Considerations on COM(2020)798 - Batteries and waste batteries

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dossier COM(2020)798 - Batteries and waste batteries.
document COM(2020)798 EN
date July 12, 2023
 
(1) The European Green Deal3 is Europe’s growth strategy that aims to transform the Union into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use. A shift from the use of fossil fuels in vehicles to electromobility is one of the prerequisites for reaching the climate neutrality goal in 2050. In order for the Union’s product policies to contribute to lowering carbon emissions on a global level, it needs to be ensured that products marketed and sold in the Union are sourced and manufactured in a sustainable manner.

(2) Batteries are thus an important source of energy and one of the key enablers for sustainable development, green mobility, clean energy and climate neutrality. It is expected that the demand for batteries will grow rapidly in the coming years, notably for electric road transport vehicles using batteries for traction, making this market an increasingly strategic one at the global level. Significant scientific and technical progress in the field of battery technology will continue. In view of the strategic importance of batteries, and to provide legal certainty to all operators involved and to avoid discrimination, barriers to trade and distortions on the market for batteries, it is necessary to set out rules on sustainability parameters, performance, safety, collection, recycling and second life of batteries as well as on information about batteries. It is

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Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council,

the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, The European Green

Deal (COM (2019) 640 final).

necessary to create a harmonised regulatory framework for dealing with the entire life cycle of batteries that are placed on the market in the Union.

(3) Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council4 has brought about an improvement in the environmental performance of batteries and established some common rules and obligations for economic operators, in particular through harmonised rules for the heavy metal content and labelling of batteries and rules and targets for the management of all waste batteries, based on extended producer responsibility.

(4) The Commission’s reports on the implementation, impact and evaluation of Directive 2006/66/EC5 highlighted not only the achievements but also the limitations of that Directive, in particular against a fundamentally changed context characterised by the strategic importance of batteries and their increased use.

(5) The Commission’s Strategic Action Plan on Batteries6 sets out measures to support efforts to build a battery value chain in Europe, embracing raw materials extraction, sustainable sourcing and processing, sustainable battery materials, cell manufacturing as well as re-use and recycling of batteries

(6) In the European Green Deal, the Commission confirmed its commitment to implement the Strategic Action Plan on Batteries and stated that it would propose legislation to ensure a safe, circular and sustainable battery value chain for all batteries, including to supply the growing market of electric vehicles.

(7) The Council in its conclusions of 4 October 2019 on ‘More circularity – Transition to a sustainable society’ called, inter alia, for coherent policies supporting the development of technologies that improve the sustainability and circularity of batteries to accompany the transition to electro-mobility. Furthermore, the Council called for an urgent revision of Directive 2006/66/EC, which should include all relevant batteries and materials and which should consider, in particular, specific requirements for lithium and cobalt as well as a mechanism allowing the adaptation of that Directive to future changes in battery technologies.

(8) The new Circular Economy Action Plan adopted on 11 March 20207 states that the proposal for a new regulatory framework for batteries will consider rules on recycled content and measures to improve the collection and recycling rates of all batteries, in

Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators and repealing Directive 91/157/EEC (OJ L 266, 26.9.2006, p. 1)

Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 9 April 2019 on the implementation and the impact on the environment and the functioning of the internal market of Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators and repealing Directive 91/157/EEC (COM(2019) 166 final) and Commission Staff Working Document on the evaluation of the Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators and repealing Directive 91/157/EEC (SWD(2019) 1300 final).

Annex 2 to Communication from the Commissions to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 17 May 2018, EUROPE ON THE MOVE - Sustainable Mobility for Europe: safe, connected and clean (COM(2018)293 final).

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 11 March 2020, A new Circular Economy Action Plan – For a cleaner and more competitive Europe (COM(2020)98 final).

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order to ensure the recovery of valuable materials and to provide guidance to consumers and will address the possible phasing out of non-rechargeable batteries where alternatives exist. Furthermore, it is stated that sustainability and transparency requirements will be considered, taking into account the carbon footprint of battery manufacturing, the ethical sourcing of raw materials and the security of supply in order to facilitate reuse, repurposing and recycling of batteries.

(9) Addressing the entire life cycle of all batteries placed on the Union market requires the setting up of harmonised product and marketing requirements, including conformity assessment procedures, as well as requirements to fully address the end-of-life stage of batteries. Requirements concerning the end-of-life stage are necessary to address the environmental implications of the batteries and, in particular, to support the creation of recycling markets for batteries and markets for secondary raw materials from batteries in order to close the materials loops. In order to reach the envisaged objectives to address the whole life cycle of a battery in one legal instrument while avoiding barriers to trade and a distortion of competition and safeguarding the integrity of the internal market, the rules setting out the requirements for batteries should be of uniform application for all operators across the Union, and not give room for divergent implementation by Member States. Directive 2006/66/EC should therefore be replaced by a Regulation.

(10) This Regulation should apply to all types of batteries and accumulators placed on the market or put into service within the Union, whether on their own or incorporated into appliances or otherwise supplied with electrical and electronic appliances and vehicles. This Regulation should apply regardless of whether a battery is specifically designed for a product or is of general use and regardless of whether it is incorporated into a product or is supplied together with or separately from a product in which it is to be used.

(11) Products placed on the market as battery packs, which are batteries or groups of cells that are connected and/or encapsulated within an outer casing so as to form a complete unit ready for use that the end-user is not intended to split up or open and which conform to the definition of batteries, should be subject to requirements applicable to batteries. Products placed on the market as battery modules, which conform to the definition of battery pack, should be subject to requirements applicable to battery packs.

(12) Within the Regulation’s wide scope, it is appropriate to distinguish between different categories of batteries in accordance with their design and use, independent of the battery chemistry. The classification into portable batteries, on one hand, and industrial batteries and automotive batteries on the other hand under Directive 2006/66/EC should be further developed to better reflect new developments in the use of batteries. Batteries that are used for traction in electric vehicles and which under Directive 2006/66/EC fall in the category of industrial batteries, constitute a large and growing part of the market due to the quick growth of electric road transport vehicles. It is therefore appropriate to classify those batteries that are used for traction in road vehicles as a new category of electric vehicle batteries. Batteries used for traction in other transport vehicles including rail, waterborne and aviation transport, continue to fall under the category of industrial batteries under this Regulation. The industrial battery type encompasses a broad group of batteries, intended to be used for industrial activities, communication infrastructure, agricultural activities or generation and distribution of electric energy. In addition to this non exhaustive list of examples, any battery that is neither a portable battery nor an automotive battery nor an electric

vehicle battery should be considered an industrial battery. Batteries used for energy storage in private or domestic environments. are considered industrial batteries for the purposes of this Regulation.Furthermore, in order to ensure that all batteries used in light means of transport, such as ebikes and scooters, are classified as portable batteries, it is necessary to clarify the definition of portable batteries and to introduce a weight limit for such batteries.

(13) Batteries should be designed and manufactured so as to optimise their performance, durability and safety and to minimise their environmental footprint. It is appropriate to lay down specific sustainability requirements for rechargeable industrial batteries and electric vehicle batteries with internal storage with a capacity above 2 kWh as such batteries represent the market segment which is expected to increase most in the coming years.

(14) In order to ensure that obligations arising from this Regulation are carried out and to monitor and verify compliance of producers and producer responsibility organisations with the requirements of this Regulation, it is necessary that Member States designate one or more competent authorities.

(15) The use of hazardous substances in batteries should be restricted in order to protect human health and the environment and to reduce the presence of such substances in waste. Thus, in addition to the restrictions set out in Annex XVII of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council8, it is appropriate to set out restrictions for mercury and cadmium in certain types of batteries. Batteries used in vehicles which benefit from an exemption under Annex II to Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council9 should be excluded from the prohibition to contain cadmium.

(16) In order to ensure that hazardous substances that pose an unacceptable risk to human health or to the environment when used in batteries, can be duly addressed, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending restrictions on hazardous substances in batteries.

(17) The procedure for adopting new and amending current restrictions on hazardous substances in batteries should be fully streamlined with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. To ensure effective decision-making, coordination and management of the related technical, scientific and administrative aspects of this Regulation, the European Chemicals Agency set up under Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (‘the Agency’) should carry out specified tasks with regard to the evaluation of risks from substances in the manufacture and use of batteries, as well as those that may occur after their end-of-life as well as the evaluation of the socio-economic elements and the analysis of alternatives, in accordance with relevant guidance by the Agency. Consequently, the Committees for Risk Assessment and Socio-economic Analysis of the Agency should facilitate the carrying out of certain tasks conferred on the Agency by this Regulation.

Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC (OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p. 1)

Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of life vehicles (OJ L 269, 21.10.2000, p. 34).

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(18) The expected massive deployment of batteries in sectors like mobility and energy storage should reduce carbons emissions, but to maximise this potential it is necessary that their overall life cycle has a low carbon footprint. According to the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules for High Specific Energy Rechargeable Batteries for Mobile Applications10, climate change is the second highest related impact category for batteries after the use of minerals and metals. The technical documentation for rechargeable industrial batteries and electric vehicle batteries with internal storage and a capacity above 2 kWh placed on the Union market should therefore be accompanied by a carbon footprint declaration,, which should be specific, if necessary, per manufacturing batch. Batteries are manufactured in batches, made in specific amounts within certain timeframes Harmonising the technical rules for calculating the carbon footprint for all rechargeable industrial batteries and electric vehicle batteries with internal storage with a capacity above 2 kWh placed on the Union market is a prerequisite for introducing a requirement for the technical documentation of the batteries to include a carbon footprint declaration and subsequently establishing carbon footprint performance classes that will allow identifying the batteries with overall lower carbon footprints. Information and clear labelling requirements on batteries’ carbon footprint is not expected in itself to lead to the behavioural change necessary to ensure that the Union’s objective to decarbonise the mobility and energy storage sectors is achieved, in line with the internationally agreed objectives on climate change11. Therefore, maximum carbon thresholds will be introduced, further to a dedicated impact assessment to determine those values. In proposing the level of the maximum carbon footprint threshold, the Commission will, inter alia, take into account the relative distribution of the carbon footprint values in batteries on the market, the extent of progress in the reduction of carbon footprint of batteries placed on the Union market and the effective and potential contribution of this measure to the Union’s objectives on sustainable mobility and climate neutrality by 2050. In order to bring about transparency on the batteries’ carbon footprint , and shift the Union market towards lower carbon batteries, regardless of where they are produced, a gradual and cumulative increase in the carbon footprint requirements is justified. As a result of these requirements, the avoided carbon emissions in batteries’ life cycle, will contribute to the Union’s objective of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. This may also enable other policies at Union and national level, such as incentives or green public procurement criteria, fostering the production of batteries with lower environmental impacts.

(19) Certain substances contained in batteries, such as cobalt, lead, lithium or nickel, are acquired from scarce resources which are not easily available in the Union, and some are considered critical raw materials by the Commission. This is an area where Europe needs to enhance its strategic autonomy and increase its resilience in preparation for potential disruptions in supply due to health or other crises. Enhancing circularity and resource efficiency with increased recycling and recovery of those raw materials, will contribute to reaching that goal.

(20) The increased use of recovered materials would support the development of the circular economy and allow a more resource-efficient use of materials, while reducing

Product Environmental Footprint - Category Rules for High Specific Energy Rechargeable Batteries for Mobile Applications https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/pdf/PEFCR_Batteries.pdf Paris agreement (OJ L 282, 19.10.2016, p. 4) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, available at https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf

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Union dependency on materials from third countries. For batteries, this is particularly relevant for cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the recovery of such materials from waste, establishing a requirement on the level of recycled content in batteries using cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel in active materials. This Regulation sets mandatory recycled content targets for cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel and which should be met by 2030. For cobalt, lithium and nickel increased targets are established by 2035. All targets, should take into account the availability of waste, from which such materials can be recovered, the technical feasibility of the involved recovery and manufacture processes as well as the time needed by the economic operators to adapt their supply and manufacturing processes. Therefore, before such mandatory targets become applicable, the requirement related to recycled content should be limited to disclosure of information on recycled content.

(21) In order to take into account the risk of supply of cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel and to assess their availability, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending the targets for the minimum share of recycled cobalt, lead, lithium or nickel present in active materials in batteries.

(22) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the rules on calculating and verifying, per battery model and batch per manufacturing plant, the amount of cobalt, lead, lithium or nickel recovered from waste present in active materials in batteries and the information requirements for technical documentation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission.

(23) Batteries placed on the Union market should be durable and highly performant. It is therefore necessary to set out performance and durability parameters for portable batteries of general use as well as for rechargeable industrial batteries and electric vehicle batteries. For electric vehicle batteries, the informal UNECE Working Group on Electric Vehicles and the Environment is developing in-vehicle durability requirements, so this Regulation is refraining from setting additional durability requirements. On the other hand, in the area of batteries for energy storage, existing measurement methods to test battery performance and durability are not considered sufficiently precise and representative to enable introducing minimum requirements. The introduction of minimum requirements related to performance and durability of these batteries should be accompanied by available adequate harmonised standards or common specifications.

(24) In order to reduce the life cycle environmental impact batteries, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending the performance and durability parameters and establishing minimum values for those parameters for portable batteries of general use and for rechargeable industrial batteries.

(25) Some non-rechargeable batteries of general use may imply an inefficient use of resources and energy. Objective requirements regarding the performance and durability of such batteries should be established in order to ensure that fewer low performing non-rechargeable portable batteries of general use are placed on the market, in particular, where, based on a life cycle assessment, the alternative use of rechargeable batteries would result in overall environmental benefits.

(26) In order to ensure that portable batteries incorporated into appliances are subject to proper separate collection, treatment and high quality recycling once they have become waste, provisions to ensure their removability and replaceability in such

appliances are necessary. Used batteries should also be replaceable so as to prolong the expected lifetime of the appliances they are part of. The general provisions of this Regulation may be complemented with requirements set up for particular products powered by batteries under implementing measures under Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council12. Where other Union legislation lays down more specific requirements, for safety reasons, regarding the removal of batteries from products (e.g. toys), those specific rules should apply.

(27) Reliable batteries are fundamental for the operation and safety of many products, appliances and services. Therefore, batteries should be designed and manufactured to ensure their safe operation and use. This aspect is particularly relevant for stationary battery energy storage systems, which are currently not covered by other Union legislation. Parameters to be considered in safety tests should therefore be laid down for those energy storage systems.

(28) In order to provide end users with transparent, reliable and clear information about batteries and their main characteristics, and waste batteries, to enable the end users to make informed decisions when buying and discarding batteries and to enable waste operators to appropriately treat waste batteries, batteries should be labelled. Batteries should be labelled with all the necessary information concerning their main characteristics, including their capacity and content of certain hazardous substances. To ensure the availability of information over time, that information should also be made available by means of QR codes.

(29) Information about the performance of batteries is essential to ensure that end-users as consumers are well and timely informed and in particular that they have a common basis to compare different batteries before making their purchase. Therefore, portable batteries of general use and automotive batteries should be marked with a label containing the information on their minimum average duration when used in specific applications. Additionally, it is important to guide the end-user to discard waste batteries in an appropriate way.

(30) Rechargeable industrial batteries and electric-vehicle batteries with internal storage with a capacity above 2 kWh should contain a battery management system that stores data so that the state of health and expected lifetime of batteries may be determined at any time by the end-user or any other third party acting on his behalf. In order to repurpose or remanufacture a battery, access to the battery management system should be provided to the person that has purchased the battery or any third party acting on its behalf at any time for evaluating the residual value of the battery, facilitating the reuse, repurposing or remanufacturing of the battery and for making the battery available to independent aggregators, as defined in Directive (EU) 201/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council13, which operate virtual power plants in electricity grids. This requirement should apply in addition to Union law on type of approval of vehicles, including technical specifications that may originate from the work of the informal UNECE Working Group on Electric Vehicles and the Environment on data access in electric vehicles.

Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products (OJ L 285, 31.10.2009, p. 10).

Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on common rules for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU (OJ L 158, 14.6.2019, p. 125)

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(31) A number of product-specific requirements under this Regulation, including on performance, durability, repurposing and safety, should be measured by using reliable, accurate and reproducible methods that take into account the generally recognised state-of-the-art measurements and calculation methodologies. In order to ensure that there are no barriers to trade on the internal market, standards should be harmonised at Union level. Such methods and standards should, to the extent possible, take into account the real-life usage of batteries, reflect the average range of consumer behaviour and be robust in order to deter intentional and unintentional circumvention. Once a reference to such a standard has been adopted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council14 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union, presumption of conformity shall be established with those product-specific requirements adopted on the basis of this Regulation, provided that the outcome of such methods demonstrate that the minimum values established for those substantive requirements are attained. In the absence of published standards at the time of the application of product-specific requirements, the Commission should adopt common specifications through implementing acts and the compliance with such specifications should also give rise to the presumption of conformity. In cases where the common specifications are, at a later stage, found to have shortcomings, the Commission should by implementing act amend or repeal the common specifications in question.

(32) To ensure effective access to information for market surveillance purposes, to adapt to new technologies and to ensure resilience in case of global crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, it should be possible to give information regarding conformity with all Union acts applicable to batteries online in the form of a single EU declaration of conformity.

(33) Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council15 lays down rules on the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies, provides a framework for the market surveillance of products and for controls on products from third countries, and lays down the general principles of the CE marking. That Regulation should be applicable to batteries covered by this Regulation in order to ensure that products benefiting from the free movement of goods within the Union fulfil requirements providing a high level of protection of public interests such as human health, safety and the environment.

(34) In order to enable economic operators to demonstrate and the competent authorities to verify that batteries made available on the market comply with the requirements of this Regulation, it is necessary to provide for conformity assessment procedures. Decision No 768/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council16 establishes modules

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Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on European standardisation, amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/23/EC and 2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decision 87/95/EEC and Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 12)

Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93 (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30)

Decision No 768/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 on a common framework for the marketing of products, and repealing Council Decision 93/465/EEC, OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 82

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for conformity assessment procedures, ranging from the least stringent to the most stringent depending on the level of risk involved and the level of safety required. According to Article 4 of that Decision, where conformity assessment is required, the procedures to be used for that assessment are to be chosen from among those modules.

(35) The chosen modules do not however reflect certain specific aspects of batteries and thus, it is necessary to adapt the modules chosen for the conformity assessment procedure. In order to take account of the novelty and complexity of the sustainability, safety and labelling requirements set out in this Regulation and for the purpose of ensuring the conformity of batteries placed on the market with the legal requirements, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending the conformity assessment procedures by adding verifications steps or changing assessment module, on the basis of developments on the battery market or in the battery value chain.

(36) The CE marking on a battery indicates the conformity of that battery with this Regulation. General principles governing the CE marking and its relationship to other markings are set out in Regulation (EC) No 765/2008. Those principles should apply to the CE marking on batteries. In order to ensure that the battery is stored, used and discarded in a manner which is safe from the point of view of protecting human health and the environment, specific rules governing the affixing of the CE marking in the case of batteries should be laid down.

(37) The conformity assessment procedures set out in this Regulation require the intervention of conformity assessment bodies. In order to ensure a uniform implementation of the provisions in this Regulation, those bodies should be notified by the Member State authorities to the Commission.

(38) Due to the novelty and complexity of the sustainability, safety and labelling requirements for batteries and in order to ensure a consistent level of quality in the performance of conformity assessment of batteries, it is necessary to set requirements for notifying authorities involved in the assessment, notification and monitoring of notified bodies. In particular, it should be ensured that the notifying authority is objective and impartial with regard to its activity. Furthermore, notifying authorities should be required to safeguard the confidentiality of the information it obtains but should nonetheless be able to exchange information on notified bodies with national authorities, the notifying authorities of other Member States and the Commission to ensure consistency in the conformity assessment.

(39) It is essential that all notified bodies perform their functions to the same level and under conditions of fair competition and autonomy. Therefore, requirements for conformity assessment bodies wishing to be notified in order to provide conformity assessment activities should be set. Those requirements should continue to apply as a prerequisite for the maintenance of the competence of the notified body. To ensure its autonomy, the notified body and the staff it employs should be required to maintain independence from economic operators in the battery value chain and from other companies, including business associations and parent companies and subsidiaries. The notified body should be required to document its independence and provide that documentation to the notifying authority.

(40) If a conformity assessment body demonstrates conformity with the criteria laid down in harmonised standards it should be presumed to comply with the corresponding requirements set out in this Regulation.

(41) Conformity assessment bodies frequently subcontract parts of their activities linked to the assessment of conformity or have recourse to a subsidiary. Certain activities and decision-making processes, both regarding the conformity assessment of batteries and other activities internal to the notified body, should however exclusively be carried out by the individual notified body itself, in order to ensure its independence and autonomy. Furthermore, in order to safeguard the level of protection required for batteries to be placed on the Union market, conformity assessment subcontractors and subsidiaries should fulfil the same requirements as notified bodies in relation to the performance of conformity assessment tasks under this Regulation.

(42) Since the services offered by notified bodies in a Member State might relate to batteries made available on the market throughout the Union, it is appropriate to give the other Member States and the Commission the opportunity to raise objections concerning a notified body. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission in order to request the notifying authority to take corrective action in case a notified body does not meet or no longer meets the requirements of this Regulation.

(43) In the interests of facilitating and accelerating the conformity assessment procedure, the certification and ultimately the market access and in view of the novelty and complexity of the sustainability, safety and labelling requirements for batteries, it is crucial that notified bodies have continuous access to all testing equipment and testing facilities needed and that they apply the procedures without creating unnecessary burdens for economic operators. For the same reason, and to ensure equal treatment of economic operators, it is necessary that the notified bodies apply the conformity assessment procedures consistently.

(44) Prior to taking a final decision on whether the battery can be granted a conformity certificate, the economic operator that wishes to place a battery on the market should be allowed to complement once the documentation on the battery.

(45) The Commission should enable appropriate coordination and cooperation between notified bodies.

(46) It is appropriate to lay the obligations linked to the placing on the market or putting into service of a battery on the economic operators, which include the manufacturer, the authorised representative, the importer, the distributor, the fulfilment service providers, or any other legal person who takes on the legal responsibility in relation to the manufacture of batteries, making them available or placing them on the market or putting them into service.

(47) Economic operators should be responsible for the compliance of batteries with the requirements of this Regulation, in relation to their respective roles in the supply chain, so as to ensure a high level of protection of public interests, such as human health, safety and protection of property and the environment.

(48) All economic operators intervening in the supply and distribution chain should take appropriate measures to ensure that they only make available on the market batteries which are in conformity with this Regulation. It is necessary to provide for a clear and proportionate distribution of obligations which correspond to the role of each economic operator in the supply and distribution chain.

(49) The manufacturer, having detailed knowledge of the design and production process, is best placed to carry out the conformity assessment procedure. Conformity assessment should therefore remain solely the obligation of the manufacturer.

(50) The manufacturer should provide sufficiently detailed information on the intended use of the battery so as to allow its correct and safe placing on the market, putting into service, use and end-of-life management, including possible repurposing.

(51) In order to facilitate communication between economic operators, market surveillance authorities and consumers, economic operators should, as part of their contact details, indicate a website address in addition to the postal address.

(52) It is necessary to ensure that batteries from third countries entering the Union market comply with the requirements of this Regulation, whether imported as self-standing batteries or contained in products, and in particular that appropriate conformity assessment procedures have been carried out by manufacturers with regard to those batteries. Provision should therefore be made for importers to make sure that the batteries they place on the market and put into service comply with the requirements of this Regulation and that the CE marking on batteries and documentation drawn up by manufacturers are available for inspection by the national authorities.

(53) When placing a battery on the market or putting it into service, every importer should indicate on the battery the importer’s name, registered trade name or registered trade mark as well as the postal address. Exceptions should be provided for in cases where the size of the battery does not allow it. This includes cases where the importer would have to open the packaging to put the name and address on the battery or where the battery is too small in size to affix this information..

(54) As the distributor makes a battery available on the market after it has been placed on the market or put into service by the manufacturer or the importer, the distributor should act with due care to ensure that its handling of the battery does not adversely affect its compliance with the requirements of this Regulation.

(55) Any importer or distributor that either places a battery on the market or puts it into service under the importer’s or distributor’s own name or trademark or modifies a battery in such a way that compliance with the requirements of this Regulation may be affected or modifies the purpose of a battery that is already place on the market should be considered to be the manufacturer and should assume the obligations of the manufacturer.

(56) Distributors and importers, being close to the market place, should be involved in market surveillance tasks carried out by the national authorities, and should be prepared to participate actively, providing those authorities with all necessary information relating to the battery concerned.

(57) Ensuring traceability of a battery throughout the whole supply chain helps to make market surveillance simpler and more efficient. An efficient traceability system facilitates the market surveillance authorities' task of tracing economic operators who placed on the market or made available on the market or put into service non-compliant batteries. The economic operators should therefore be required to keep the information on their transactions of batteries for a certain period of time.

(58) The extraction, processing and trading of natural mineral resources is fundamental in providing the necessary raw materials for the production of batteries. Battery manufacturers, regardless of their position or leverage over suppliers and of their geographical location, are not insulated from the risk of contributing to adverse impacts in the mineral supply chain. For some raw materials, over half of global production is for use in battery applications. For example, over 50% of the global demand for cobalt and over 60% of the world's lithium is used for battery production.

About 8% of global natural graphite production and 6% of global nickel production goes into battery manufacturing.

(59) Only few countries supply those materials and, in some cases, low standards of governance may exacerbate environmental and social problems. Both cobalt and nickel mining and refining are related to a large range of social and environmental issues, including environmental hazard potential and human health. While the social and environmental impacts for natural graphite are less severe, its mining has high shares of artisanal and small scale operations, which mostly takes place in informal settings and can lead to serious health and environmental impacts, including no regular mine closure and no rehabilitation, which results in the destruction of ecosystems and soils. For lithium, the expected increase in its use in battery manufacturing is likely to put additional pressure on extraction and refining operations, what would recommend including lithium in the scope of the supply chain due diligence obligations. The expected massive increase in demand for batteries in the Union should not contribute to an increase of such environmental and social risks.

(60) Some of the raw materials in question, such as cobalt, lithium and natural graphite, are considered as critical raw materials for the EU17 and their sustainable sourcing is required for the EU battery ecosystem to perform adequately.

(61) A number of voluntary efforts from actors in the battery supply chain are already in place in order to encourage adherence to sustainable sourcing practices, including the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) and the Cobalt Industry Responsible Assessment Framework (CIRAF). However, voluntary efforts to set up due diligence schemes may not ensure that all economic operators placing batteries in the Union market abide by the same set of minimum rules.

(62) In the Union, general requirements on due diligence in relation to certain minerals and metals were introduced by Regulation (EU) No 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council18. That Regulation does not, however, address the minerals and materials used for battery production.

(63) Therefore, in view of the expected exponential growth in battery demand in the EU, the economic operator that places a battery on the EU market should set up a supply chain due diligence policy. The requirements therefore should be laid down, with the objective to address the social and environmental risks inherent in the extraction, processing and trading of certain raw materials for battery manufacturing purposes.

(64) When putting in place a risk-based due diligence policy, it should be based on internationally recognised due diligence principles in the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact19, the Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Critical Raw Materials Resilience: Charting a Path towards greater Security and Sustainability (COM(2020) 474 final).

Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 laying down supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas (OJ L 130, 19.5.2017, p. 1)

The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, available at www.unglobalcompact.org/what-isgc/mission">https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/mission

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Products20, the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy21, and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct (RBC)22, which reflect a common understanding amongst governments and stakeholders, and should be tailored to the specific context and circumstances of each economic operator. In relation to the extraction, processing and trading of natural mineral resources used for battery production, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas 23(‘OECD Due Diligence Guidance’) represents a longstanding effort by governments and stakeholders to establish good practice in this area.

(65) According to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance24, due diligence is an on-going, proactive and reactive process through which companies can ensure that they respect human rights and do not contribute to conflict.25. Risk-based due diligence refers to the steps companies should take to identify and address actual or potential risks in order to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts associated with their activities or sourcing decisions A company can assess risk posed by its activities and relationships and adopt risks mitigating measures in line with relevant standards provided under national and international law, recommendations on responsible business conduct by international organisations, government-backed tools, private sector voluntary initiatives and a company's internal policies and systems. This approach also helps to scale the due diligence exercise to the size of the company's activities or supply chain relationships.

(66) Mandatory supply chain due diligence policies should be adopted or modified and address, at least, the most prevalent social and environmental risk categories. This should cover the current and foreseeable impacts, on one hand, on social life, in particular human rights, human health and safety as well as occupational health and safety and labour rights, and, on the other hand, on the environment, in particular on water use, soil protection, air pollution and biodiversity, including community life.

(67) As regards the social risk categories, due diligence policies should address the risks in the battery supply chain in relation to the protection of human rights, including human health, protection of children and gender equality, in line with international human rights law26. The due diligence policies should include information on how the

UNEP     Guidelines     for     social     life     cycle     assessment     of     products,     available     at

www.lifecycleinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads%2520%2520Guidelines%2520for%2520sLCA%2520-%2520EN.pdf">https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads%20-%20Guidelines%20for%20sLCA%20-%20EN.pdf

Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, available at www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp">https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp

OECD (2018), OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, available at mneguidelines.oecd.org OECD (2016), OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected      and      High-Risk      Areas: Third      Edition,      OECD      Publishing,      Paris,

https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264252479-en. Page 15 of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance.

OECD (2011), OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, OECD, Paris; OECD (2006), OECD Risk Awareness Tool for Multinational Enterprises in Weak Governance Zones, OECD, Paris; and, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework (Report of the Special Represantative of the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises, John Ruggie, A/HRC/17/31, 21 March 2011).

Including The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on

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economic operator has contributed to the prevention of human rights abuses and on the instruments in place with the operator’s business structure to fight corruption and bribery. The due diligence policies should also ensure correct implementation of the rules of fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation27 as listed in Annex I of the ILO Tripartite Declaration.

(68) As

regards the environmental risk categories, the due diligence policies should address

the risks in the battery supply chain in relation to protection of the natural environment and of the biological diversity in line with the Convention on Biological Diversity28, which includes also the consideration of local communities, and the protection and the development of those communities.

(69) The supply chain due diligence obligations on the identification and mitigation of social and environmental risks associated with raw materials going into battery manufacturing should contribute to the implementation of UNEP Resolution 19 on Mineral Resource Governance, which recognizes the important contribution of the mining sector towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

(70) Other EU legislative instruments that lay down requirements regarding supply chain due diligence should apply in so far as there are no specific provisions with the same objective, nature and effect in this Regulation which may be adapted in the light of future legislative amendments.

(71) In order to adapt to developments in the battery value chain, including to changes in the scope and nature of the relevant environmental and social risks, as well as to technical and scientific progress in batteries and battery chemistries, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending the list of raw materials and risk categories and the supply chain due diligence requirements.

(72) Harmonised rules for waste management are necessary to ensure that producers and other economic operators are subject to the same rules across the Member States in the implementation of the extended producer responsibility for batteries. Maximising separate collection of waste batteries and ensuring that all batteries collected are recycled through processes that reach common minimum recycling efficiencies is necessary to attain a high level of material recovery. The evaluation of the Directive 2006/66/EC found that one of its shortcomings is lack of detail in its provisions, leading to uneven implementation and creating significant barriers to the functioning of recycling markets and suboptimal levels of recycling. Consequently, more detailed and harmonised rules should avoid distortion of the market for the collection,

the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the

Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The eight fundamental Conventions are 1. Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to

Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), 2. Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949

(No. 98), 3. Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) (and its 2014 Protocol ), 4. Abolition of Forced

Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), 5. Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), 6. Worst Forms of

Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), 7. Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), 8.

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)

Such     as      set     out     in      the      Convention      on     biological     diversity,      available     at

www.cbd.int/convention/text/">https://www.cbd.int/convention/text/ and, in particular, Decision COP VIII/28 “Voluntary guidelines on

Biodiversity-Inclusive impact assessment, available at www.cbd.int/decision/cop/?id=11042">https://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/?id=11042 .

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treatment and recycling of waste batteries, ensure even implementation of the requirements across the Union, further harmonisation of the quality of waste management services provided by economic operators and facilitate the markets of secondary raw materials.

(73) This Regulation builds on the waste management rules and general principles laid down in Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council29, which should be adapted to reflect the specific situation of batteries. For the collection of waste batteries to be organised in the most effective way, it is important that this is done in close connection to the place where the batteries are sold in a Member State, and close to the end user. Also, waste batteries may be collected both together with waste electrical and electronic equipment and with end-of-life vehicles, by way of national collection schemes set up on the basis of Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council30, and of Directive 2000/53/EC. While the current Regulation sets up specific rules for batteries there is a need for a coherent and complementary approach, building upon and further harmonising existing waste management structures. Consequently, and in order to effectively realise extended producer responsibility related to the waste management, obligations should be laid down with respect to the Member State where batteries are made available on the market for the first time.

(74) In order to monitor that producers meet their obligations to ensure the waste treatment of batteries made available on the market for the first time within the territory of a Member State, it is necessary that a register is established in and managed by the competent authority in each Member State. Producers should be obliged to register, in order to provide the necessary information to allow the competent authorities to monitor that the producers comply with their obligations. Registration requirements should be simplified across the Union. In order to ensure uniform conditions across the Union for the application for registration and the information to be provided, by means of a harmonised format, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission.

(75) In view of the polluter pays principle, it is appropriate to lay the obligations for the end-of-life management of batteries on producers which should include any manufacturer, importer or distributor who, irrespective of the selling technique used, including by means of distance contracts as defined in Article 2(7) of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council31, supplies a battery for the first time for distribution or use, including when incorporated into appliances or vehicles, within the territory of a Member State on a professional basis.

(76) Producers should have extended producer responsibility for the management of their batteries at the end-of-life stage. Accordingly, they should finance the costs of collecting, treating and recycling all collected batteries, for reporting on batteries and waste batteries and for the provision of information to end-users and waste operators

Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste

and repealing certain Directives (OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3).

Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on waste electrical

and electronic equipment (WEEE) (OJ L 197, 24.7.2012, p.38).

Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer

rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament

and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European

Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 64).

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about batteries and appropriate re-use and management of waste batteries. The obligations related to extended producer responsibility should apply to all forms of supply, including distance selling. Producers should be able to exercise those obligations collectively, by means of producer responsibility organisations taking up the responsibility on their behalf. Producers or producer responsibility organisations should be subject to authorisation and they should document that they have the financial means to cover the costs entailed by the extended producer responsibility. Where necessary to avoid distortion of the internal market and to ensure uniform conditions for the modulation of the financial contributions paid to producer responsibility organisations by producers, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission.

(77) This Regulation should regulate the extended producer responsibility for batteries exhaustively and therefore the rules laid down on extended producer responsibility schemes in Directive 2008/98/EC should not apply to batteries.

(78) In order to ensure high quality recycling in the batteries supply chains, boost the uptake of quality secondary raw materials and protect the environment, a high level of collection and recycling of waste batteries should be the rule. The collection of waste batteries is a fundamental crucial step for closing the loop for the valuable materials contained in batteries through their recycling and to keep the batteries value chain inside the Union, thus facilitating the access to the recovered materials that can further be used to manufacture new products.

(79) Producers of all batteries should be responsible for financing and organising the separate collection of waste batteries. They should do so by establishing a collection network that covers the whole territory of the Member States, that is close to the end user and that does not only target areas and batteries where the collection is profitable. The collection network should include any distributor, authorised treatment facility for waste electric and electronic equipment and end-of-life vehicles, civic amenity sites and other actors based on their own accord, such as public authorities and schools. In order to verify and improve the effectiveness of the collection network and the information campaigns, regular compositional surveys at least at NUTS 2 level32should be carried out on mixed municipal waste and waste electrical and electronic equipment collected to determine the amount of waste portable batteries therein.

(80) Batteries may be collected together with waste electrical and electronic equipment, by way of national collection schemes set up on the basis of Directive 2012/19/EU and with end-of-life vehicles in accordance with Directive 2000/53/EC. In this case, as an obligatory minimum treatment requirement, batteries should be removed from the collected waste appliances and end-of-life vehicles. After their removal, batteries should be subject to the requirements of this Regulation, notably they should be counted towards the attainment of the collection target for the type of battery in question and be subject to treatment and recycling requirements laid down in this Regulation.

(81) Considering the environmental impact and the loss of materials due to waste batteries not being separately collected, and consequently not treated in an environmentally

Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS)(OJ L 154 21.6.2003, p. 1).

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sound way, the collection target for portable batteries already established under Directive 2006/66/EC should continue to apply and should be gradually increased. This Regulation entails that portable batteries also include batteries powering light means of transport. Since the current increase in sales of this type of batteries makes it difficult to calculate the amount of them that are placed in the market and collected at the end of their life, these portable batteries should be excluded from the current collection rate for portable batteries. This exclusion is to be reviewed along with the collection target for waste portable batteries, which may also address changes in the methodology to calculate the collection rate for portable batteries. The Commission shall prepare a report to underpin these reviews.

(82) The collection rate of portable batteries should continue to be calculated on the basis of average annual sales in the preceding years so as to have targets proportionate to the level of battery consumption in a Member State. In order to best reflect changes in the composition of the portable batteries category, as well as in the lifetime and consumption patterns of batteries, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending the methodology to calculate and verify the collection rate for portable batteries.

(83) All automotive, industrial and electric vehicles batteries should be collected and for that purpose the producers of such batteries should be required to accept and take back free of charge, all waste automotive, industrial and electric vehicles batteries from end-users. Detailed reporting obligations should be established for all actors involved in the collection of waste automotive, industrial and electric vehicles batteries.

(84) In view of the waste hierarchy as established by Article 4 of Directive 2008/98/EC which prioritises prevention, preparing for reuse and recycling and in line with Article 11(4) of Directive 2008/98/EC and Article 5(3)(f) of Directive 1999/31/EC33, batteries collected should not be incinerated or disposed of in landfill.

(85) Any permitted facility carrying out treatment and recycling operations of batteries should comply with minimum requirements to prevent negative environmental and human health impacts and to allow a high degree of recovery of materials contained in batteries. Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council34 regulates a number of industrial activities involved in the treatment and recycling of waste batteries, for which it ensures specific permitting requirements and controls reflecting best available techniques. Where industrial activities relating to the treatment and recycling of batteries are not covered by Directive 2010/75/EC, operators should in any case be obliged to apply best available techniques, as defined in Article 3(10) of that Directive, and the specific requirements laid down in the present Regulation. The requirements regarding the treatment and recycling of batteries should, where relevant, be adapted by the Commission in the light of scientific and technical progress and emerging new technologies in waste management. Therefore, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending those requirements.

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Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p.1). Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17).

(86) Targets for the efficiency of the recycling processes and material recovery targets

should be established to ensure the production of recovered materials of quality for the battery industry, while at the same time ensuring clear and common rules for recyclers and avoiding distortions of competition or other impediments to the smooth functioning of the internal market for secondary raw materials from waste batteries. Recycling efficiencies, as a measure of the total amount of materials recovered, should be established for lead-acid batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries and lithium batteries and targets should also be set out for the levels of recovered cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel materials to attain a high level of material recovery throughout the Union. The rules on the calculation and reporting on recycling efficiencies laid down in Commission Regulation (EU) No 493/201235 should continue to apply. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the calculation and verification of recycling efficiencies and recovery of materials in the recycling processes for batteries, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to the establishment of such rules. The Commission should also review Commission Regulation (EU) No 493/2012 to properly reflect technological developments and changes occurred in industrial recovery processes, to extend their scope to cover existing and new targets, and to provide tools for the characterization of intermediate products. Treatment and recycling facilities should be encouraged to introduce certified environmental management schemes in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the

of the            36

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European Parliament and of the Council36.

(87) It should only be possible to carry out treatment and recycling outside the Member

State concerned or outside the Union, where the shipment of waste batteries is in compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council37 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1418/200738 and where the treatment and recycling activities meet the requirements applicable for this type of wastes, according to their classification in Commission Decision 2000/532/EC , as amended.39 That Decision, as amended, should be revised to reflect all battery chemistries. Where such treatment or recycling takes places outside the Union, in order to be counted towards the recycling efficiencies and targets, the operator for whose account it is carried out should be obliged to report on it to the competent authority of the respective Member State and to prove that the treatment is carried out in conditions equivalent to those under this Regulation. In order to lay down what are

Commission Regulation (EU) No 493/2012 of 11 June 2012 laying down, pursuant to Directive

2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, detailed rules regarding the calculation of

recycling efficiencies of the recycling processes of waste batteries and accumulators (OJ L 151,

12.6.2012, p. 9).

Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009

on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme

(EMAS), repealing Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 and Commission Decisions 2001/681/EC

and 2006/193/EC (OJ L 342, 22.12.2009, p. 1)

Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on

shipments of waste (OJ L 190, 12.7.2006, p. 1).

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 of 29 November 2007 concerning the export for recovery

of certain waste listed in Annex III or IIIA to Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European

Parliament and of the Council to certain countries to which the OECD Decision on the control of

transboundary movements of wastes does not apply (OJ L 316, 4.12.2007, p. 6).

2000/532/EC: Commission Decision of 3 May 2000 replacing Decision 94/3/EC establishing a list of

wastes pursuant to Article 1(a) of Council Directive 75/442/EEC on waste and Council Decision

94/904/EC establishing a list of hazardous waste pursuant to Article 1(4) of Council Directive

91/689/EEC on hazardous waste, OJ L 226, 6.9.2000, p. 3.

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the requirements for such treatment to be considered equivalent, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of laying down detailed rules containing criteria for the assessment of equivalent conditions.

(88) Industrial and electric vehicle batteries that are no longer fit for the initial purpose for which they were manufactured may be used for a different purpose as stationary energy storage batteries. A market for the second life of used industrial and electric vehicle batteries is emerging and in order to support the practical application of the waste hierarchy, specific rules should thus be defined to allow responsible repurposing of used batteries while taking into account the precautionary principle and ensuring safety of use for end users. Any such used battery should undergo an assessment of its state of health and available capacity to ascertain its suitability for use for any other than its original purpose. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of provisions related to the estimation of the state of health of batteries, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission.

(89) Producers and distributors should be actively involved in providing information to end users that batteries should be collected separately, that collection schemes are available and that end users have an important role in ensuring an environmentally optimal management of waste batteries. The disclosure of information to all end users as well as reporting on batteries should make use of modern information technologies. The information should be provided either by classical means, such as outdoors, posters and social media campaigns, or by more innovative means, such as electronic access to websites provided by QR codes affixed to the battery.

(90) To enable the verification of compliance with and the effectiveness of the obligations regarding the collection and treatment of batteries, it is necessary that the respective operators report back to the competent authorities. Producers of batteries and other waste management operators collecting batteries should report for each calendar year, where applicable, the data on batteries sold and waste batteries collected. Regarding treatment and recycling, reporting obligations should be incumbent upon the waste management operators and recyclers respectively.

(91) For each calendar year, Member States should provide the Commission with information on the amount of batteries supplied within their territory and the amount of waste batteries collected, by type and chemistry. With regard to portable batteries, data on batteries and waste batteries from light means of transport should be reported separately in view of the need to gather data to allow for adapting the collection target, considering the market share of such batteries and their specific purpose and characteristics. Such information should be provided electronically and be accompanied by a quality check report. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the reporting of that data and information to the Commission, as well as for the verification methods, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission.

(92) For each calendar year, Member States should report to the Commission the levels of recycling efficiencies and the levels of recovered materials achieved taking into account all the individual steps of the recycling process and the output fractions.

(93) In order to enhance transparency along supply and value chains for all stakeholders, it is necessary to provide for an electronic system that maximises the exchange of information, enabling tracking and tracing of batteries, provides information about the carbon intensity of their manufacturing processes as well as the origin of the materials used, their composition, including raw materials and hazardous chemicals, repair,

repurposing and dismantling operations and possibilities, and the treatment, recycling and recovery processes to which the battery could be subject to at the end of their life. That electronic system should be established in phases with a prototype system being made available to the concerned economic operators and Member States authorities at least a year in advance of the finalisation of the implementing measures defining the final features and the data access policy of the system to enable their input and timely compliance. Such data access policy should take into account the relevant principles established in EU legislation, including the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on European data governance (Data Governance Act).40 In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the electronic exchange system for battery information, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission.

(94) A Battery Passport should be established, allowing economic operators to gather and reuse in a more efficient way the information and data on individual batteries placed on the market and to make better informed choices in their planning activities. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the battery passport, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission.

(95) Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council41 lays down rules on market surveillance and control of products entering the Union market. In order to ensure that products benefiting from the free movement of goods fulfil requirements providing a high level of protection of public interests such as human health, safety, protection of property and of the environment, that Regulation should apply to batteries covered by this Regulation. Therefore, Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 should be amended accordingly.

(96) Batteries should be placed on the market only if they do not present a risk to human health, safety, property or the environment when properly stored and used for their intended purpose, or under conditions of use which can be reasonably foreseen, that is when such use could result from lawful and readily predictable human behaviour.

(97) A procedure should exist under which interested parties are informed of measures intended to be taken with regard to batteries presenting a risk to human health, safety, property or the environment. It should also allow market surveillance authorities in the Member States, in cooperation with the relevant economic operators, to act at an early stage in respect of such batteries. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers to adopt acts should be conferred on the Commission in order to determine whether national measures in respect of non-compliant batteries are justified or not.

(98) The market surveillance authorities should have the right to require economic operators to take corrective actions on the basis of findings that either the battery is not compliant with the requirements of this Regulation or the economic operator infringes the rules on the placing or making available on the market of a battery, or on sustainability, safety and labelling or on supply chain due diligence.

(99) Public procurement constitutes an important sector with regard to reducing the impacts on the environment of human activities and to stimulate market transformation

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https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020PC0767&from=DA Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on market surveillance and compliance of products and amending Directive 2004/42/EC and Regulations (EC) No 765/2008 and (EU) No 305/2011 (OJ L 169, 25.6.2019, p. 1)

towards more sustainable products. Contracting authorities, as defined in Directive 2014/24/EU42 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council43, and contracting entities as defined in Directive 2014/25/EU should take account of the environmental impacts when procuring batteries or products containing batteries, in order to promote and stimulate the market for clean and energy-efficient mobility and energy-storage and thus contribute to the environment, climate and energy policy objectives of the Union.

(100)   In order to establish the equivalence of due diligence schemes that have been developed by governments, industry associations and groupings of interested organisation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. In order to ensure that the list of raw materials and the associated social and environmental risks are kept up-to-date, as well the consistency with the Conflict Minerals Regulation and the OECD Due Diligence in terms of obligations for economic operators, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission.

(101)   In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the Commission’s recognition of supply chain due diligence schemes, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission.

(102)   When adopting delegated acts under this Regulation, it is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making44. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(103)    The implementing powers that are conferred on the Commission by this Regulation and that do not relate to the determination whether measures taken by Member States in respect of non-compliant batteries are justified or not should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the

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Council45.

(104)   The advisory procedure should be used for the adoption of an implementing act in situations where the Commission ascertains that a notified body does not meet or no longer meets the requirements for its notification, in order to request the notifying authority to take the necessary corrective action, including withdrawal of the notification if necessary.

(105)   The Commission should adopt immediately applicable implementing acts determining whether a national measure taken in respect of a compliant battery that presents a risk

Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public

procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65)

Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on

procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and

repealing Directive 2004/17/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 243)

OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p.1

Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011

laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of

the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13)

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is justified or not where, in duly justified cases relating to the protection of human health, safety, property or the environment, imperative grounds of urgency so require.

(106)   Member States should lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and ensure that those rules are enforced. The penalties provided for should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

(107)   In view of the need to ensure a high level of environmental protection and the need to take into account new developments based on scientific facts, the Commission should submit to the European Parliament and to the Council a report on the implementation of this Regulation and its impact on the environment and the functioning of the internal market. The Commission should in its report include an evaluation of the sustainability, safety, labelling and information criteria provisions, the waste batteries management measures and the supply chain due diligence requirements. Where appropriate, the report should be accompanied by a proposal to amend relevant provisions of this Regulation.

(108)   It is necessary to provide for sufficient time for economic operators to comply with their obligations under this Regulation, and for Member States to set up the administrative infrastructure necessary for its application. The application of this Regulation should therefore also be deferred to a date where those preparations can reasonably be finalised.

(109)   In order to allow Member States to adapt the register of producers set up under Directive 2006/66/EC and to take the necessary administrative measures regarding the organisation of the authorisation procedures by the competent authorities, while keeping continuity for economic operators, Directive 2006/66/EC should be repealed as of 1 July 2023. Obligations under that Directive related to monitoring and reporting the collection rate of portable batteries and the recycling efficiencies of recycling processes shall remain in force until 31 December 2023, and the related obligations for the transmission of data to the Commission shall remain in force until 31 December 2025, in order to ensure continuity until new calculation rules and reporting formats are adopted by the Commission under this Regulation.

(110)   Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to guarantee the functioning of the internal market while ensuring that batteries placed on the market fulfil the requirements providing for a high level of protection of human health, safety, property and the environment, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of the need for harmonisation, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.