ILA has successfully lobbied for the transfer of restrictions affecting lead batteries from the EU’s end-of-life vehicles legislation, moving them into the Batteries Regulation.
This substantial change means that the next review of the exemption allowing use of lead batteries in vehicles – which was scheduled to take place in 2025 – moves to the Batteries Regulation and will not take place before 2030. In addition, any future review of the exemption will take into consideration economic and social impacts as well as technical assessments.
ILA, together with partners in EUROBAT, ACEA and JAMA have previously had to make a case every 3-5 years for continuation of the exemption of 12V lead batteries from the general prohibition on use of lead in vehicles that has applied for more than 20 years. They have also had to deal with the risk of restrictions or authorisation of use of lead in batteries through the REACH Regulation.
Dr Steve Binks, ILA’s Senior Regulatory Affairs Director, welcomed the move, saying: “We identified that replacement of the existing ELV directive with a new regulation was an opportunity to simplify the EU legislative environment for lead batteries. In future the EU Battery Regulation will act as the focal point for decisions on hazardous substance restrictions in batteries and legislation such as REACH and ELV legislation become less relevant.
“We delivered a coordinated advocacy campaign, supported by EUROBAT, engaging with key stakeholders in the EU parliament, member states, and the council of the EU to make a powerful case for the importance of lead batteries to the EU economy and society. We argued that the review of the exemption belongs in the Batteries Regulation and this had the benefit of pushing any future review of lead battery use in vehicles beyond 2030.
Dr Binks, who will be briefing delegates at the ELBC conference in Vienna in September on the implications of the Batteries Regulation, added: “I think this highlights how important it is for industries like ours to demonstrate the strategically important contribution we make to growth, sustainability and economic resilience in Europe.”
The council of the EU announced the formal adoption of the revised end-of-life vehicles regulation in June. It is expected to be published in the EU’s official journal in August, and will enter into force three weeks later. The regulation will start applying two years after its entry into force.
