European Commission Concludes EU Battery Recycling Targets Remain Fit for Purpose
The European Commission has concluded that the European Union's existing battery recycling efficiency and material recovery targets remain appropriate and do not require revision. The finding was published on Sept. 11, 2026, in COM(2026) 470 final, following an assessment required under the EU Batteries Regulation.
The review examined market developments, changes in battery technologies, the availability of key raw materials and technical and scientific progress. A technical assessment from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre supported the conclusion, with particular attention to lithium-based batteries and the rapidly developing battery recycling sector.
EU Battery Recycling Targets Stay Unchanged
The Commission's report evaluates the recycling efficiency and material recovery targets established under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. After reviewing available market and technical information, the Commission found no grounds to adopt a delegated act changing those requirements.
The existing framework establishes different recycling efficiency requirements according to battery chemistry. By the end of 2025, the targets were 75% for lead-acid batteries, 65% for lithium-based batteries, 80% for nickel-cadmium batteries and 50% for other waste batteries.
The framework also sets higher recycling efficiency requirements for 2030, reaching 80% for lead-acid batteries and 70% for lithium-based batteries. Material recovery targets also increase over time, creating a longer-term pathway for recovering valuable metals from waste batteries.
Lithium-Based Batteries Remain a Key Regulatory Focus
Lithium-based batteries received particular attention during the assessment because their market has developed rapidly and battery technologies continue to evolve. The Commission's review considered how changes in battery composition could affect recycling performance and material recovery.
The JRC carried out modelling to assess achievable recycling efficiency for lithium-based batteries. Its analysis considered different approaches to calculating recycling efficiency, including scenarios that excluded certain fractions such as oxygen, solvents and graphite.
The assessment found that recyclers have flexibility under the existing calculation methodology. Until the end of 2029, certain unrecovered fractions can temporarily be excluded from calculations under the applicable methodology, helping recyclers manage differences in their input materials.
After Jan. 1, 2030, oxygen, chlorine and sulphur can still be excluded, while graphite, iron and phosphorus will need to be included. This structure creates an additional incentive to improve recovery of these materials as recycling processes develop.
JRC Assessment Supports Existing Recycling Requirements
The JRC technical assessment found no immediate need to amend the existing recycling efficiency or material recovery targets. Its work focused especially on lithium-based batteries because the recycling industry for these batteries remains relatively early in its development compared with more established recycling streams.
The analysis also considered the concerns raised by stakeholders. Some recycling companies indicated that certain lithium-based battery targets can be challenging, particularly because the current framework groups batteries with significant differences in size, functionality and chemistry.
For example, nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries can contain higher-value recoverable materials than lithium-iron-phosphate batteries. Differences in battery composition can therefore affect the practical recycling efficiency that facilities achieve.
Despite these challenges, the JRC concluded that the existing methodology provides sufficient flexibility and that the available evidence does not justify changing the targets.
Material Recovery Targets Maintain Pressure on Critical Metals
The Commission also reviewed the targets for recovering materials such as cobalt, copper, lead, nickel and lithium. These materials play important roles across battery manufacturing and broader industrial supply chains.
The regulation requires recycling to reach 90% recovery for cobalt, copper, lead and nickel and 50% for lithium by the end of 2027. By the end of 2031, the targets rise to 95% for cobalt, copper, lead and nickel and 80% for lithium.
The Commission concluded that the existing targets remain aligned with technological feasibility. It also considered the lithium target sufficiently balanced to give the industry time to optimise and scale up recovery processes.
Some stakeholders raised concerns that the 2031 recovery target of 95% for nickel and cobalt could approach the technical limits of certain large-scale continuous processes. However, the Commission did not find enough evidence to justify lowering or otherwise revising the targets.
Battery Recycling Investment Gets a Stable Regulatory Signal
Keeping the targets unchanged provides the recycling industry with greater regulatory continuity. Recycling companies can continue planning investments around the existing requirements rather than adjusting facilities and technologies to accommodate a new target structure.
The Commission also noted that lowering the targets could discourage investment and innovation. A weaker requirement could reduce incentives to develop technologies capable of recovering additional materials from increasingly complex battery waste streams.
For chemical traders and industrial buyers, this stability can matter beyond recycling facilities. Battery recycling depends on equipment, processing chemicals, refining technologies and materials handling capabilities that support the separation and recovery of valuable components.
As European recycling capacity expands, demand could develop across a wider range of chemical and industrial inputs. Companies involved in battery material supply chains can therefore monitor recycling investment alongside primary raw material markets.
Critical Raw Materials Remain Central to EU Battery Policy
The Commission's decision also connects battery recycling with the EU's wider objective of strengthening access to critical and strategic raw materials. Recycling can return materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper to industrial supply chains rather than allowing them to leave the economic system as waste.
The report links continued recycling targets with the objectives of the RESourceEU action plan. According to the Commission, maintaining the current requirements can contribute to reducing EU dependence on a single country of origin by 30% to 50% by 2029 for battery-related raw material value chains.
This makes battery recycling relevant to procurement teams beyond environmental compliance. Recovered materials can become part of a broader secondary raw material supply base, potentially complementing primary sourcing strategies.
For importers and chemical traders, the development is particularly relevant when evaluating future demand for battery-related materials and processing inputs.
What the Decision Means for Battery Supply Chains
The Commission's decision does not introduce a new set of recycling targets. Instead, it confirms that companies should continue preparing for the existing requirements and the scheduled increases already contained in the Batteries Regulation.
For supply chain participants, several areas deserve continued attention:
Lithium recovery: Track investments in technologies designed to improve lithium recovery as the 2027 and 2031 requirements approach.
Cobalt and nickel recovery: Monitor refining and recycling processes capable of reaching increasingly demanding recovery rates.
Battery chemistry changes: Follow shifts between NMC, LFP and other chemistries because feedstock composition affects recycling economics and process performance.
Recycling capacity: Watch new European recycling plants and capacity expansions that could create demand for processing chemicals, equipment and specialized services.
Secondary raw materials: Evaluate how recovered battery materials may enter future procurement channels alongside primary materials.
Regulatory compliance: Maintain visibility on the Batteries Regulation and future Commission assessments.
These developments can influence both the economics of recycling and the structure of future battery material supply chains.
Recycling Targets Balance Ambition and Industry Readiness
The Commission described the current targets as providing a balance between ambition and feasibility. Maintaining them supports investment in recycling while avoiding a sudden increase in requirements that could place additional pressure on a developing industry.
The decision also reflects the different stages of technological development across battery recycling. Some processes can recover valuable metals at high rates, while newer battery chemistries and material combinations can create additional technical challenges.
The current framework therefore gives recyclers time to improve processes while maintaining defined milestones. The scheduled increases in material recovery targets also provide a clear direction for technology developers and recycling operators.
For buyers, this means that recycling performance should remain an important consideration when assessing battery-related suppliers and material sources.
EU Battery Recycling Rules Will Continue to Evolve
Although the Commission has decided not to revise the targets in the current assessment, the regulatory framework does not freeze permanently. The Batteries Regulation requires the Commission to reassess the appropriateness of the targets at least every five years.
The next assessment is due no later than Aug. 18, 2031. Until then, the Commission recommends continued monitoring of scientific progress and market developments.
That monitoring will remain important as battery chemistries change, recycling technologies mature and demand for critical raw materials grows. Developments in electric vehicles, energy storage and battery manufacturing could also influence the composition and volume of future recycling feedstock.
What Procurement Teams Should Do Now
The Commission's decision gives battery-related supply chains a clear regulatory reference point: the existing recycling efficiency and material recovery targets remain in place. Companies should therefore plan around the current requirements rather than anticipate an immediate reduction or restructuring of the targets.
Procurement teams can monitor recycling capacity, battery chemistry changes, recovery technology, secondary raw material availability and processing inputs when assessing future supply risks.
Chemical traders can also track European investment in battery recycling because increased processing capacity could generate new requirements for industrial chemicals, refining inputs and other specialized materials.
For companies sourcing lithium, cobalt, nickel or related battery materials, recycling should increasingly form part of broader supply chain analysis. The Commission's assessment reinforces the role of secondary materials in supporting European battery supply resilience.
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