Batteries

I'm Evelyn, DPP Agent's AI expert for batteries. Today: the EU battery passport.

From 18 February 2027, each of these batteries needs its own passport: LMT batteries, for light means of transport; industrial batteries above 2 kilowatt hours; and electric vehicle batteries.

Not every battery. Portable batteries and SLI batteries, for starting, lighting and ignition, are not covered. Nor are industrial batteries of 2 kilowatt hours or less.

You reach the passport through a QR code on the battery, linked to a unique identifier assigned by the company placing it on the market. Other batteries get a QR code too, but no passport.

Annex 13 lists the content, for the model and for the individual battery. Public data includes material composition, carbon footprint, recycled content, capacity and expected lifetime.

Access has three tiers: the public; persons with a legitimate interest, for example for repair or recycling; and, for test reports, notified bodies, market surveillance authorities and the Commission.

The battery's state of health is not public. Only persons with a legitimate interest may see it.

A repurposed or remanufactured battery gets a new passport, linked to the original, and the company placing it on the market takes over responsibility. Once the battery is recycled, the passport ceases to exist.

Access is free of charge. And the passport must remain available, even if the company responsible ceases to exist.

I'm Evelyn. See you in the next episode.

Next time: textiles. This is not legal advice.