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 an importer established 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(1), point (16), as "the first making available of a battery on the Union market"; making available is any supply "in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge" (point (17)).
Product Scope
Batteries In Scope
The regulation applies to all batteries as defined in Article 3(1), point (1): "any device delivering electrical energy generated by direct conversion of chemical energy, having internal or external storage, and consisting of one or more non-rechargeable or rechargeable battery cells, modules or of packs of them", including a battery that has been subject to preparation for re-use, preparation for repurposing, repurposing or remanufacturing.
This includes:
- Batteries sold as standalone products
- Batteries incorporated into or added to products (vehicles, electronics, tools, appliances), or specifically designed to be incorporated into or added to products (Article 1(3))
- Batteries sold as replacement components
- Batteries placed on the market for professional, industrial, or consumer use
Batteries Outside Scope
Article 1(5) excludes batteries that are incorporated into or that are specifically designed to be incorporated into:
- Equipment connected with the protection of Member States' essential security interests, arms, munitions and war material, with the exclusion of products that are not intended for specifically military purposes (Article 1(5)(a))
- Equipment designed to be sent into space (Article 1(5)(b))
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 that is specifically designed to supply electric power for starting, lighting, or ignition and that can also be used for auxiliary or backup purposes in vehicles, other means of transport or machinery.
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 Article 3(1), point (11), definition does not depend on type-approval: it covers batteries for wheeled vehicles "that can be powered by an electric motor alone or by a combination of motor and human power, including type-approved vehicles of category L".
Key distinction from EV batteries: a sealed traction battery weighing 25 kg or less for wheeled vehicles powered by an electric motor alone or by motor and human power (including, but not limited to, category L) is an LMT battery; a traction battery for category L hybrid or electric vehicles that weighs more than 25 kg, and any traction battery for category M, N or O hybrid or electric vehicles, is an EV battery (Article 3(1), points (11) and (14)).
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) batteries: the Regulation has no specific rule for them. Whether such a battery is an EV battery turns on whether it is "specifically designed to provide electric power for traction in hybrid or electric vehicles" (Article 3(1), point (14)), not on 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 — any battery that weighs more than 5 kg and is neither an electric vehicle battery, an LMT battery, nor an SLI battery is industrial (Article 3(1), point (13)). This means the category is broad and covers diverse applications.
Important note on the 2 kWh threshold: An industrial battery with a capacity of 2 kWh or less (e.g. some UPS batteries, small telecom backup batteries) remains an industrial battery; the 2 kWh figure decides only whether obligations such as Articles 7, 8, 10 and 77 apply. A sealed battery of 5 kg or less is a portable battery only if it "is not designed specifically for industrial use" (Article 3(1), point (9)).
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
Article 3(1), point (22), defines economic operators as including the manufacturer, the authorised representative, the importer, the distributor and the fulfilment service provider; this page covers the first four:
Manufacturers (Article 3(1)(33))
Any natural or legal person who manufactures a battery or has a battery designed or manufactured, and markets that battery under its own name or trademark or puts it into service for its own purposes. The manufacturer bears the broadest set of obligations: conformity assessment, Declaration of Conformity, CE marking, the battery passport where it places the battery on the market (Article 77(4)), and EPR registration where it is a producer (Article 3(1), point (47)).
Authorised Representatives (Article 3(1)(63))
Any natural or legal person established in the Union who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on its behalf in relation to specified tasks with regard to the manufacturer's obligations under Chapters IV and VI. Designation is optional: a manufacturer may, by a written mandate, designate an authorised representative (Article 40(1)).
The authorised representative performs the tasks specified in the mandate received from the manufacturer (Article 40(3)). The obligations laid down in Article 38(1) and Articles 48 to 52 and the obligation to draw up technical documentation do not form part of the mandate (Article 40(2)).
Importers (Article 3(1)(64))
Any natural or legal person established within the EU who places a battery from a third country on the EU market. Before placing a battery on the market, importers must verify that the EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation have been drawn up and the conformity assessment procedure carried out, and that the battery bears the CE marking and is marked and labelled in accordance with Article 13, which includes the QR code from 18 February 2027 (Article 41(2)). As the economic operator placing the battery on the market, the importer must also ensure that the information in the battery passport is accurate, complete and up to date (Article 77(4)). If the manufacturer has not complied, the importer may not place the battery on the market.
Distributors (Article 3(1)(65))
Any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or importer, who makes a battery available on the EU market. Before making a battery available on the market, distributors must verify, among other things, that the producer is registered in the register of producers referred to in Article 55 and that the battery bears the CE marking and is marked and labelled in accordance with Article 13, which includes the QR code from 18 February 2027 (Article 42(2)).
Obligations by Operator Type
| Obligation | Manufacturer | Authorised Representative | Importer | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create DPP | Yes, where it places the battery on the market (Art. 77(4)) | Where given written authorisation (Art. 77(4)) | Yes, where it places the battery on the market (Art. 77(4)) | Verify exists |
| CE marking | Yes | Yes (mandate) | Verify | Verify |
| Declaration of Conformity | Yes | Yes (mandate) | Verify (Art. 41(2)(a)) | No (not listed in Art. 42(2)) |
| EPR registration | Yes, where it is a producer (Art. 3(1), point (47)) | No (the Art. 55(7) authorised representative for extended producer responsibility is a different role) | Yes, where it is a producer | Verify the producer is registered (Art. 42(2)(a)); registers where it is a producer |
| Supply chain due diligence | Yes, where it places batteries on the market or puts them into service (Art. 48(1), subject to Art. 47) | No (Art. 40(2)) | Yes, as it places batteries on the market (Art. 48(1), subject to Art. 47) | No |
| Carbon footprint calculation | Yes | No (Art. 40(2)) | Verify the carbon footprint declaration accompanies the battery (Art. 41(2)(c)) | Verify the carbon footprint declaration accompanies the battery (Art. 42(2)(c)) |
| Keep technical documentation | Yes | Yes (mandate) | 10 years | No |
Operators Outside the EU
Article 4(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, which Article 91 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 extends to batteries, allow a battery to be placed on the market only if there is an economic operator established in the Union who is responsible for the tasks set out in Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. If your organisation is established outside the EU, that economic operator is one of:
- An importer, where the manufacturer is not established in the Union, or an authorised representative who has a written mandate from the manufacturer designating it to perform those tasks on the manufacturer's behalf, or
- A fulfilment service provider established in the Union with respect to the products it handles, where no other of those economic operators is established in the Union.
The DPP obligation — including creation of the DPP before the battery is placed on the market — applies regardless of where the manufacturer is established. The EV, industrial, stationary and LMT battery templates have optional Authorised Representative Name, Address and Email fields; the portable and SLI templates do not.