EU to push new standards for ‘greenest’ car batteries on earth

The European Commission will table new EU-wide regulations this autumn to ensure that batteries manufactured or imported into Europe are “the greenest on this planet,” a top EU official told EURACTIV.

The new regulation will impose “mandatory requirements for the greenest, safest and most sustainable batteries on this planet,” said Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission’s vice-president in charge of foresight and interinstitutional relations.

The new EU-wide rules will be tabled “this autumn” and follow a fast track procedure so that they can be in place “as of 2023 onwards,” Šefčovič told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.

Germany, which currently holds the EU’s six-month rotating presidency, is “very much interested” in fast-tracking the new rules, the top official said.

Europe’s new battery regulation will also seek to ensure that EU-made batteries use raw materials that are traceable and follow strict ecological and labour norms, Šefčovič added, saying those standards were important for European consumers who are increasingly turning to electric mobility.

Electric cars are expected to treble their market share in Europe this year as a result of the bloc’s car CO2 targets, according to analysis published earlier this month by green campaign group Transport & Environment. EU standards are driving electric cars towards 10% of sales, and 15% in 2021, the group added.

Building on Europe’s fast-growing market, the European Commission now wants to ensure all batteries made or imported in the EU meet the strictest green criteria in the world, with a new “battery passport” showing the origin of materials used in the manufacturing process.

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