The policy brief in the previous section summarises the policy interventions found and described in the study report “Batteries in the Nordics – Changing for Circularity”. This executive summary gives a rundown of the remaining chapters of the report.
Introduction
The overall aim of the project is to promote the Nordic countries as a forerunner region in demanding and using sustainable design of consumer electronics, and to identify key opportunities, barriers, and challenges in the transition towards a more sustainable use of battery technologies, including the transport sector. The aesthetics of the design should meet with the overall sustainability: high quality, durability, and smart assembly for refurbishing.
The project is founded by the Nordic Working Group for Circular Economy (NCE) under the Nordic Council of Ministers. The project has been carried out by Viegand Maagøe A/S (Denmark) and IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute (Sweden) in the period 20 October 2020 to 31 December 2021.
A reference group with representatives from the Nordics has been established, who provided valuable input to the study.
Legal framework and relevant initiatives
EU legislation and initiatives have a direct or indirect influence in the Nordics on batteries and the products containing batteries.
The proposed new battery regulation to replace the Battery Directive is expected to become an important driver for the circularity of batteries and for minimising the negative environmental impact of batteries. The current Battery Directive applies to all batteries placed on the market within the European Union and establishes objectives and targets (e.g., on collection and recycling); specifies measures (such as phasing out mercury or establishing national schemes for collection) and enables actions (e.g., reporting or labelling) to achieve them.
The directive has been the EU’s best tool in ensuring recycling and beneficial environmental handling of batteries on the European market and have therefore also impacted the Nordic Member States’ handling of batteries. Still, the directive does not ensure that all batteries are properly collected and recycled at the end of their life, increasing the risk of releasing hazardous substances and wasting valuable and critical resources. Also, the existing directive does not fully grasp the intentions of the circular economy. Therefore, a new battery regulation was proposed repealing the existing directive to better reflect circularity, improve sustainability, and keep pace with technological developments.
The proposed Battery Regulation (published on 10 December 2020) includes:
introduction of a new category of electric vehicle batteries, alongside the existing portable, automotive, and industrial battery classes;
progressive requirements to minimise the carbon footprint of EV batteries and rechargeable industrial batteries: a carbon footprint declaration requirement, applying as of 1 July 2024, complemented by classification in a carbon footprint performance category and related labelling (as of 1 January 2026); and a requirement to comply with maximum lifecycle carbon footprint thresholds (as of 1 July 2027);
a recycled content declaration requirement, which would apply from 1 January 2027 to industrial batteries, EV batteries and automotive batteries containing cobalt, lead, lithium, or nickel in active materials. Mandatory minimum levels of recycled content would be set for 2030 and 2035 (i.e., 12% cobalt; 85% lead, 4% lithium and 4% nickel as of 1 January 2030, increasing to 20% cobalt, 10% lithium and 12% nickel from 1 January 2035, the share for lead being unchanged);
minimum electrochemical performance and durability requirements for portable batteries of general use (applying from 1 January 2027), as well as for rechargeable industrial batteries (from 1 January 2026). The Commission would assess the feasibility of phasing out non-rechargeable portable batteries of general use by the end of 2030;
a new obligation of battery replaceability for portable batteries; safety requirements for stationary battery energy storage systems;
supply chain due diligence obligations for economic operators that place rechargeable industrial batteries and EV batteries on the market. For this requirement on responsible raw material sourcing (as well as for those related to the carbon footprint and the recycled content levels), the Commission proposal envisages mandatory third-party verification through notified bodies;
increased collection rate targets for waste portable batteries, excluding waste batteries from light means of transport (65% by the end of 2025, rising to 70% by the end of 2030);
as regards recycling efficiencies, increased targets for lead-acid batteries (recycling of 75% by average weight of the lead-acid batteries by 2025, rising to 80% by 2030) and new targets for lithium-based batteries (65% by 2025, 70% by 2030). The proposed regulation also envisages specific material recovery targets, namely 90% for cobalt, copper, lead and nickel, and 35% for lithium, to be achieved by the end of 2025. By 2030, the recovery levels should reach 95% for cobalt, copper, lead and nickel, and 70% for lithium;
requirements relating to the operations of repurposing and remanufacturing for a second life of industrial and EV batteries;
labelling and information requirements. From 1 January 2027, batteries should be marked with a label with information necessary for the identification of batteries and of their main characteristics. Various labels on the battery or the battery packaging would also provide information on lifetime, charging capacity, separate collection requirements, the presence of hazardous substances and safety risks. Rechargeable industrial batteries and EV batteries should contain a battery management system storing the information and data needed to determine the state of health and expected lifetime of batteries. This system should be accessible to battery owners and independent operators acting on their behalf (e.g., to facilitate the reuse, repurposing or remanufacturing of the battery);
the setting up, by 1 January 2026, of an electronic exchange system for battery information, with the creation of a battery passport (i.e., electronic record) for each industrial battery and EV battery placed on the market or put into service;
envisaging of the development of minimum mandatory green public procurement criteria or targets.
The Ecodesign Directive establishes a framework for setting ecodesign requirements on energy-related products such as household appliances, consumer electronics and information and communication technologies. In recent years, a set of resource efficiency requirements have been implemented in the Ecodesign product regulations including requirements on disassembly for repair and reuse and for products’ built-in batteries. These include the regulations on computers and on enterprise and data centre servers and storage products and proposed requirements in the working documents for smartphones and tablets. These requirements can be highly relevant for circularity of the batteries themselves and also for extending the lifetime of the products using built-in batteries due to longer battery lifetime and possibility for easy replacement of the batteries.