New EU regulations regulate the development of the battery industry

The European Council has recently introduced a new regulation aimed at strengthening the management of batteries and waste batteries, regulating the entire lifecycle of batteries from production to recycling and reuse, in order to promote a circular economy. Analysis suggests that the new regulations will enhance the competitiveness of European industries, ensure the sustainability of new batteries, and contribute to green transformation

The European Council has recently introduced a new regulation aimed at strengthening the management of batteries and waste batteries, regulating the entire lifecycle of batteries from production to recycling and reuse, in order to promote a circular economy. Analysis suggests that the new regulations will enhance the competitiveness of European industries, ensure the sustainability of new batteries, and contribute to green transformation. In addition, this regulation to some extent means that Germany will usher in new business opportunities in the battery industry.

On July 10th local time, the European Council passed a new regulation aimed at strengthening the management of batteries and waste batteries. This regulation will regulate the entire lifecycle of batteries from production to recycling and reuse, and ensure their safety, sustainability, and competitiveness.

It is reported that the European Council said in a press release released on the same day that the new regulations will apply to all batteries, including waste portable batteries, Electric vehicle battery, industrial batteries, etc., aiming to promote the circular economy by regulating the entire life cycle of batteries. The new regulations therefore stipulate scrapping requirements, including collection goals and obligations for waste batteries, material recycling goals, etc.

"For the first time, we have circular economy legislation covering the entire life cycle of products, which is conducive to the environment and economy." Member of the European Parliament member Achille Valiatti said, "Our overall goal is to build a stronger Battery recycling industry and competitive industrial sector in the EU. These measures are crucial to Europe's energy transformation and strategic autonomy in the coming decades, and may become the benchmark for the entire global power battery market."

According to the previous introduction by the head of the European Battery Union, Torre Secknes, at the 2023 World Power Battery Conference, the EU's demand for power batteries will reach 550GWh in 2025 and increase to 1000GWh in 2030. In terms of battery mineral raw materials, the EU's demand for lithium will increase by 18 times by 2030, and the demand for cobalt will increase by 5 times; By 2050, the demand for lithium will increase by nearly 60 times, and the demand for cobalt will increase by 15 times.

It is understood that the new EU regulations classify products into automotive batteries, electric vehicle batteries, light transportation vehicle batteries, industrial batteries, and portable batteries, with a focus on covering all stages of the battery's entire life cycle, from raw material production and processing, to the battery usage process, and then to the recycling and reuse of retired and scrapped batteries.

Nicholas Brahmi, a battery expert at the German Federal Agency for Foreign Trade and Investment (GTAI), stated that the new regulations will enhance the competitiveness of European industries, ensure the sustainability of new batteries, and contribute to green transformation. In addition, this regulation to some extent means that Germany will usher in new business opportunities in the battery industry.

According to this regulation, manufacturers will be responsible for collecting a certain proportion of waste portable batteries (reaching 63% by the end of 2027 and 73% by the end of 2030). In addition, manufacturers must also set specific collection targets for waste batteries from light transportation vehicles (reaching 51% by the end of 2028 and 61% by the end of 2031).

Experts have analyzed that these regulations are of great significance to the European battery industry and may completely change the way the EU and its largest economy and battery center, Germany, handle battery materials.

The new regulations cover the entire battery life cycle and ensure the reuse of key raw materials as much as possible, "Brahmi said." Batteries sold in EU countries must comply with sustainable production practices and responsible recycling processes, ultimately supporting Europe's transition to low emission transportation

Regarding the future development of the German battery industry, Brahmi stated that, This marks an important step forward for the battery industry towards becoming the first truly closed-loop industry. This regulation will consolidate the leading investment position of the European Union, especially Germany, in the entire battery material value chain. At the Federal Agency for Foreign Trade and Investment in Germany, we have seen industry-leading enterprises, especially those in the recycling industry, showing strong interest in investing in new production capacity in Germany.

Since the beginning of this year, the German government has continuously increased its financial support for new projects in the local battery industry. Recently, the German government announced that it will provide 160 million euros in funding for Bosch's hydrogen energy project. The funds for this project are mainly used to research fixed fuel cell systems for power generation and heating, namely the application of hydrogen in batteries. Bosch said that it will strengthen the development of Hydrogen fuel cells and is expected to become the first company in the world to mass produce this energy system in 2025.

In addition, the Report on China's Investment in Europe in 2022 recently released by Rongding Consulting and Mercator Institute for China Studies shows that China's investment in European electric vehicle battery industry will continue to rise in 2022, and battery investment has now become the mainstream of China's investment in Europe.

The report shows that Germany is one of the main concentration areas for China's battery investment in Europe. It is reported that the first overseas factory of CATL, located in Thuringia, Germany, just announced in January this year that it has officially entered the mass production stage. The company will invest a total of 1.8 billion euros for its German factory. In addition, in September 2022, Honeycomb Energy announced that it would build its second overseas factory facing the European market in Brandenburg, Germany, mainly engaged in cell production.

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