EU Sustainable Batteries Regulation: Where are we now?

Since the publication of the EU Sustainable Batteries Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, “EUBR”) in July 2023, the regime has moved from enactment to phased application, alongside targeted measures to simplify early compliance. This note recaps what already applies, explains some recent due diligence changes, and highlights the core obligations still to come, including battery passports and requirements around removability and replaceability. For further context, our July 2023 article provides a concise primer on the EUBR’s structure and objectives.

What already applies?

The EUBR entered into force on 18 August 2023 and has applied since 18 February 2024. From 18 August 2025 it replaced the Batteries Directive 2006/66/EC, save for limited transitional provisions. Obligations already in effect include CE marking against new requirements, enhanced labelling and information duties, and the build‑out of extended producer responsibility (“EPR”) systems and market oversight. In July 2025, the EU adopted the methodology for calculating and verifying recycling efficiency and material recovery rates for waste batteries, which now governs how facilities evidence compliance.

Staged application: key requirements ahead

The following further requirements under the EUBR will apply in stages (grouped by theme):

A. Carbon footprint and recycled content

• Carbon footprint declarations for EVs, rechargeable industrial (>2 kWh) and LMT batteries must be calculated and disclosed using the Commission’s methodology and format acts, phasing in by battery category as those acts apply. The declaration must accompany the battery until 18 February 2027, from which point the declarations must be accessible via QR codes.
• Recycled‑content disclosure for cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel applies from 18 August 2028 (or later if the methodology act applies later) for EV, SLI and specified industrial batteries and from 18 August 2033 for LMT batteries. Minimum recycled‑content percentages then apply from 18 August 2031 for EVs, SLI and specified industrial batteries, and from 18 August 2036 for LMT batteries.

B. Durability, performance and removability

• Minimum performance and durability values apply from 18 August 2027 for rechargeable industrial batteries (>2 kWh) and from 18 August 2028 for portable batteries of general use (excluding button cells), subject to delegated acts.
• Removability rules change from 18 February 2027^[1],
  • portable batteries in products must be user‑removable using commonly available tools and without causing damage to the product or battery. Manufacturers must provide clear instructions and ensure that removal and refit is feasible throughout the product’s expected lifetime. Limited exemptions exist, but require robust technical justification and equivalent outcomes.
  • LMT, EV and industrial batteries must be replaceable by an independent professional at any time during the product’s lifetime. Designs should avoid permanent fixation methods that prevent safe removal, and documentation for professional removal (including safety steps and required tools) must be available.

C. Labelling, QR codes and the battery passport

• Harmonised labelling expands from 18 August 2026 (or 18 months after implementing acts enter into force, if later).
• From 18 February 2027, all batteries must bear a QR code giving access to prescribed, up-to-date information (capacity, chemistry and certain substances), the EU declaration of conformity and end‑user/distributor information on prevention and management of waste. For EVs, LMT and industrial rechargeable batteries (>2 kWh), the QR code should provide access to the digital battery passport, which centralises model‑ and battery‑specific data (such as carbon footprint, recycled content, durability/performance parameters and test reports) and uses role‑based access to protect commercially sensitive information. 

D. Collection, take‑back and recycling

• Producers must operate free, accessible take‑back systems. Collection targets differ for portable batteries vs LMT and increase over time.

Due diligence: changes to timing and scope

The EUBR’s battery due diligence obligation applies to in‑scope economic operators – that is, the manufacturer or importer (and, in some cases, the producer/producer responsibility organisations) that places batteries on the EU market and has net turnover above €40 million. They are required to adopt, implement and publicly report (e.g. on an operator’s website) on a risk‑based supply chain due diligence policy for cobalt, natural graphite, lithium and nickel. Core elements include a management system and supplier controls, risk identification and mitigation, a grievance mechanism, third‑party verification by a notified body, and periodic public reporting aligned with recognised international standards. The reporting must be on an annual basis.

In May 2025, the European Commission proposed the following changes to these requirements under a so-called “Omnibus IV” package, some of which are already in force:

A. Adopted in July 2025:

Due diligence requirements were postponed to 18 August 2027. This was to allow Member States more time to designate and accredit notified bodies and align with anticipated timing of Commission guidance with related frameworks (e.g. Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive).

Commission deadline to publish official due diligence guidance set for 26 July 2026.

B. Still at proposal stage:

Exemption for “small mid‑cap” enterprises (“SMCs”), defined as companies with yearly net turnover below €150 million (stand‑alone or on a consolidated group basis), which would thereby fall outside the EUBR’s due diligence and supply‑chain tracing obligations.

Public reporting frequency reduced from annually to once every three years.

Permission to provide certain required product information digitally (including via QR code).

These measures do not change the substance of the EUBR’s due diligence framework, nor do they affect other pillars of the EUBR (sustainability, labelling, battery passport, waste and EPR).

Digital Product Passports (“DPPs”) and wider supply chain developments

The approaching battery passport requirement also sits within a wider shift toward product‑level transparency. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (“ESPR”) establishes a legal framework to introduce DPP across multiple product groups via future delegated acts. Batteries are an early sector with a dedicated passport regime under the EUBR, but over time, ESPR delegated acts will roll out passport‑style requirements to other products, using the same cross‑economy DPP infrastructure. In parallel, adjacent reporting and due‑diligence regimes are intensifying demand for consistent supply‑chain and product data^[2]. Together, these developments point to a progressively interconnected diligence and reporting landscape in which batteries are the earliest test case for digital information sharing throughout the product’s lifecycle.
 

^[1] The removability rules under the Batteries Directive 2006/66/EC will continue to apply until this date.

^[2] CSRD and CS3D “Stop the Clock” Directive Published in Official Journal; EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) proposed delay: What businesses need to know; EU Omnibus state of play: amendments to CSRD, ESRS, Taxonomy and CS3D