EUEW Monthly Advocacy Meeting: The Sustainable Battery Strategy

The first e-meeting of 2021 for the Advocacy Review took place on 13 January, with the subject “The Circular Economy Action Plan and the Sustainable Battery Strategy as specific example”.

The Circular Economy Action Plan announced different initiatives along the entire life cycle of products that target, for example, their design, promote circular economy processes, foster sustainable consumption, and aim to ensure that the resources used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible. The Circular Economy Action Plan introduces legislative and non-legislative measures, targeting areas where action at the EU level brings real added value.

The new strategic approach to batteries was launched under the European Battery Alliance and found a prominent place in the European Green Deal, the new Circular Economy Action Plan, and the new Industrial Strategy for Europe. To make batteries a true enabler of the green transition, a new regulatory framework will be put in place. In view of the strategic importance of batteries and to minimize their adverse environmental effects, harmonized rules across the Union will be established to ensure that the expected market growth takes place in the most sustainable way possible. The new Regulation establishes a comprehensive framework covering all types of batteries and addressing their whole life cycle from production process to design requirements, as well as second life, recycling and incorporating recycled content into new batteries.