The European Council earlier this week adopted a new regulation aimed at promoting a circular economy and strengthening sustainable development rules for batteries and waste batteries.
The new regulation will regulate the full life cycle of all types of batteries, including all discarded portable batteries, electric vehicle batteries, industrial batteries, starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries (mainly used in vehicles and machinery), and light-duty Batteries for vehicles (e.g. e-bikes, e-scooters, e-scooters).
According to the regulation, by 2027, “portable batteries embedded in devices should be able to be removed and replaced by the user”. Manufacturers including Samsung, Apple and others should have enough time to adapt their hardware and designs to meet new EU regulations from 2027, the European Commission said.
But does that mean the return of phones with batteries that can be removed and replaced without tools? Not necessarily. For the purposes of the EU proposal, a portable battery is one that the user can “remove using commercially available tools”. If this is not possible, the EU requires manufacturers to provide special tools free of charge. However, the regulations do not provide for users to be able to replace the battery without using any tools. As a result, traditional phone designs that allow for tool-less battery replacements may not see a revival.
It is noticed that Samsung has taken a step forward in complying with the new EU rules. The battery used by the Galaxy phone released in 2023 is no longer glued to the frame. The new batteries come in special adhesive pouches that allow users to remove them relatively easily without using a heat gun or solvents.
In addition, the European Commission has set new targets for battery manufacturers to recycle used batteries (63% by the end of 2027 and 73% by the end of 2030). The EU has also set a target of 50% lithium recycling rate and 80% nickel-cadmium battery recycling efficiency by 2027.
