The European Council, a governing body that decides regulations for European Union member states, just adopted a massive new battery regulation. Technically, it’s a set of amendments and repeals to earlier battery directives, aimed at providing a more ecologically sound energy storage infrastructure for the EU.
Once the European Parliament and European Council sign the regulation, it will set into motion a major shift in the battery industry. In theory it only applies to EU member states, but that’s a massive part of the world economy and will have global effects.
Notably, the regulations will require that portable devices—including phones, tablets, and laptops—have batteries that users can easily replace without requiring
