EU Proposes Battery Performance Limits and Battery Passport Updates

How much capacity should an industrial battery retain over time, and how long should it last? The EU Batteries Regulation provides for minimum performance and durability requirements, but the detailed limits need to be set through additional legislation.

The European Commission has now notified a draft delegated regulation that would set these limits for rechargeable industrial batteries. The same draft would update technical and safety parameters and the standards used for battery passport QR codes and unique identifiers.

Comments are open until 4 December 2026, with adoption proposed for December 2026.

Minimum performance and durability requirements

The draft would introduce limits for capacity fade and expected lifetime, expressed in cycles or years. For residential battery energy storage systems, it would also set requirements for energy round-trip efficiency.

Capacity fade describes the loss of a battery’s storage capacity over time. Round-trip efficiency compares the energy delivered during discharge with the energy used to charge the battery. Together with expected lifetime, these measures help show how much useful energy a battery can deliver throughout its service life.

The Commission’s aim is to reduce the environmental impact of batteries by setting a minimum level of performance, rather than leaving competition primarily to purchase price. Batteries that retain their capacity and remain in use for longer can deliver more energy over their lifetime.

The draft also includes measurement and calculation methods for checking compliance. It addresses whether, and how, different second-life batteries should be assessed against the limits, which is relevant when batteries are prepared for another period of use or a different application.

Battery passport and technical updates

The proposal goes beyond minimum performance limits. It would also update the standards referenced for QR codes and the unique identifiers used for battery passports, reflecting developments in standardisation.

Under the Batteries Regulation, the battery passport is an electronic record containing information about a battery model and the individual battery. The QR code provides access to that record. The proposed changes concern the technical standards supporting this system, rather than introducing the passport requirement for the first time.

Other amendments would update:

• Technical parameters concerning battery performance and durability.
• Safety parameters for stationary battery energy storage systems.
• State-of-health parameters for stationary battery energy storage systems and batteries for light means of transport, such as e-bikes and e-scooters.

The scope differs between these provisions. The proposed minimum performance limits concern rechargeable industrial batteries; the passport and other technical amendments also involve electric vehicle and light means of transport batteries. The notification should therefore not be read as introducing the same performance limits for every battery category.

Proposed timing and next steps

The Commission proposes adoption in December 2026. The delegated regulation would enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The minimum electrochemical performance and durability requirements would apply 18 months after entry into force. This transition period is specifically identified for the minimum values and should not be assumed to cover every amendment in the draft.

As a delegated act, the measure would also be subject to scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council under the procedure set out in the Batteries Regulation. The WTO notification is a consultation step, not confirmation that the rules have been adopted.

Battery manufacturers and importers can use the consultation period to review how the proposed requirements relate to their testing methods, technical documentation and battery passport systems. Businesses working with second-life batteries should also examine the draft provisions on how those batteries would be evaluated.

Comments on the WTO notification can be submitted to the European Commission’s EU-TBT Enquiry Point by 4 December 2026 at grow-eu-tbt@ec.europa.eu.

Sources: WTO notification G/TBT/N/EU/1242 – draft delegated regulation and accompanying annexes ; Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries .