Leva

Preliminary agreement on new EU Batteries Regulation

458 days ago

2 minutes

On 9 December, Council, Parliament and Commission have reached an agreement on the draft text for a new EU Regulation on Batteries. Although LEVA-EU has won a few battles, it is too early to claim victory yet.


The new EU law will have a very considerable impact on batteries for light, electric vehicles (LEVs) and on the LEV-sector as a whole. The agreed compromise is not available yet and still needs official approval from Parliament and Council, but this is what we know so far:

  • Thanks in part to the work of LEVA-EU, the text holds a separate category for what is called batteries for light means of transport (LMT). With reservation, we quote the definition of that category as follows: “LMT battery means any battery that is sealed and weighs below or equal to 25 kg, designed to provide electric power for the traction to wheeled vehicles that can be powered by the electric motor alone or by a combination of motor and human power including type-approved vehicle of category L in the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 168/2013, and that is not an electric vehicle battery.
  • LEV-batteries of more than 25 kg will come under the category of electric vehicle batteries.
  • The law will have rates for the collection of end-of-life LMT-batteries. Partly thanks to LEVA-EU, this rate will be calculated based on batteries “available for collection” (AfC), rather than batteries “put on market“.
  • The new legislation will introduce extended and rigorous sustainability requirements. LEVA-EU has consistently and repeatedly protested these sustainability requirements for LMT-batteries. They would be imposed on LMT-batteries without the Commission having first conducted an impact assessment. Seemingly, the three authorities have agreed to maintain the 2 kW limit for some of these sustainability requirements. Until the compromise text is available, we are unable to determine for which requirements the limit has been retained.

All in all, LEVA-EU’s position has been broadly observed. Let’s hope the devil will not be in the details. Next year, the text will be submitted to the Plenary of the European Parliament and to the 27 Member States for final approval.

Annick Roetynck

Annick is the Manager of LEVA-EU, with decades of experience in two-wheeled and light electric mobility.

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