After bringing in one charger for all policy which will go live in 2024, now the European Union (EU) is mulling over another big change that it wants to bring related to phone’s batteries. The EU is looking at a new provisional agreement that would mandate companies to place a user-replaceable battery in their device.
The EU’s latest move also aims at cutting down on e-waste and supporting sustainability. The union this year in August imposed a new law of single charger on all device manufacturing companies operating in its member countries. The new mandates all smartphones, laptops and camera making companies to adopt universal chargers for all and is set to go live in 2024.
The EU’s new proposed law would mandate large tech companies like Apple to come up with devices with replaceable batteries which can easily be swapped by the customers themselves.
First spotted by PocketNow, the new proposal from EU will allow users to replace their device’s batteries by themselves rather than running to local or authorised service centers. Not just the battery replacement, EU also wants device manufacturers to redesign the production and supply of the batteries. The body has given 3.5 years to manufacturers to design a battery recycling system which should include collecting used batteries and procuring at least 16% of the cobalt, 85% of the lead, 6% of the lithium, and 6% of the contained nickel out of them.
Devices may have become smarter and sleeker but repairing and replacement is a headache today. If the phone’s battery grows old and poor, you either have to run to a service center and deposit your device or look for a new option which means throwing up the old phone along with its charger in some cases. This adds up to the existing and rapidly increasing heap of e-waste. The EU’s new rule will push manufacturers to make batteries using recyclable materials.
Just like the one charger policy, the new rule is also expected to go live only in EU member countries. It is unknown if these policies will come to India.
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