The CE mark acts as a "trade passport" for the European marketplace, allowing manufacturers to freely circulate their product throughout the European Economic Area (EEA).
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The CE mark is a standardization mark and serves as a crucial gateway to the European market, granting manufacturers the freedom to distribute their products across the European Economic Area (EEA) without obstacles. It signifies compliance with European standards and eliminates the need to navigate various national regulations, streamlining the design and manufacturing processes.
The benefits of CE certification for manufacturers:
CE marking facilitates the free movement and sale of goods within the EEA, making it essential for businesses aiming to expand into the European market. It not only fulfils regulatory requirements but also instils confidence in customers regarding product quality and safety compliance.
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Lithium batteries are subject to various regulations and directives in the European Union that concern safety, substances, documentation, labelling, and testing. These requirements are primarily found under the Batteries Regulation, but additional regulations, directives, and standards are also relevant to lithium batteries.
Notice that this guide only covers batteries, rather than requirements applicable to devices that contain them.
TheBatteries Regulation covers all types of batteries, including lithium batteries. Here are some of the main areas covered by the regulation:
Here are some standards relevant to lithium batteries that are harmonised under the regulation.
Title Description EN IEC -5 This standard applies to stationary secondary batteries, including lithium-ion batteries. It describes measures for protection against a range of hazards during normal and expected fault conditions. EN IEC This standard contains requirements and tests for the safe operation of secondary lithium cells and batteries used in industrial applications, including stationary applications.Here we list the main documents that are required by the regulation and provide their respective descriptions.
Title Description Declaration of Conformity This document indicates the manufacturer that is responsible for the conformity of the product (e.g. a lithium battery).The model structure for the declaration is contained in Annex IX of the regulation.
Technical Documentation The technical documentation should contain information (e.g. description of the lithium battery and its intended use) that makes it possible to assess the lithium battery's conformity with the requirements of the regulation.The regulation lists the required documentation in Annex VIII.
Digital Battery Passport LMT batteries, certain industrial batteries, and electric vehicle batteries (including those containing lithium) should come with a digital battery passport which provides consumers with online access to specific information concerning the battery. Documentation on recycled content for certain batteries Certain Industrial batteries, electric vehicle batteries, LMT batteries and SLI batteries containing lithium or other listed substances in active materials should be accompanied by documentation concerning their recycled content share. Quality system documentation Manufacturers of industrial batteries, electric vehicle batteries, LMT batteries and SLI batteries containing lithium or other listed substances in active materials and who apply 'Module D1 ' Quality assurance of the production process' must have their quality system documentation assessed.Such documentation includes those relating to the recycled content share of lithium batteries mentioned above.
Here we list the labelling requirements that are mentioned in the regulation and provide their respective descriptions.
Title Description CE marking The symbol indicates that all applicable CE marking-related regulations have been complied with.It should be affixed to the battery or, where that isn't possible, should be affixed to the battery's packaging and documents accompanying it.
Notified body identification number This number indicates that a notified body was involved in the assessment of the battery's conformity with the regulation.It should be presented along with the CE marking if a notified body is used.
Traceability information Batteries should contain the following information for traceability purposes:a. Product identifying information (e.g. serial number)
b. Manufacturer's name
c. Manufacturer's postal address
d. Manufacturer's web and address
Product information Batteries should contain information regarding the battery such as the following:a. Place of manufacture
b. Date of manufacture
c. Battery's weight
d. Battery capacity
e. Battery's chemistry
f. Presence of hazardous substances
Crossed-out wheeled binThis symbol communicates to the consumer that the batteries should be sent to separate collection facilities for recovery and recycling purposes.
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QR code Batteries should come with a QR code providing access to information about the battery, including:a. Declaration of conformity
b. Digital Battery Passport (if applicable)
c. Recycled content (if applicable)
Specific to lithium batteries, a company battery due diligence policy should be adopted concerning the use of lithium.
Furthermore, industrial batteries, electric vehicle batteries, LMT batteries and SLI batteries containing lithium or other listed substances in active materials have specific conformity procedures that need to be followed:
a. 'Module D1 ' Quality assurance of the production process' for batteries manufactured in series; or
b. 'Module G ' Conformity based on unit verification' for batteries not manufactured in series
The General Product Safety Regulation covers safety aspects of a product, including lithium batteries, which are not covered by other regulations. Although there are harmonised standards under the regulation, we could not find any that specifically relate to batteries.
In the absence of any harmonised standards, other safety standards can be used to assess the product's safety such as the following:
a. EN ' Secondary cells and batteries containing alkaline or other non-acid electrolytes ' Secondary lithium cells and batteries for use in industrial applications
b. EN IEC -4 ' Primary batteries ' Part 4: Safety of lithium batteries
c. EN IEC ' Safety of primary and secondary lithium cells and batteries during transport
The General Product Safety Regulation generally requires the production of the following documentation:
The General Product Safety Regulation requires the following labelling information to accompany the product:
Standards can be used to improve the safety and performance of your products, even when they are not harmonised under any regulation. This is especially important for a product like lithium batteries, which can be potentially dangerous.
Here are some examples of standards that are specific to battery products, but are not related to Batteries Regulation:
Title Description EN -4 This standard covers primary lithium batteries. It specifies tests and requirements for the safe operation of the batteries. It contains requirements such as the following:The Inland Transport of Dangerous Goods Directive requires that the transportation of lithium batteries and other dangerous goods must be done according to the requirements of the Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR).
The ADR, in turn, requires lithium batteries to comply with the requirements set by sub-section 38.3 of the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria. This includes classification, testing, and more.
Lab testing is especially important if you intend to sell lithium batteries as there are a number of risks that are associated with such batteries and testing them against safety standards could prevent such hazards.
A key document to receive when testing through a lab testing company is a test report as several EU regulations require the provision of such documents. In general, a test report can be used to prove compliance with the requirements of a given standard or regulation.
Here we highlight some regulations that require testing to be conducted:
Regulation Lab testing Batteries RegulationVarious lab testing companies can perform the tests specified in product safety standards for lithium batteries. Here are some lab testing companies that we found that have testing services for lithium batteries:
Battery products would also be affected by a few other sources of requirements. Below we list some key regulations and other sources of requirements that you should observe:
Regulation Description REACH Regulation REACH regulation covers substance restrictions for substances, mixtures and articles. Typical substance restrictions would be substances like:a. Submission of the UN 38.3 test summary
b. Detailed information about the battery
c. Submission of the safety data sheet
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