Don't miss out on any news and changes relating to CE! Register now for the CE InfoService
Share Article
With the aim of regulating the entire life cycle of batteries, the Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 has now been applicable for over a year. In addition to the obligations relating to extended producer responsibility already established under the previous Batteries Directive², the Regulation introduces numerous new requirements for the five battery categories.
These range from CE marking and the associated conformity assessment procedures to carbon footprint requirements, new restrictions on substances and the digital battery passport.
In many cases, the Regulation establishes only the general framework. The detailed requirements and additional regulatory provisions will be specified gradually over the coming years through implementing acts. However, even where the Batteries Regulation does not expressly require implementing legislation, further clarification and refinement are still needed to ensure consistent, clear and unambiguous application of its requirements.
Although the Batteries Regulation is directly applicable in all EU Member States, it also provides for certain matters, such as the practical implementation of extended producer responsibility, to be regulated through supplementary national legislation. In Germany, this was achieved through the Battery Law Implementation Act (Batterierecht-Durchführungsgesetz, BattDG), published in October 2025.
Over recent months, further clarification has been provided regarding the Batteries Regulation, particularly concerning battery removability and the digital product passport. Additional obligations will enter into force in early 2027.
From 18 February 2027, a digital battery passport will be required for LMT batteries, industrial batteries with a capacity exceeding 2 kWh and electric vehicle batteries. Requirements concerning the removability and replaceability of certain batteries will also become applicable on that date.
Other obligations, including supply chain due diligence requirements and carbon footprint declarations, have either been postponed or remain subject to further regulatory clarification.
Several delegated acts relating to the Batteries Regulation are currently undergoing the European Commission's legislative process.
The ability to separate batteries from the appliances in which they are incorporated is important for both safety and sustainability. On the one hand, it facilitates the proper disposal and recycling of batteries and appliances. More importantly, it enables batteries to be replaced during the useful life of the appliance.
A requirement concerning battery removability was already included in Article 11 of the previous Batteries Directive. However, numerous undefined terms and differing interpretations led to difficulties in its practical application.
With the incorporation of these requirements into Article 11 of the EU Batteries Regulation, the provisions have been clarified and revised. Their scope has also been extended beyond portable batteries to include batteries for light means of transport (LMT batteries).
On 10 January 2025, the European Commission's guidelines³ on the removability and replaceability of portable batteries and LMT batteries, as provided for in Article 11(9) of the Batteries Regulation, were published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
These guidelines are not legally binding but serve to clarify the relevant requirements. Like Article 11 itself, they are not primarily addressed to battery producers or manufacturers. Instead, they concern the design of products incorporating batteries and therefore primarily address economic operators placing appliances and light means of transport on the market.
According to the Commission's guidelines, Article 11 of the Batteries Regulation serves as a general provision unless more specific requirements apply, such as the existing ecodesign requirements for smartphones, slate tablets and other products under Regulation (EU) 2023/1670⁴.
Additional product-specific requirements may be introduced through future ecodesign legislation.
The following provides a brief overview of the key requirements concerning the removability and replaceability of portable batteries and LMT batteries applicable from 18 February 2027, taking into account the Commission's guidelines.
Principle:
As a general rule, Article 11 requires portable batteries and LMT batteries to be readily removable and replaceable by end-users at any time during the product's lifetime using commercially available tools.
Under the legal presumption set out in Article 11(6), this requirement is considered fulfilled if the battery can be replaced with another compatible battery after removal from the appliance or light means of transport, without impairing the functioning, performance or safety of the product.
The guidelines provide further clarification of the following terms:
Exceptions to the principle:
By way of exception, certain appliances may be designed so that their batteries can only be removed and replaced by independent professionals using commercially available tools.
This applies, where necessary for the safety of the user and the appliance, to washable or rinsable appliances specifically designed to operate in environments regularly exposed to splashing water, water jets or immersion in water.
Professional medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment, as well as in vitro diagnostic medical devices, may also qualify for this exception, irrespective of the aforementioned safety considerations.
The Commission's guidelines provide further clarification of the relevant terminology, including:
The guidelines also outline the procedure through which additional product categories may become eligible for exceptions in the future.
The Commission will initiate this process, taking account of market developments and technical and scientific progress. Upon request, market participants will have three months to submit evidence demonstrating that the conditions laid down in Article 11(4) are met.
The removability and replaceability requirements do not apply to appliances for which continuity of power supply must be maintained and a permanent connection between the appliance and the respective portable battery is necessary for reasons of user and appliance safety.
The same applies to products whose primary function is to collect and supply data, where a permanent connection is necessary to ensure data integrity.
The guidelines provide further clarification of these safety considerations, particularly in relation to medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices, and explain how this exemption differs from the exceptions to the general principle described above.
They also provide non-exhaustive, non-binding examples of appliances whose primary function is data collection, as well as situations in which data integrity may justify a permanent battery connection.
Finally, the guidelines address additional issues, including the availability of spare parts and software-related restrictions.
The availability of spare parts may also extend to fastening elements where these cannot be reused following disassembly and reassembly.
With regard to software restrictions, the guidelines discuss the implications of parts pairing and software notifications displayed when non-original replacement batteries are used.
Download of the guidelines
The full text of the European Commission's guidelines on the removability and replaceability of portable batteries and LMT batteries can be opened and downloaded via the following link:
Commission guidelines on the removability and replaceability of portable batteries and LMT batteries
On 30 July 2025, the EU Commission published Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 amending the Battery Regulation, which is intended to give economic operators additional time to comply with the due diligence obligations established under the Regulation. Originally, these obligations were scheduled to apply from 18 August 2025. Following the amendment, the relevant requirements will not become applicable until 18 August 2027. These include obligations relating to the adaptation of corporate strategies and management systems, the establishment of risk management measures, and the associated requirements for independent verification and disclosure.
The likelihood of a postponement had already become apparent earlier in the year, when the Commission failed to publish the corresponding guidelines by the original deadline of 18 February 2025. Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 also extends the deadline for these guidelines, which were subsequently expected to be published by 26 July 2026. The postponement also takes account of the fact that the designation of notified bodies responsible for independent verification had not yet been completed. The extension is intended to provide these bodies with additional preparation time. Economic operators are also likely to welcome the additional two years. Against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, the extension provides greater flexibility to assess supply chains thoroughly and implement any necessary adjustments.
III UPDATE: Calculation methods & documentation format for recycling operators
The remaining regulatory gaps are not limited to requirements for economic operators placing batteries on the market. On 4 July 2025, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/606 supplementing the EU Batteries Regulation was published. It establishes the methodology for calculating and verifying recycling efficiency and material recovery rates for waste batteries, as well as the corresponding documentation format.
The delegated regulation entered into force on 24 July 2025 and provides recycling operators with the necessary framework to calculate and verify compliance with recycling efficiency and material recovery targets using harmonised methodologies. These requirements apply separately to lead-acid batteries, lithium-based batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries and other waste batteries. Recycling operators must document the relevant calculations and results in the prescribed format.
The German implementation law for the Battery Regulation was officially published on 6 October 2025 and entered into force the following day. The Battery Law Implementation Act (Batterierecht-Durchführungsgesetz, BattDG) replaces the previous German Batteries Act and fulfils Germany's obligation under the EU Batteries Regulation to adopt supplementary national provisions in certain areas.
Although the BattDG largely follows the provisions of the EU Batteries Regulation, it introduces several additional requirements and deviations. For example, Section 3(1) BattDG extends the definition of a producer to include distributors who intentionally or negligently make batteries available on the market from producers that have not been properly registered.
This effectively introduces the concept of a deemed producer, extending responsibility beyond the definition established in the EU Batteries Regulation.
Another difference concerns the requirement for proper registration before batteries may be made available on the German market. Obligated producers must ensure that the correct battery category is specified during registration and that the relevant battery brand is declared. Unlike the EU Batteries Regulation, Section 5(1) BattDG requires the battery brand to be specified in all cases. To reflect the new battery categories introduced by the EU Batteries Regulation, the BattDG required all producers to register again by 15 January 2026 using the revised categories. Existing registrations were to be deleted on that date.
The requirement for all producers, across all battery categories, to participate in a producer responsibility organisation (Organisation für Herstellerverantwortung, OfH) from 1 January 2026 created additional practical challenges.
Existing take-back organisations were also required to obtain authorisation as producer responsibility organisations. As of 20 November 2025, no producer responsibility organisations had yet been authorised by Stiftung ear (stiftung elektro-altgeräte register), the competent German authority.
Consequently, companies were unable to begin the relevant allocation and registration procedures, raising concerns about potential prohibitions on placing batteries on the market in view of the registration deadline of 15 January 2026. Existing take-back organisations also faced difficulties in obtaining authorisation because Section 9 BattDG requires them to provide financial security to Stiftung ear. According to these organisations, the prescribed method for calculating the required financial security goes beyond the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation and results in amounts corresponding to at least four times the previous level of risk coverage. Even when taking account of contributions payable by producers, these amounts reportedly exceed the financial resources available to the organisations concerned.
In an urgent letter addressed to the German Federal Environment Minister, the existing take-back organisations therefore called for:
The challenges surrounding Germany's implementation of the EU Batteries Regulation reflect the broader uncertainty currently affecting environmental regulation, making it more difficult for affected companies to prepare and implement the necessary changes within the prescribed deadlines.
Exemptions from the Battery Removability Requirement Published
As mentioned above, pursuant to Article 11(1) of the EU Batteries Regulation, appliances must generally be designed in such a way that batteries can be easily removed and replaced throughout the product's lifetime from 18 February 2027 onwards. However, under Article 11(2) and (4) of the Batteries Regulation, certain product categories may be exempted from this requirement, provided that the batteries can instead be removed and replaced by independent professionals. The European Commission is empowered to extend the list of exemptions by means of delegated acts.
One such act (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1770) was adopted on 14 July 2026 for portable batteries incorporated into certain categories of appliances and officially published on 22 October 2026. Accordingly, exemptions from the requirement for batteries to be removable by end-users now apply to the following types of appliances:
From 18 February 2027 onwards, portable batteries incorporated into appliances covered by these exemptions will only be required to be removable and replaceable by independent professionals. The requirement for removability and replaceability by consumers and professional end-users will no longer apply.
Alongside Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1770, the Commission published guidelines (C/2026/5531) to facilitate the harmonised application of the provisions on the removability and replaceability of portable batteries and light means of transport (LMT) batteries. The guidelines aim to promote a consistent interpretation and application of the relevant requirements. In addition to clarifying key terminology, they provide practical examples illustrating how the exemptions apply to specific types of appliances.
Recital 44 of the EU Batteries Regulation refers to the labelling of batteries with information on their main characteristics, including the quantities of certain hazardous substances contained in them (see also Annex VI, Part A, point 8 of the Batteries Regulation). However, it has not yet been conclusively determined which substances should be classified as "hazardous substances" and therefore fall within the scope of the labelling requirement. Under the Environmental Omnibus Package published in December 2025, the term is linked to substances regulated under the REACH and CLP Regulations. By contrast, the draft regulation on battery labelling, also published in December 2025, refers only to the CLP Regulation. In summer 2026, the Council of the European Union proposed requiring the labelling of substances specified under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). What all these proposals have in common is that, if implemented, they would result in a potentially very broad and insufficiently defined scope of substances subject to the labelling requirement. Against this background, a joint position paper by several battery and energy storage industry associations, addressed to the European Commission, was published in early November 2026. The associations call for greater clarity regarding the labelling requirement and propose limiting its scope to substances included on the list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs). Such an approach would narrow the scope of the labelling requirement, thereby avoiding additional administrative and compliance burdens for affected companies while providing greater legal certainty as to which substances must be declared.
In addition to the European Commission's initiatives, further guidance is gradually becoming available to help companies comply with the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation throughout the battery lifecycle.
The digital battery passport will play a central role in communicating a wide range of product attributes. Under Article 77 of the EU Batteries Regulation, from 18 February 2027 every LMT battery, industrial battery with a capacity exceeding 2 kWh and electric vehicle battery must have a digital battery passport.
Under Article 77 of the EU Batteries Regulation, from 18 February 2027 every LMT battery, industrial battery with a capacity exceeding 2 kWh and electric vehicle battery must have a digital battery passport. However, the numerous data points required for the battery passport raise important questions regarding data availability, quality and granularity. Addressing these challenges requires companies to initiate appropriate internal implementation measures well in advance. To support the collection of the required data and the technical implementation of both the digital battery passport and the digital product passport envisaged under Chapter III of the ESPR⁵, several industry and research consortia have launched standardisation projects in recent years.
At the beginning of 2025, DIN DKE SPEC 99100:2025-02 was published, providing a comprehensive specification of the data attributes required for the digital battery passport. The specification translates existing and foreseeable legal requirements into individual data points and provides guidance on their practical implementation. It can therefore serve as a valuable reference for companies developing internal processes and preparing to collect and obtain the necessary data.
As the EU Batteries Regulation often establishes only general framework requirements, many questions regarding its practical implementation remain unanswered. The gradual clarification of these requirements through implementing acts, guidelines and standardisation activities is therefore both welcome and necessary. Such developments will help establish a consistent approach to compliance and support the efficient and competitive implementation of the Regulation.
UPDATE VIa: Adoption of battery-specific requirements delayed
Over the past few months, the general framework for implementing the digital product passport requirements, applicable to all product groups, has been established. The register has been set up and the test environment has also been online since July (access via: https://registry.product-passport.ec.europa.eu/). Since 6 August 2026, the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778 has governed the technical and operational functioning of the central EU register. Pursuant to Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1736 of 15 July 2026, a presumption of conformity now also applies where the standards EN 18216 on data exchange protocols, EN 18219 on unique identifiers, EN 18220 on data carriers, EN 18221 on data storage and archiving, EN 18222 on the ‘Application Programming Interface’ and EN 18223 on interoperability are complied with.
Implementation at product level is still in full swing. With regard to the requirement to communicate data on specific batteries via the digital product passport, the European Commission should have adopted an implementing act by 18 August 2026 setting out access rights, the scope of access for the respective authorised groups of persons, and rights of use. Although no such implementing act has yet been published, on 15 August 2026 the Commission published guidance on the data points to be provided for electric vehicle batteries, batteries for light means of transport (LMT) and industrial batteries with a capacity of more than 2 kWh. Among other things, this sets out which information will be mandatory or optional from February 2027, or which must or must not be provided in specific cases. The document can be accessed HERE (last updated: 19 October 2026).
Details regarding sustainability requirements are also gradually taking shape. For example, under the Battery Regulation (BattVO), certain battery categories must contain a specified proportion of recycled metals in order to be placed on the EU market. In particular, targets have been set for the proportion of recycled materials in lithium, cobalt, nickel and lead. These will come into force from 2031 and 2036 respectively. On 12 August 2026, the Commission published a consultation on a delegated act intended to lay down the methodology for calculating and verifying the proportions of recycled lithium, cobalt, nickel and lead.
Footnotes:1Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2023 concerning batteries and waste batteries2Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries3Commission Notice – Commission guidelines to facilitate the harmonised application of provisions on the removability and replaceability of portable batteries and LMT batteries in Regulation (EU) 2023/15424Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1670 of 16 June 2023 laying down ecodesign requirements for smartphones, mobile phones other than smartphones, cordless phones and slate tablets pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC5Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products
CE-InfoService
Don't miss out on any news or changes relating to CE!
Not yet registered for the free CE InfoService? Register now and receive information by email when new technical articles, important standard publications or other news from the field of safety of machinery and electrical equipment or product compliance are available.
Posted on: 2026-11-12 (last amendment)
Co-founder of NovaLoop GmbH. She specialises in the development and implementation of compliance and sustainability strategies for companies of various industries and sizes. With her many years of experience in management consulting in the areas of ‘material compliance & environmental market access requirements’ and with in-depth knowledge of international environmental law and European law, the fully qualified lawyer and business mediator manages to seamlessly link sustainability development goals with economic and legal product compliance issues. She thus provides dedicated support for environmental compliance programmes and sustainability projects from conception to successful implementation.
Email: kschneikert@novaloop.de
We will inform you free of charge by e-mail about new technical articles, important standard publications or other news from the field of mechanical and electrical equipment safety or product compliance.
Register
Katrin Schneikert Co-founder of NovaLoop GmbH. She specialises in the development and implementation of compliance and sustainability strategies for companies of various industries and sizes. With her many years of experience in management consulting in the areas of ‘material compliance & environmental market access requirements’ and with in-depth knowledge of international environmental law and European law, the fully qualified lawyer and business mediator manages to seamlessly link sustainability development goals with economic and legal product compliance issues. She thus provides dedicated support for environmental compliance programmes and sustainability projects from conception to successful implementation.
CE software for systematic and professional safety engineering
Practical seminars on aspects of risk assessment and ce marking
With the CE InfoService you stay informed about important developments in the field of product safety.