EU Batteries Regulation: Latest provisions relating to battery waste management, extended producer responsibility and labelling come into effect

The EU Batteries Regulation 2023/1542 (the Regulation) came into force over two years ago. However, its provisions are being implemented in stages with the latest set of provisions having come into effect on 18 August 2025. To date, we have seen the phased implementation of the following aspects of the Regulation:

• 18 February 2024 - minor provisions only (see our related article, here)
• 18 August 2024 - more substantive requirements for OEMs and distributors, including provisions focused on information disclosure requirements as to the origin and constitution of batteries (see our related article, here)

In this article, we look at the latest provisions in relation to battery waste management and the extended producer responsibility regime as well as labelling.

It is important to note, that as discussed further below, the due diligence requirements which were also due to be implemented alongside these other requirements, have been delayed for two years.

Extended Producer Responsibility (Article 56)

Article 56 of the Regulation places extended producer responsibility (EPR) on all battery producers (including economic operators who prepare batteries for re-use or repurposing) from 18 August 2025, making them operationally and financially responsible for end-of-life battery management.  

However, recognising the complexity of operationalising these obligations for battery producers, the Regulation permits producers to appoint a producer responsibility organisation (PRO) authorised under the provisions of the Regulation to fulfil its EPR obligations. This is likely to become the usual approach in practice.¹ It should be noted that Member States may choose to make the appointment of PROs mandatory on the basis of the specific characteristics of a given category of batteries and related waste management characteristics.

All overseas producers selling batteries in a Member State (or producers established in a different Member State to the Member State they are selling batteries into) must appoint in writing an authorised representative for EPR (EPR Authorised Representative) for each relevant Member State².

Registration requirements (Article 55)

Battery producers (or their EPR Authorised Representative) must be registered in each Member State in which they are making batteries available on the market for the first time, including those incorporated into vehicles³. The registration application must include a range of information, including the measures put in place by the producer to fulfil its EPR and battery collection obligations.

End of life management- take back and collection obligations (Articles 60, 61 and 62)

Furthering the aim of reducing their environmental impact, the Regulation sets out a comprehensive framework for the collection and treatment of waste batteries.  From 18 August 2025, the Regulation requires producers of EV and light means of transport (LMT) batteries (or their appointed PROs) to:

• ensure waste batteries are collected separately;⁴
• offer the collection of waste batteries free charge at collection points (in the case of LMT batteries)⁵ and take back waste batteries free of charge (in the case of EV batteries)⁶;
• establish take back systems (EV batteries)⁷ or collection points (LMT batteries)⁸ which cover the entirety of each relevant Member State (taking into account factors including the population, size, expected volume of waste batteries and accessibility and proximity for end users);
• ensure the collection infrastructure meets applicable safety requirements and cover the necessary costs of those systems and that the collection and storage facilities are suitable in view of the volume and hazardous nature of the relevant waste batteries⁹;
• collect waste batteries from the take back and collection systems with a frequency that is proportionate to the storage capacity of the collection infrastructure and the volume and hazardous nature of the waste batteries likely to be collected¹⁰;
• provide for the delivery of the waste batteries to authorised treatment facilities¹¹.

While there are no express collection targets for EV batteries, for LMT batteries, the Regulation sets the following collection targets¹²:

• 51% by 31 December 2028; and
• 61% by 31 December 2031.

The Regulation also places take back obligations on distributors, requiring them to take back, free of charge, waste EV and LMT batteries at, or in the vicinity of, the distributor's retail outlet (limited to the category the distributor has or had on offer) and to hand the waste batteries to producers, PROs or waste management operators¹³. This means, however, that a distributor will be required to take back batteries that it did not sell to the extent the battery falls under the same category as the batteries currently or previously sold by the distributor.

End user and distributor information (Article 74)

Producers or their PROs are required to provide end-users and distributors with a range of specified information on the prevention and management of battery waste. This includes information in respect of:

• the role of end-users in contributing to battery waste management;
• the collection, take-back and collection points for waste batteries;
• the impact of substances present in batteries on the environment.

Battery labelling – mandatory separate collection symbol (Article 13)

From 18 August 2025, all batteries must be marked with the following separate collection symbol:

The symbol must cover at least 3% of the area of the largest side of the battery, up to a maximum of 5 x 5cm. For batteries containing more than 0.002% cadmium or more than 0.004% lead, they must also be marked with the relevant chemical symbol (Cd or Pb).

Annual reporting (Article 75)

Producers of LMT and EV batteries (or their PROs) must also provide certain information to the relevant competent authority (for example, Siftung EAR in Germany) on an annual basis. These reporting requirements include the number of batteries made available in the Member State, the amount of collected waste batteries and the amount of waste batteries delivered to permitted facilities for preparation for re-use or repurposing or treatment.

In addition, while the recycling of batteries in a third country (i.e. outside of the EU) is permitted, producers are required to report the amount of relevant collected wate batteries exported to third countries for treatment, preparation for re-use or preparation for repurposing.

Due diligence requirements delayed until August 2027

The due diligence requirements that were due to come into effect on 18 August 2025 (including the requirement for economic operators placing batteries on the EU market to adopt and clearly communicate a company due diligence policy for batteries) have been delayed by two years. Those provisions will now come into force in August 2027 with guidelines due to be published in August 2026. This delay, announced by the European Commission in May 2025, was part of a broader range of proposals aimed at simplifying rules and reducing administrative burdens across the EU market and links back to specific delays and likely reform of the EU's flagship Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive outlining the EU's position on supply chain due diligence.

As well as delaying the introduction of the due diligence requirements, the EC is considering the introduction of a new category of company which would be excluded from the due diligence requirements when they do come into force in 2027 ('small mid-cap' – defined as a company with a yearly net turnover of less than EUR 150 million).

Comment

This tranche of recently implemented provisions is part of the continued journey towards a more sustainable and increasingly circular EU battery ecosystem and, more broadly, towards the EU's aim to reach net zero by 2050.

Despite moving slower than some may have hoped, with the EU new ICE sales ban currently still due to come into effect in 2035, appropriate and sustainable end-of-life management of EV batteries is an essential element of the EV transition which is rightly being considered.

Whilst the Regulation puts in place the supporting framework to achieve this, the obligations on manufacturers and other operators in the industry to ensure compliance are becoming increasingly onerous as more provisions take effect. This, of course, is against the backdrop which sees a number of challenges being faced by the European EV industry, including the increased competitive presence of Chinese OEMs in the market, patchy consumer demand (especially for EVs) and the turbulence being thrown into the mix by US tariffs on automotive imports.

Whilst the delay in the Regulation's due diligence requirements might ease some of the immediate pressure, we expect there will be continued conversations as to how best to balance the need to support the European industry at this pivotal time whilst continuing to drive the EV transition (which itself requires significant further investment) as well as adopting fit-for-purpose sustainability and safety standards for the European battery market.