Current developments for the battery regulation

The separation of appliances and the batteries they contain is both sensible and necessary for reasons of safety and sustainability. On the one hand, separability helps to ensure proper disposal and recycling of batteries and appliances, but above all it should enable the battery to be replaced during the service life of the appliance. A requirement regulating the ‘removability’ of batteries was already included in Article 11 of the Battery Directive, but in practice it led to difficulties in application due to the numerous undefined terms and interpretation approaches. With the transfer of the requirement to Article 11 of the Battery Regulation, the requirements were substantiated, linguistically revised and now extend not only to portable batteries but also to batteries for light light means of transport, so-called LMT batteries.

On 10 January 2025, as provided for in Article 11(9) of the Battery Regulation, the Commission's guidelines³ on ‘removability and replaceability’ were published in the Official Journal of the European Union. These guidelines are not legally binding, are of an explanatory nature and, like Article 11, are not primarily aimed at producers or manufacturers of batteries, but at the design of products containing batteries, and thus address those placing equipment and means of transport on the market.

According to the Commission's guideline, Article 11 of the Battery Regulation is to apply as a catch-all rule, provided that there are no more specific provisions, such as those currently in force under the Ecodesign regulations for smartphones, slate tablets, etc. under Regulation (EU) 2023/1670⁴. Further special provisions may be added in the coming years in Ecodesign regulations for other product groups.

Below you will find a brief overview of the key requirements that will apply to the removability and replaceability of portable batteries and LMT batteries from 18 February 2027, including the newly published guidelines (in bullet points):
 

Exception to the principle:

Exceptionally, where necessary for the safety of the user and the appliance, washable or rinsable appliances specifically designed for use in an environment where splashing water, hose-directed water or underwater conditions regularly occur, and, independently of safety aspects, professional medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment and in vitro diagnostic medical devices, may be designed that batteries can only be removed and replaced by independent specialists using commercially available tools.

The guideline offers, among other things, concrete assistance for this requirement with regard to the terms:

• ‘independent professionals’ (have the technical competence and qualifications and act on a commercial basis, with the technical competence of recommissioning the battery when replacing cells of a battery set of an LMT battery)
• products ‘specifically designed to operate primarily in a wet environment’ (use of the IP system according to IEC 60529 as indicators for the classification of the environment, notes on documenting the prerequisites for the exception).

The guideline also sets out the process by which potential further products can be covered by the exception to the principle in the future: the initiative for this will come from the Commission, taking into account market developments and technical and scientific progress. Market participants will then have three months upon request to provide appropriate evidence of compliance with the conditions set out in paragraph 4.
 

Exception to the requirement:

Devices whose continuity of power supply must be maintained and where a permanent connection between the product and the respective portable battery is required for reasons of user and device safety or, in the case of products whose primary function is to collect and supply data, for reasons of data integrity, do not need to be removable and replaceable. Here too, more specific guidance is provided on the safety aspects mentioned (especially with regard to medical devices and in vitro diagnostics with regard to the distinction from the aforementioned exception to the principle). In addition, non-exhaustive and non-legally-binding examples are given of devices whose primary function is to collect data and the need for data integrity.

Further considerations on the availability of spare parts (including, where appropriate, fasteners, provided that these cannot be reused during disassembly and reassembly) and software limitations (impact on parts pairing and software notifications when using a non-original replacement battery) round off the guidelines.