Belgium – The European Council says it has reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament to reform and expand regulations regarding the use and reuse of batteries which, if passed, would apply to all electric vehicle batteries and starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries for automotive applications in the European Union. 

The regulations which have been proposed would cover the entire life cycle of the battery. Each battery pack will need to adhere to new labelling and information requirements, clearly stating the pack’s components and its recycled content. A “battery passport”, or electronic record carrying information about each pack’s contents, specifications, and health, will be accessible via a QR code. (To ensure these rules are properly implemented, the EU would enforce labelling requirements 36 months after the regulations are passed, and the QR code 42 months after.) The EU has also proposed introducing new performance, durability and safety criteria, tighter restrictions for hazardous substances such as mercury, cadmium and lead, and mandatory disclosure of the pack’s carbon footprint.