Regulation scope
This page defines which batteries, products, and economic operators fall within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (the EU Battery Regulation).
This documentation is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not constitute a compliance guarantee, certification, or attestation of conformity with Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. Operators remain solely responsible for their own compliance and should consult qualified regulatory counsel.
Territorial Scope
The regulation applies to all batteries placed on the EU market or put into service in the EU, regardless of where the battery was manufactured. A battery manufactured in South Korea, imported by a distributor in Germany, and sold to a French industrial customer is fully within scope. A battery manufactured in Italy and exported exclusively to markets outside the EU is outside scope.
The decisive criterion is the act of placing on the market — defined in Article 3(4) as making a battery available for the first time on the EU market, irrespective of whether for payment or free of charge.
Product Scope
Batteries In Scope
The regulation applies to all batteries as defined in Article 3(1): any source of electrical energy generated by direct conversion of chemical energy, consisting of one or more non-rechargeable or rechargeable battery cells, modules, or packs.
This includes:
- Batteries sold as standalone products
- Batteries incorporated into products (vehicles, electronics, tools, appliances) at the time of first placing on the market
- Batteries sold as replacement components
- Batteries placed on the market for professional, industrial, or consumer use
Batteries Outside Scope
Article 2(2) excludes batteries in equipment related to:
- Protection of essential security interests of EU member states (military equipment, classified government equipment)
- Weapons, munitions, and war material designed for specifically military purposes
- Aerospace applications subject to separate EU oversight
These exclusions are narrow and apply only where the specific equipment and its intended use fall clearly within the exempted categories. Batteries used in commercial vehicles, civilian drones, or industrial equipment that happen to be operated by defence agencies do not automatically fall outside scope.
Battery Categories
The regulation defines five battery categories in Article 3. The category of a battery determines which obligations apply and when. Understanding your battery category is the first step to identifying your DPP obligations in Traceable.
Portable Batteries
Definition (Article 3(1)(9)): A battery that is sealed, weighs 5 kg or less, is not designed specifically for industrial use, and is neither an electric-vehicle battery, an LMT battery, nor an SLI battery.
Typical applications: Consumer electronics (smartphones, laptops, tablets), power tools, toys, portable speakers, power banks, small domestic appliances, hearing aids, wearables.
No energy threshold: The portable classification turns on the sealed + 5 kg or less + not-designed-specifically-for-industrial-use criteria. The definition does not contain a 2 kWh threshold.
Key distinction from LMT batteries: A battery in an e-bike is an LMT battery, not a portable battery, even if a user could physically detach and carry it. The intended use (propulsion of a light means of transport) governs, not the ability to carry the battery.
SLI Batteries — Starter, Lighting, and Ignition
Definition (Article 3(1)(12)): A battery designed to provide power for starting, lighting, or ignition of a vehicle engine, and which may also power some of the vehicle's auxiliary equipment.
Typical applications: 12 V and 24 V lead-acid batteries in conventional petrol and diesel cars, motorcycles, trucks, and marine vessels. Also includes absorbed glass mat (AGM) and enhanced flooded battery (EFB) variants used in start-stop vehicles.
Key chemistry: Predominantly lead-acid. Some modern SLI applications use lithium-ion.
Key distinction from EV batteries: An SLI battery in a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle is within scope as an SLI battery even if the vehicle has a mild hybrid system. Where a vehicle has both an SLI battery (for starting) and a separate high-voltage traction battery (for propulsion), the traction battery is classified as an EV battery.
LMT Batteries — Light Means of Transport
Definition (Article 3(1)(11)): A battery that is sealed, weighs 25 kg or less, and is specifically designed to provide electric power for the traction of wheeled vehicles that can be powered by the electric motor alone or by a combination of motor and human power (including vehicles of type-approval category L under Regulation (EU) 168/2013), and that is not an EV battery. A category-L battery weighing more than 25 kg is an EV battery, not an LMT battery.
EU vehicle category L: Defined in Regulation (EU) 168/2013 and includes:
- L1e: Powered cycles and speed pedelecs (including e-bikes with motor assistance above 25 km/h)
- L2e: Two-wheel mopeds
- L3e: Two-wheel motorcycles
- L4e: Motorcycles with sidecar
- L5e: Motorised tricycles
- L6e: Light quadricycles (e.g. small electric micro-cars ≤45 km/h)
- L7e: Heavy quadricycles
Practical scope: E-bikes (both pedelec/EPAC and speed pedelec), electric scooters, electric mopeds, electric motorcycles, light electric quadricycles. Note that standard e-bikes with assistance limited to 25 km/h and motor ≤250 W (EPAC under EN 15194) are not subject to type-approval under Regulation 168/2013 — the Commission has clarified that batteries in these bicycles are still captured as LMT batteries under the Battery Regulation because of their functional similarity to type-approved L1e vehicles.
Key distinction from EV batteries: LMT batteries are in category L vehicles. Batteries in category M (passenger cars, vans), N (trucks), or O (trailers) vehicles are EV batteries.
EV Batteries — Electric Vehicle
Definition (Article 3(1)(14)): A battery specifically designed to provide electric power for the traction of hybrid or electric vehicles of category L (Regulation (EU) 168/2013) weighing more than 25 kg, or of categories M, N or O (Regulation (EU) 2018/858). The definition contains no energy-capacity threshold — the ">2 kWh" figure is the Article 77(1) DPP-scope threshold for industrial batteries only (and an Article 7/8 obligation threshold), not part of the EV definition.
EU vehicle categories M, N, O:
- M: Motor vehicles with at least four wheels for carriage of passengers (M1: passenger cars ≤8 seats + driver; M2/M3: buses and coaches)
- N: Motor vehicles with at least four wheels for carriage of goods (N1: ≤3.5 t GVW; N2: 3.5–12 t; N3: >12 t)
- O: Trailers and semi-trailers
Typical applications: High-voltage traction batteries in battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV) with battery storage.
Mild-hybrid (MHEV) exclusion: MHEV batteries are excluded from the EV category on a purpose basis — they provide auxiliary supply and energy recovery rather than traction — not on the basis of an energy-capacity threshold.
Industrial Batteries
Definition (Article 3(1)(13)): A battery specifically designed for industrial uses, a battery intended for industrial use after having been prepared for repurposing or repurposed, or any other battery weighing more than 5 kg that is not an EV, LMT or SLI battery. The residual test is weight-based (>5 kg), not capacity-based. The ">2 kWh" figure gates the Article 77(1) DPP obligation and the Article 7/8 obligations; it is not part of the Article 3(1)(13) definition.
Typical applications: Stationary energy storage systems (BESS), forklift truck batteries, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), grid-scale energy storage, data centre backup power, batteries in ships and trains not covered by other categories.
Residual category: Industrial is effectively the residual category — if a battery exceeds 2 kWh and does not fit EV, LMT, or SLI, it is industrial. This means the category is broad and covers diverse applications.
Important note on the 2 kWh threshold: Industrial batteries under 2 kWh (e.g. some UPS batteries, small telecom backup batteries) fall into the portable category unless the battery is clearly not designed to be hand-carried and is not for personal use, in which case operators should assess the definition carefully.
Category Summary Table
| Category | Energy Threshold | Vehicle Type | Primary Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portable | ≤5 kg (no kWh threshold) | None | Consumer and professional use |
| SLI | No threshold | All (for starting) | Engine starting, lighting, ignition |
| LMT | Sealed, ≤25 kg | Category L | Propulsion of light electric vehicles |
| EV | L-category batteries >25 kg, or M/N/O (no weight/capacity floor) | Category L (>25 kg), M, N, O | Propulsion of road vehicles |
| Industrial | >5 kg residual; >2 kWh is the Art. 77(1) DPP-scope threshold, not the Art. 3(1)(13) definition | None | Industrial and stationary applications |
Economic Operators in Scope
The regulation places obligations on four categories of economic operator:
Manufacturers (Article 3(30))
Any natural or legal person who manufactures a battery or has a battery designed or manufactured, and markets that battery under their name or trademark. The manufacturer bears the broadest set of obligations: conformity assessment, Declaration of Conformity, CE marking, DPP creation, EPR registration.
Authorised Representatives (Article 3(31))
Any natural or legal person established within the EU who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer established outside the EU to act on its behalf in fulfilling specific obligations under the regulation. Where a battery manufacturer is established outside the EU and has no EU establishment, it must appoint an authorised representative before placing batteries on the EU market.
The authorised representative assumes the manufacturer's obligations under the regulation for the purposes of EU market access. This is a legal appointment with direct liability implications — it is not a commercial arrangement.
Importers (Article 3(32))
Any natural or legal person established within the EU who places a battery from a third country on the EU market. Importers must verify that the manufacturer has fulfilled their obligations (DPP, CE marking, DoC) before placing the battery on the EU market. If the manufacturer has not complied, the importer may not place the battery on the market.
Distributors (Article 3(33))
Any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or importer, who makes a battery available on the EU market. Distributors must verify that the battery has CE marking and that the DPP QR code is present and accessible before making the battery available.
Obligations by Operator Type
| Obligation | Manufacturer | Authorised Representative | Importer | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create DPP | Yes | On behalf of manufacturer | Verify exists | Verify exists |
| CE marking | Yes | Yes (mandate) | Verify | Verify |
| Declaration of Conformity | Yes | Yes (mandate) | Verify | Verify |
| EPR registration | Yes | Yes (mandate) | Yes | No |
| Supply chain due diligence | Yes | Yes (mandate) | No | No |
| Carbon footprint calculation | Yes | Yes (mandate) | No | No |
| Keep technical documentation | Yes | Yes (mandate) | 10 years | No |
Operators Outside the EU
If your organisation is established outside the EU and places batteries on the EU market, you must either:
- Appoint an authorised representative established in the EU before placing any batteries on the EU market, or
- Ensure your EU-based importer has verified compliance and is prepared to fulfil the applicable importer obligations.
The DPP obligation — including creation of the DPP before the battery is placed on the market — applies regardless of where the manufacturer is established. Traceable's platform supports multi-jurisdiction operator structures and allows authorised representative designations to be recorded on each DPP.