Guidance Note
Battery Regulations and Fire alarm/Security systems
1. Background
3. Lead
CAS No. 7439-92-1
EC No. 231-100-4 and its compounds
2. Interpretation
1 From… [12 months after the date of entry into force of the the regulation], portable batteries, whether or not incorporated into appliances, shall not contain more than 0.01% of lead (expressed as lead metal by weight)
2 The restriction set out in point 1 shall not apply to portable zinc-air button cells until…(60 months after the date of entry into force of the the regulation)
Our current understanding of the EU Battery Regulation on the use of lead acid batteries designed specifically for industrial applications is that they do not fall into either of the ‘portable’ categories, even if they are <5kg in weight. The new EU Battery Regulation (EU 2023/1542) defines portable as follows:
Article 3 Definitions:
(9) ‘portable battery’ means 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 (light means of transport batteries), nor an SLI battery (Starting, Light, and Ignition batteries).
(10) ‘portable battery of general use’ means a portable battery, whether or not rechargeable, that is specifically designed to be interoperable and that has one of the following common formats 4,5 Volts (3R12), button cell, D, C, AA, AAA, AAAA, A23, 9 Volts (PP3).
Our interpretation is that lead acid batteries placed in the Fire and Security market are industrial batteries, and not portable. Therefore, these batteries are not affected by the Lead restrictions of the new battery regulation. This position is supported by the leading battery manufacturers, Yuasa, and Power-Sonic.
Separately, Article 6 of the regulation stipulates the conditions for the restriction of substances, which links to existing REACH requirements. If a manufacturer is already compliant with REACH SVHC and declares the content to users/customers, they are covered.
Lead is still exempt from REACH restrictions, although the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has made recommendations as to which chemicals are dangerous and need further regulation. This does include substances used in the production of lead-acid batteries
Regulations and Fire alarm/Security systems Battery Regulations and Fire alarm/Security systems • Version 1 • June 2024 • Tel: +44 (0)20 3166 5002 • www.fia.uk.com
This is where it becomes more unclear. What this potentially means is should the latest recommendation be accepted by EU Member States (and this is likely), then the four listed substances used in the production of lead-acid batteries will be banned around 27 months from date of formalization, plus another sunset period of 18 months. This could mean around 45 months to completely phase out lead-acid batteries.
However, it is likely, that lead-acid battery manufacturers would apply for and receive exemptions, especially for automotive and industrial applications. Such an exemption would probably be for an extended period (7 years). There are precedents within the battery industry; nickel cadmium batteries were effectively banned under REACH but were able to successfully gain temporary use status for certain applications citing the inability of other chemistries to directly replace them. We may see a similar scenario with lead-acid batteries, with a possible scenario of lead-acid batteries possibly being phased out in the EU by early 2030’s.