Draft by the EU Parliament: The EU should become more independent when it comes to batteries

The EU Parliament wants to reduce battery waste. It is not only about environmental protection, but also about independence in battery production. So far, components such as nickel have often come from Russia.

The European Union should get more out of batteries – before they end up in hazardous waste. The European Parliament has been campaigning for this for months. It has now introduced a bill for this with a large majority. Actually, it should be about more environmental protection and workers’ rights. Because precisely where battery raw materials such as cobalt or nickel are mined, there is often environmental damage, and child labor is too often the order of the day there.

So far, a lot of nickel has come from Russia

But now that Russian troops have attacked Ukraine and the world has changed as a result, there is much more at stake. “Since Putin’s terrible war of aggression in Ukraine, I think even the last ones have realized that we need the green transformation not only for our climate, but also for our strategic sovereignty. And batteries are the crucial building block for this transformation,” says the Green MEP Anna Cavazzini. Europe must also make itself independent in battery production.

A large part of the nickel imports comes from Russia. In the past few days, the price of nickel on the international commodity exchanges has literally exploded. Within a few hours, it doubled to around 100,000 euros per ton. This is highly worrying news for battery and electric vehicle manufacturers.

It is therefore high time for the European Union to act now, said EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius. After all, the need for batteries will grow massively in the coming years in view of the further development of electromobility. “In light of the Russian attack on Ukraine and the task of making Europe independent of imports, new legislation is also urgently needed for the battery sector,” said Sinkevicius.

The recycling rate is set to rise sharply

In the coming years, the recycling rate for batteries is to be gradually increased to up to 90 percent. Newly produced batteries must contain a minimum percentage of recycled material. Manufacturers must precisely calculate the durability and service life of their products and make them transparent. These regulations should not only apply to industrial batteries or power storage in electric cars, but also to batteries in headphones, game joysticks or in computers and laptops, telephones or e-bikes. There will also be a guaranteed right to have batteries repaired or replaced – something that works today, especially for many mobile phones.

“The recycling of valuable and environmentally critical substances in batteries will be a key to a sustainable and competitive industry that should be at the top worldwide,” says Ismail Ertug, member of the SPD European Parliament. And the Danish MEP Pernille Weiss from the Christian Democratic EPP Group explains that this shows respect for the resources of nature, which are not infinite – and that is right and good. A new European battery regulation could come into force as early as the beginning of next year. At least that is the wish of a majority in the European Parliament.