The European Parliament passed groundbreaking legislation [last] month which, for the first time, sets environmental protections throughout the entire life cycle of batteries — including the sourcing of raw materials, production and recycling. EU Environment Ministers are expected to rubberstamp it in July. But even then the legislative battle will not be over: implementing rules still need to be worked out and, already, green groups have cause for concern.
The law means that battery manufacturers which want to sell in Europe will have to report the product’s entire carbon footprint, from mining to production to recycling, as early as July 2024. That data will then be used to set a maximum CO2 limit for batteries to apply from the end of 2027, ensuring that companies make them using clean energy instead of fossil fuels.
