The European Commission published for feedback the draft delegated regulation that turns the EU Batteries Regulation’s headline recycled-content percentages into an auditable calculation and verification methodology. The feedback window closed on 9 September 2026 and adoption is expected this quarter, so battery makers and the OEMs that buy from them now have a near-final view of what a recycled-content claim will have to be built on.
What Happened
On 12 August 2026 the Commission published for a four-week feedback period a draft Commission Delegated Regulation supplementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 by establishing the methodology for calculating and verifying cobalt, nickel, lithium and lead recycled content in certain batteries, together with the format for documenting that content. It is made under Article 8(1), third subparagraph, of the Batteries Regulation and carries the reference Ares(2026)7823470. The draft comprises a five-page act plus fifteen pages of annexes, with the methodology in Annex sections 1 to 3 and the documentation and declaration format in Annex section 4.
What’s New
- First binding methodology for recycled-content calculation under the Batteries Regulation — until now only the target percentages existed.
- Scope covers industrial batteries above 2 kWh (excluding those exclusively for external storage), electric-vehicle batteries, SLI batteries and light means of transport (LMT) batteries.
- Cobalt, nickel and lithium count where recovered from battery manufacturing waste or post-consumer waste and present in active materials; lead counts where present in the battery from waste sources.
- Compliance is assessed by notified bodies under the Batteries Regulation conformity-assessment procedure, against minimum technical-documentation requirements.
- A temporary, proportionate correction factor is applied to recycled material from Union recycling operations as a supply-resilience incentive, without excluding non-EU recycled content.
- The draft sets a phased timeline: declaration obligations from 18 August 2028; first mandatory recycled-content targets 18 August 2031; higher targets and LMT declaration from 18 August 2033; LMT mandatory targets from 18 August 2036.
Key Dates & Timeline
Draft act published for feedback
Feedback period closed
Planned adoption of the delegated regulation
20th day after publication in the Official Journal
Recycled-content declaration obligations begin
First mandatory recycled-content targets apply
Higher targets; LMT declaration obligations begin
LMT mandatory targets apply
Affected Industries
Batteries · Light duty vehicles · Heavy duty vehicles · Cathode and anode material production · Refining and recycling
Who Is Affected
Cell and battery manufacturers; cathode and anode active-material producers; refiners and recyclers; vehicle OEMs as purchasers and as economic operators placing batteries on the market; notified bodies.
Standards / Products in Scope
EV batteries, SLI batteries, industrial batteries above 2 kWh other than those exclusively for external storage, and LMT batteries, and the cobalt, nickel, lithium and lead in their active materials.
Prohibitions, Restrictions & Requirements
No restriction at this stage. The obligation created is one of calculation, verification and documentation, enforced through conformity assessment by a notified body, ahead of the mandatory minimum recycled-content thresholds that begin in 2031.
What Companies Should Do
- Ask your cell suppliers directly whether their upstream refiners can support a chain-of-custody claim consistent with the draft methodology — this is the practical bottleneck, not the percentages.
- Read Annex section 4 and map its declaration format against the data your supplier agreements currently entitle you to receive.
- Note the correction factor for Union recycling operations when comparing sourcing options on a recycled-content basis.
- With the feedback window closed, plan on the basis that the methodology is adopted broadly as drafted, and watch for publication in the Official Journal — entry into force follows 20 days later.
The recycled-content numbers were always the easy part. This draft is where the compliance cost actually sits: mass-balance accounting, notified-body verification and a documentation format your suppliers must be contractually obliged to populate — several years before the 2031 targets bite.
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