According to Electrive, battery manufacturers that want to sell their products on the European market will have to respect stricter environmental requirements, since EU representatives aim to promote a circularity when it comes to making batteries.

For EV grade batteries, manufacturers will have to list CO2 balance, as well as what materials from the battery can be recycled, which will be a requirement since 2024.

Regarding EU battery recycling, officials agreed that, starting 2027, companies will have to recycle 90% of the nickel and cobalt, which will be increased to 95% in 2031.

Also, they are urged to recycle 50% of the lithium, with the ratio increasing by 2031 to 80%.

EU Parliamentarian Achille Variati said that "our overall aim is to build a stronger EU recycling industry, particularly for lithium, and a competitive industrial sector as a whole, which is crucial in the coming decades for our continent’s energy transition and strategic autonomy. These measures could become a benchmark for the entire global battery market."

This year, the EU also launched the Gigagreen project, which aims to improve the sustainability of lithium-ion battery production.