EU battery rules tighten: durability limits for storage batteries and the passport countdown

#From labels to measurable durability

The EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 has so far asked storage makers mainly for information: labels, technical documentation and, from February 2027, a digital passport. The next step is measurable quality. Article 10 of the regulation required the Commission to set minimum electrochemical performance and durability values for industrial batteries. On 29 September 2026 it published the draft: delegated regulation Ares(2026)9188325.

The draft is not law yet. It must be adopted, pass the scrutiny period of Parliament and Council and be published in the Official Journal; it enters into force 20 days later.

#What the draft would require

The scope is rechargeable industrial batteries with a capacity above 2 kWh. Batteries used exclusively with external storage and defence products are excluded. The draft separates batteries by use: a battery with at least 40 full equivalent cycles (FEC) a year counts as “repetitive”; below that, “on-demand”.

Capacity fade is measured over at least 152 days or 350 FEC, with adjustments for ambient temperature, depth of discharge and C-rate. Dual-use batteries follow the repetitive-use limits. Second-life, repurposed and remanufactured batteries get alternative compliance routes.

The draft also adds technical parameters for safety (stationary storage only) and for state of health (stationary storage and light means of transport).

#When it applies

The minimum values would apply from 18 August 2027 or 18 months after entry into force, whichever is later. With adoption still pending, a start in the first half of 2028 is a realistic planning assumption.

#The passport: standards now named

The battery passport date stays at 18 February 2027 for EV batteries, LMT batteries and industrial batteries above 2 kWh. The draft names the standards behind it: QR codes to EN 18220:2026 and unique identifiers to EN 18219:2026, or equivalent. Each passport belongs to one physical battery, not to a model — every unit needs its own identifier.

#What storage makers should do now

• Re-run ageing tests against the draft metrics. Capacity fade and round-trip efficiency must be measured with the draft’s methods, not taken from cell datasheets.
• Check residential products first. The 93 % round-trip efficiency applies to the whole system; PCS and auxiliary losses count.
• Build passport data per unit. Serial-level identifiers, QR labels to EN 18220 and data feeds from production and the BMS must be ready before February 2027.
• Follow adoption. Thresholds can still change before the final act.

TSINGHU tests storage converters and systems up to 2.5 MW in China — efficiency at system level, performance across operating points and environmental conditions — and helps manufacturers build the evidence the EU rules will ask for.