As of February 18, the mandatory product‑level carbon footprint disclosure requirements under the EU Battery Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542) officially enter into force. From this date onward, all electric vehicle batteries and rechargeable industrial batteries with a capacity above 2 kWh placed on the EU market must be accompanied by a compliant carbon footprint declaration; non‑compliant products will be barred from the EU single market.

This requirement ranks among the most stringent provisions of the new Battery Regulation. Manufacturers are obliged to calculate and declare greenhouse gas emissions generated throughout the battery’s lifecycle—from raw material extraction to final assembly—and must adhere to harmonised calculation methodologies and verification mechanisms to be detailed in future delegated acts. The carbon footprint declaration will form an integral part of the battery’s technical documentation and will serve as the basis for subsequent maximum carbon footprint thresholds.

According to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment, product‑level carbon footprint data acts as the “digital cornerstone” for the green lifecycle supervision of batteries, helping to identify carbon hotspots in the supply chain and guiding consumers toward low‑carbon choices. The Commission plans to introduce mandatory maximum carbon footprint limits by 2027, after which batteries exceeding the limits will be excluded from the market.

Industry analysts highlight that Chinese enterprises are currently navigating a critical window for EU market access. The enforcement of carbon footprint disclosure has shifted compliance costs from a forward‑planning concern to an immediate market entry hurdle. Exporters must urgently develop granular carbon management capabilities—spanning mineral traceability, refining, and cell manufacturing—and initiate third‑party certification pre‑assessments without delay to meet the increasingly stringent due diligence demands of EU importers.