decarbonized future requires sustainable batteries.”