Battery categories

EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 defines five distinct battery categories, each with different disclosure requirements, thresholds, and mandatory data fields. Traceable implements all five. The batteryCategory field in the API response is one of:

API value	Display name	EU Regulation definition
EV_BATTERY	Electric Vehicle Battery	Batteries for light and heavy-duty EVs (road transport)
LMT_BATTERY	Light Means of Transport Battery	Batteries for e-bikes, e-scooters, e-mopeds, and similar
INDUSTRIAL_BATTERY	Industrial Battery	Batteries for industrial applications with capacity > 2 kWh
SLI_BATTERY	SLI Battery	Starting, lighting, and ignition batteries
PORTABLE_BATTERY	Portable Battery	Sealed batteries < 5 kg designed for consumer use

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EV_BATTERY

Electric Vehicle Batteries are the most data-intensive category, with the most comprehensive disclosure obligations under the regulation.

Key mandatory fields:

Field	Required	Notes
carbonFootprint	Yes	Full lifecycle carbon footprint required. Must include all five lifecycle stages.
carbonFootprint.verifiedBy	Yes	Must be verified by an accredited third party.
recycledContent (all four materials)	Yes	Cobalt, lithium, nickel, lead percentages required.
performance.cycleLifeAtEightyPercent	Yes	Must meet minimum cycle life threshold.
performance.roundTripEfficiencyPercent	Yes
hazardousSubstances	Yes	All substances above 0.1% by weight.
compliance.euBatteryRegulation	Yes	Must be true to publish.
supplyChain	Partial	Public fields shown; detailed sourcing data is a restricted PoLI field.

Category-specific fields: carbonFootprint is fully populated (not null). The lifecycle breakdown within carbonFootprint is required at all five stages.

Regulation thresholds:

• Minimum recycled cobalt content: 16% from 2031; 26% from 2036
• Minimum recycled lithium content: 6% from 2031; 12% from 2036
• Minimum recycled nickel content: 6% from 2031; 15% from 2036
• Carbon footprint declaration required from the date of application of Commission delegated acts (expected 2025/2026)

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LMT_BATTERY

Light Means of Transport Batteries cover electric bicycles, e-scooters, e-mopeds, and similar micro-mobility vehicles. Requirements are a subset of EV battery requirements.

Key mandatory fields:

Field	Required	Notes
carbonFootprint	Yes	Required from the date of application of Commission delegated acts.
recycledContent	Yes	All four materials required.
performance.cycleLifeAtEightyPercent	Yes
hazardousSubstances	Yes	Substances above 0.1% by weight.

Category-specific fields: carbonFootprint is populated. Thresholds and phase-in timelines differ from EV batteries — see the Commission's delegated acts for exact dates.

Regulation thresholds:

• Recycled content requirements apply from 2031 and 2036, same percentages as EV batteries
• Capacity declared in Wh (not kWh); products in this category are typically 0.25–2 kWh

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INDUSTRIAL_BATTERY

Industrial Batteries cover stationary energy storage, forklift batteries, data centre UPS systems, and grid-scale applications with rated energy content exceeding 2 kWh.

Key mandatory fields:

Field	Required	Notes
carbonFootprint	Yes	Required for batteries with capacity ≥ 2 kWh.
recycledContent	Yes	All four materials required.
performance.roundTripEfficiencyPercent	Yes
performance.cycleLifeAtEightyPercent	Yes
hazardousSubstances	Yes

Category-specific fields: carbonFootprint is fully populated. Industrial batteries frequently have higher capacity values (10–1000+ kWh), which affects the nominalCapacityKwh field range.

Regulation thresholds:

• Batteries < 2 kWh classified as portable batteries, not industrial
• Recycled content thresholds apply from 2030: cobalt 16%, lead 85%, lithium 6%, nickel 6%

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SLI_BATTERY

Starting, Lighting, and Ignition (SLI) batteries are used in conventional internal combustion engine vehicles for starting the engine, powering lights, and ignition. These batteries have lighter disclosure requirements than EV batteries.

Key mandatory fields:

Field	Required	Notes
carbonFootprint	No	Field is null for SLI batteries in the API response.
recycledContent	Yes	Lead percentage is the primary metric for SLI batteries.
performance	Partial	Capacity (Ah), voltage, and cold cranking amps (CCA) are relevant; cycle life is less applicable.
hazardousSubstances	Yes	Lead-acid batteries have specific lead content declarations.
compliance.rohsCompliant	Yes	SLI batteries must meet RoHS requirements.

Category-specific fields: carbonFootprint is always null in the API response for SLI batteries. The recycledContent.leadPercent field is particularly significant — EU regulation requires minimum 85% recycled lead content from 2030.

Regulation thresholds:

• Minimum recycled lead content: 85% from 2030

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PORTABLE_BATTERY

Portable Batteries are sealed batteries weighing less than 5 kg, designed for consumer use — including laptop batteries, power tool batteries, and consumer electronics batteries. This is the lightest-regulated category.

Key mandatory fields:

Field	Required	Notes
carbonFootprint	No	Field is null for portable batteries in the API response.
recycledContent	Partial	Cobalt percentage required if cobalt-containing chemistry.
performance	Partial	Capacity (Wh), rated voltage. Cycle life recommended but not mandatory.
hazardousSubstances	Yes	Substances above 0.1% by weight.

Category-specific fields: carbonFootprint is always null. The performance block is typically minimal for portable batteries. Rechargeable portable batteries have an additional performance.capacityLabelledAh field for the consumer-facing Ah label.

Regulation thresholds:

• Weight threshold: batteries ≥ 5 kg are classified as industrial, not portable
• Cobalt content declaration required from Commission delegated act application date

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Checking category in the API

Use the batteryCategory field to determine which data will be present:

const dpp = await fetchDpp(slug);

if (dpp.batteryCategory === 'EV_BATTERY' || dpp.batteryCategory === 'INDUSTRIAL_BATTERY') {
  // carbonFootprint is guaranteed to be non-null
  const cf = dpp.carbonFootprint!;
  console.log(`Carbon footprint: ${cf.totalKgCO2ePerKwh} kgCO₂e/kWh`);
} else {
  // carbonFootprint is null — do not attempt to access it
  console.log('Carbon footprint not applicable for this battery category');
}

See the DPP Overview for the complete field reference.