Reply to the Public Consultation on the Batteries Regulation Proposal

EASE has provided a response to the European Commission's Public Consultation on the new Batteries Regulation proposed on 10 December 2020. This Regulation aims to ensure that batteries placed in the EU market are sustainable and safe throughout their entire life cycle.

EASE prepared a reply to this consultation to further improve the Batteries Regulation in a way that is favourable to the energy storage sector. EU law aims to minimise batteries' harmful effects on the environment. The rules cover their full life cycle, from design & production to reuse & recycling. In line with the Green Deal and other sustainability-related policies, this initiative would update EU rules to ensure:

• all batteries are produced sustainably (i.e. with low resource consumption and little waste generated) and can be easily recycled
• any batteries used in the growing market for electric vehicles are sustainable.

EASE welcomes the proposal for the Batteries Regulation: although several criticalities are present, it is a step forward to tackle several of the barriers that currently hinder the battery market. EASE believes creating a level-playing field is key. Some of the Proposal provisions go in this sense - e.g., the recognition that different types of batteries are needed. In other articles,  the focus seemed to lie on specific battery solutions, e.g. the ones currently leading the market, therefore not adopting a technology-neutral approach, with the risk of hampering innovation and competition.