- Dr Denise Ott
- 06.02.25
- 2 min
- Sustainability consulting
Your contact person
Levin Winzinger
With the new EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542, a declaration on the carbon footprint of the battery is also required in the digital product passport. In this guide, we explain when the regulation applies to which batteries, which regulations are being introduced for the carbon footprint and how this is to be calculated. (Article updated in December 2024.)
What is the EU Battery Regulation? Batteries are a key element for sustainable power supply, green mobility and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Under the European Green Deal, the EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 was therefore introduced to make the entire life cycle of batteries more sustainable. It includes stricter regulations on the production, use and disposal of batteries. The regulation aims to minimise the environmental impact of batteries, promote the circular economy and reduce dependence on critical raw materials by improving the collection, reuse and recycling of batteries. A particular focus is on the reduction of hazardous substances and the promotion of transparency and traceability through the digital product passport. What is a digital product passport? It is an electronic document that contains important information about a product throughout its life cycle, from manufacture to disposal. In the case of batteries, the digital product passport provides details about their composition, performance, recyclability and carbon footprint in the form of a printed or engraved QR code. This enables consumers, manufacturers and authorities to obtain transparency about the ecological and economic value of the product. |
The EU Battery Regulation was published in July 2023 and entered into force on 18 February 2024. It applies to battery cells or modules that are made available on the market for final use and are not installed or assembled in larger battery packs or batteries.
The following distinction between battery types and subtypes is defined:
The Battery Regulation sets (minimum) requirements for sustainability, safety, labelling and information, such as shelf life, performance, recycling content in new batteries or collection rates.
A major focus in the area of sustainability is the declaration of the carbon footprint of batteries. For each battery model in the categories of traction batteries, rechargeable industrial batteries with a capacity of more than 2 kWh and LMT batteries, a carbon footprint declaration must be prepared for each producer (production batch-specific).
This declaration must contain at least the following:
In addition, the carbon footprint declaration must be verified by a third party notified body.
In the next step, the European Commission will define performance classes from 2026 into which batteries will be categorised depending on their carbon footprint (similar to the energy efficiency classes for electrical appliances). Maximum values for the carbon footprint (by battery type) will then be gradually introduced.
As can be seen in the infographic below, the carbon footprint declaration for traction batteries should be available by February 2025. However, the associated directive should have been adopted in February 2024. Due to the delay, the declaration is not expected to be necessary until the beginning of 2026. Industrial batteries without external storage will follow in February 2026, LMT batteries in August 2028 and industrial batteries with external storage in August 2030 (provided that the respective directives are adopted 12 months in advance to these dates). The performance class must be specified no later than 18 months after the deadline for the declaration; the maximum values apply in each case 3 years after the introduction of the declaration.
The framework conditions for calculating the carbon footprint of batteries are developed and published by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. Separate calculation rules are developed for each battery type and published no later than one year before the deadline from which the carbon footprint declaration becomes mandatory.
In principle, the rules are based on the components of a life cycle assessment or the Environmental Footprint (EF) method (Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/2279).
(Source: "Rules for the calculation of the Carbon Footprint of Electric Vehicle Batteries (CFB-EV)", Final Draft of June 2023)
Particularly with regard to the planned maximum values, you should start determining the carbon footprint at an early stage in order to implement possible reduction measures in good time! |
Our sustainability department has extensive expertise in the sustainability assessment of battery systems thanks to its involvement in numerous research projects (ENTISE, ZiMaBat, ZinCycle, CaSino, IDcycLIB, ECO2LIB, SINTBAT). If you have any questions or are interested in working with us, please get in touch with our experts!
Text: Levin Winzinger
Your contact person
Levin Winzinger
EurA AG
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