Proposed EU Batteries Regulation 'fails to recognise market diversity', Eurobat warns
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EU environment commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevičius, has said previously that particular action was needed on requirements governing lithium-based batteries, to ensure products made outside the EU conformed to the bloc’s own "green" standards. Photo: Dati Bendo/EC-Audiovisual Service
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Proposed EU regulations aimed at improving the safety and sustainability of batteries could "ultimately damage” the battery industry unless changes are made, industry leaders have warned.
Regulations to shake up outdated rules governing the battery industry are at an advanced stage of discussions among the bloc’s member states and the European Parliament.
But the Association of European Automotive and Industrial Battery Manufacturers – Eurobat – has warned that the proposed new Batteries Regulation fails to "recognise the diversity of the battery market”.
Eurobat has published a new paper urging EU leaders to revise the proposals in several areas, before finalising talks on the Batteries Regulation in the second half of next year.
In terms of performance and durability standards, Eurobat said several proposed measures "are tailored with lithium-ion batteries for e-mobility applications in mind”.
But the reality is "the battery market is extremely diverse, with different technologies (lithium, lead, sodium and nickel-based) and hundreds of very different applications”, the paper said.
"The same requirements cannot be applied to all batteries.”
And Eurobat repeated concerns, raised earlier this year, that the European Commission could use the Batteries Regulation to enforce new standards for the design, production and use of batteries, over the heads of technical experts in EU member states.
At present, the proposal "still leaves too much power in the hands of the European Commission to simply disregard the expert opinion of national standardisation committees”, the paper said.
Click on the link below to read Eurobat’s position paper in full.
Regulations to shake up outdated rules governing the battery industry are at an advanced stage of discussions among the bloc’s member states and the European Parliament.
But the Association of European Automotive and Industrial Battery Manufacturers – Eurobat – has warned that the proposed new Batteries Regulation fails to "recognise the diversity of the battery market”.
Eurobat has published a new paper urging EU leaders to revise the proposals in several areas, before finalising talks on the Batteries Regulation in the second half of next year.
In terms of performance and durability standards, Eurobat said several proposed measures "are tailored with lithium-ion batteries for e-mobility applications in mind”.
But the reality is "the battery market is extremely diverse, with different technologies (lithium, lead, sodium and nickel-based) and hundreds of very different applications”, the paper said.
"The same requirements cannot be applied to all batteries.”
And Eurobat repeated concerns, raised earlier this year, that the European Commission could use the Batteries Regulation to enforce new standards for the design, production and use of batteries, over the heads of technical experts in EU member states.
At present, the proposal "still leaves too much power in the hands of the European Commission to simply disregard the expert opinion of national standardisation committees”, the paper said.
Click on the link below to read Eurobat’s position paper in full.