The EPR Scheme for Batteries

Since August 18, 2025, the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for batteries in France has expanded significantly to transpose European Regulation 2023/1542, moving from just portable batteries and accumulators to five major categories, including electric vehicle batteries.

Producers, importers, distributors, and even reuse operators are now involved, with new rules on labeling, digital passports, repairability, and recycled material content.

This article covers who’s concerned, the three approved eco-organizations, the collection obligations, and the European recycling targets that phase in progressively through 2031.

Summarize this article with:

🎯 TL;DR: The Battery EPR Scheme

• Since August 18, 2025, the scheme covers five battery categories: portable, light transport (LTB), starter/lighting/ignition (SLI), industrial, and electric vehicle.
• Ecosystem and Batribox are approved for all five categories through December 31, 2030; Recycle My Vehicle is approved only for electric vehicle batteries.
• Design rules are tightening fast: removable batteries by February 2027, minimum recycled content from 2030, and a digital passport for batteries over 2 kWh from February 2027.
• Distributors now owe free take-back for used batteries with no sales-area threshold at all.

🔍 How We Checked This

This article’s dates and thresholds come directly from EU Regulation 2023/1542 (the Battery Regulation) and the French scheme’s transposition effective August 18, 2025. Eco-organization approvals run through December 31, 2030, with Renault SAS’s individual system approved through December 31, 2027. Every date cited (CE marking, digital passport, removability, recycled content, collection targets) is a Regulation-mandated milestone; always confirm the latest applicable text before making design or compliance decisions based on a distant deadline.

🔋 Who’s Concerned and the Scope Extension

Professionals required to declare their batteries

Since August 18, 2025, the “portable batteries and accumulators” scheme has been renamed simply “batteries” and has seen a major scope extension. EU Regulation 2023/1542 expands EPR to five distinct battery categories. Portable batteries include cells, button cells, and sealed accumulators weighing 5 kg or less. Light transport batteries (LTB) cover batteries for bicycles, scooters, and other light electric vehicles, sealed and weighing 25 kg or less.

Starter, lighting, and ignition (SLI) batteries power traditional vehicles’ auxiliary electrical systems. Industrial batteries cover professional applications and fixed energy storage installations. Electric vehicle batteries make up the fifth category, with their own specific rules given their weight, value, and technical complexity.

Manufacturers producing or commissioning these batteries, importers bringing them into France, and distributors selling them under their own brand all fall within scope. Reuse operators putting second-hand batteries back into circulation have also been treated as producers under EPR since 2024, an intentionally broad qualification meant to cover the entire value chain without gaps.

The annual declaration and choice of approved eco-organizations

Three eco-organizations are approved through December 31, 2030 for battery management. Ecosystem holds approval covering all five categories defined by the Regulation. Batribox (formerly Screlec) also holds approval for all categories, drawing on its historic expertise in batteries and accumulators. Recycle My Vehicle holds a limited approval covering only category 5, electric vehicle batteries.

An individual system has also been approved for Renault SAS through December 31, 2027, letting it manage its own electric vehicle batteries directly instead of going through an eco-organization, though this stays a minority option given the infrastructure investment it requires. Since January 1, 2026, contractual agreements between waste management operators and eco-organizations (or individual systems) are mandatory: operators can no longer process battery waste without a formalized contract with the approved scheme, on pain of administrative sanctions, a measure meant to secure full traceability and close off parallel circuits.

📱 The Requirements of the European Battery Regulation

Mandatory labeling and the digital passport

From May 2025, every battery placed on the market has to carry the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol, indicating it can’t be disposed of with mixed municipal waste, visibly informing consumers of their separate-collection obligation. CE marking becomes mandatory on all batteries from May 2026, certifying compliance with European safety, health, and environmental protection requirements.

Batteries with capacity above 2 kWh require a digital passport accessed via QR code starting February 2027. This electronic record tracks carbon footprint, performance, and health status across the battery’s lifecycle, letting consumers check recharge power, total energy, wear, and maintenance recommendations from their phone in real time. The transparency requirement is meant to make diagnostics and second-life reuse easier.

Design rules and battery separability

The Regulation gradually requires portable batteries to be removable without specialized tools by February 2027. That covers phones, tablets, and other consumer electronics whose batteries are currently glued or soldered in place, meaning manufacturers have to redesign products to make battery access and replacement possible with simple household tools.

Batteries also have to incorporate minimum proportions of recycled materials starting in 2030: 12% cobalt, 4% lithium, and 4% nickel from waste recovery, required in industrial and electric vehicle batteries. Those thresholds rise through 2036, reaching 16% cobalt, 10% lithium, and 12% nickel. Maximum carbon footprint thresholds phase in gradually from July 2027 to limit the climate impact of production.

Requirement	Applies from
Crossed-out wheeled bin symbol	May 2025
Scheme rename and scope extension to 5 categories	August 18, 2025
CE marking mandatory	May 2026
Mandatory waste-management contracts	January 1, 2026
Removable portable batteries	February 2027
Digital passport (batteries over 2 kWh)	February 2027
Carbon footprint thresholds phase in	From July 2027
Minimum recycled content (12% cobalt, 4% lithium, 4% nickel)	2030
Higher recycled content thresholds (16/10/12%)	2036

♻️ Collection Organization and Recycling Targets

Territorial coverage and mandatory take-back by every distributor

Distributors now carry a mandatory free take-back obligation for used batteries with no sales-area threshold at all. This recent extension is meant to densify the collection point network across the whole territory and make sorting easier for consumers: anyone can drop off used batteries at any store that sells them, whether a supermarket, a pharmacy, or a small local shop.

Collection containers dedicated to batteries have to sit near those for used electrical and electronic equipment, with clear signage indicating the right sorting gesture, an organization designed to simplify the consumer’s journey and raise collection rates that remain insufficient for some categories.

European collection and material recovery targets

The Regulation sets ambitious, staggered targets through 2030. Portable batteries and light transport batteries have to hit 63% collection by 2027 and 73% by 2030, progressive targets that let schemes ramp up gradually while investing in the infrastructure needed.

On material recovery, 90% of metals like cobalt, nickel, copper, and lead have to be recycled by 2027, and 80% of lithium by 2031, requirements that turn battery waste into a strategic resource rather than just a liability, reducing dependence on virgin raw materials. The EU will apply a new battery waste classification from November 9, 2026 to improve flow identification and optimize recycling by chemistry.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions About the Battery EPR Scheme

Which battery categories are covered now?

Five: portable batteries, light transport batteries (LTB), starter/lighting/ignition (SLI) batteries, industrial batteries, and electric vehicle batteries.

Do I need to redesign my product for battery removability?

If your portable battery is currently glued or soldered in place, yes, it has to become removable without specialized tools by February 2027.

What is the digital passport and does it apply to my batteries?

It’s a QR-code-accessible electronic record tracking a battery’s carbon footprint, performance, and health status, required from February 2027 for batteries with a capacity above 2 kWh.

Do I have to accept used batteries in my store?

Yes. Distributors now carry a free take-back obligation for used batteries, with no sales-area threshold, so this applies regardless of store size.

Are reuse operators considered producers?

Yes, since 2024, operators putting second-hand batteries back into circulation are treated as producers under EPR, the same as manufacturers and importers.

Get Ahead of the Battery Regulation Timeline

The battery scheme is moving faster than most EPR sectors, with real product design requirements arriving over the next two years, not the next decade. Companies that map these deadlines against their own product roadmap now avoid a scramble later.

Start your free trial with Ekovio to manage your battery EPR compliance and track every upcoming deadline.