This month, the European Union will propose stricter environmental requirements for EV batteries sold in the region, reports Autonews Europe. With this, the EU wants to ensure that batteries are actually ‘greener’ over their entire life cycle.
With the new rules, the European Union wants to lead the world when it comes to the sustainability of batteries. The stricter environmental requirements will not only affect batteries produced in Europe, but also batteries that manufacturers produce elsewhere and market in Europe. It does not matter whether the batteries are sold separately or offered in products. To make the batteries more sustainable, the raw materials used must be obtained in a responsible manner and the factories must run on ‘green energy’. In addition, the EU wants the share of potentially harmful materials such as cobalt and nickel in batteries to decrease further. The EU also requires manufacturers to improve battery life and efficiency. It is not yet known when the rules will come into effect.
According to European Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius, who deals with environmental policy, the European Union will become the second largest market for batteries worldwide. He states that the batteries sold on the European market should therefore not be left behind in terms of sustainability. Incidentally, the EU is not hiding its ambitions in the field of battery production. European battery production is expected to be at such a level by 2025 that export capacity may even be released. For example, PSA is currently building a battery factory in Kaiserslautern, Germany, for which it will receive billions of euros in EU funding. The EU has also won the grant for the construction of a Northvolt battery factory in Sweden. Battery manufacturers from Asia such as CATL, Svolt, Samsung SDI and LG Chem also settle in Europe.