The due diligence requirements in the Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 oblige economic operators to map, assess and mitigate risks to human rights and the environment in their supply chain for battery materials.

The requirements are defined in Articles 47-52 and Annex X, and they apply to all manufacturers, importers and distributors with a consolidated net turnover above EUR 40 million. Entry into application has been postponed by two years, from August 2025 to August 2027, but preparation should start now.

What does the regulation require in concrete terms?

Chapter VII of the Battery Regulation (Articles 47-52) establishes a complete due diligence framework closely linked to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas.

The requirements can be divided into five elements:

  • Due diligence policy (Article 48): The company must adopt and publish a supply chain policy for batteries. The policy must address the specific risks in Annex X, be anchored in top management and be integrated into the company's governance structure. It is not a statement of principles, but a functional document that governs purchasing and supplier management.

  • Management system (Article 49): The company must establish a system that can maintain documented traceability (chain of custody) for critical materials from source to market. The system must include:

    • Supplier contracts with due diligence requirements
    • A grievance mechanism available to affected parties (including workers and local communities in mining areas)
    • Retention of data for at least 10 years

  • Risk assessment and management (Article 50): The company must systematically identify and assess adverse impacts in the supply chain and prepare a risk management plan. The regulation follows a risk-based approach: companies must prioritise their efforts where the risk to human rights and the environment is greatest. The approach is "responsible engagement": working with suppliers on improvements rather than automatically ending relationships, unless there are serious, irremediable violations.

  • Third-party verification (Article 51): The due diligence system must be verified by an independent notified body.

  • Reporting (Article 52): The company must publish a due diligence report with the results of the risk assessment and the measures taken.

Which materials and risks are covered?

Annex X defines the specific materials and risk categories that must be examined.

The four materials are cobalt, natural graphite, lithium and nickel, chosen because they make up the core components of most battery chemistries and have historically been associated with the highest environmental and social risks.

The environmental risks include:

  • Damage to biodiversity
  • Soil degradation
  • Water pollution

Lithium extraction in dry regions can, for example, put pressure on local water resources, while cobalt mining carries a risk of chemical discharge into soil and groundwater.

The social risks are anchored in international labour and human rights conventions and include:

  • A ban on child labour and forced labour
  • Requirements for occupational health and safety
  • Protection of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights
  • Protection against the displacement of local populations

When materials come from conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRAs), the requirements are tightened further. The company must then document that its activities do not finance armed conflict or contribute to state-sponsored human rights abuses.

Who is covered, and who is exempt?

The requirements apply to all economic operators placing batteries on the EU market: manufacturers, importers and distributors. But there is an important threshold.

Companies with a net turnover below EUR 40 million in the financial year before last are exempt from the formal due diligence obligations in Articles 48-52. The threshold is assessed on a consolidated basis, that is for the whole group, not the individual legal entity.

A subsidiary with a low turnover is therefore covered if the parent company or the group as a whole exceeds the threshold. The purpose is to prevent large groups from circumventing the requirements by setting up smaller subsidiaries.

The obligations are not limited to particular battery categories. Article 48(1) applies to economic operators that place batteries on the market or put them into service. A stationary battery energy storage system (BESS) is an industrial battery under the regulation's definition (Article 3(15)), so it is covered on the same terms, including the EUR 40 million threshold.

Companies below the threshold are still covered by the regulation's other requirements, including labelling, waste management and (from 2027) the battery passport.

In practice, many SMEs will also experience indirect compliance requirements, because their larger customers will ask for data and traceability reports as part of their own due diligence.

The postponement: from August 2025 to August 2027

On 30 July 2025, Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 was published in the Official Journal. It postponed the entry into application of the due diligence obligations (Articles 47-53) by two years, from 18 August 2025 to 18 August 2027.

The postponement was driven by two concrete problems:

  • Shortage of notified bodies: There was a critical shortage of notified bodies, the independent third parties that must verify companies' due diligence systems. Without them, companies would have been in a legal limbo where they were obliged to obtain verification but could not get it.

  • Need for harmonisation: The postponement gave the Commission more time to harmonise the requirements with the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), so companies are not exposed to conflicting reporting frameworks.

What will the Commission's guidelines cover?

Article 48(5) requires the Commission to publish guidelines on how to apply the due diligence requirements in Articles 49 and 50. The guidelines cover the risks listed in point 2 of Annex X and follow the international instruments in points 3 and 4 of Annex X. Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 moved the deadline for the guidelines from 18 February 2025 to 26 July 2026.

What does the postponement mean in practice?

The postponement means there are no formal due diligence enforcement requirements before August 2027. But it is not a pause in preparation.

Mapping supply chains for minerals such as cobalt and graphite typically takes 18-24 months, because data often has to be obtained from the third or fourth tier: refineries, smelters or mining operations.

Companies that wait until the guidelines are in place risk a compressed implementation project.

The relationship with the CSDDD and other rules

The Battery Regulation's due diligence requirements are sector-specific and operate independently of the broader Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). There is, however, overlap: both require risk assessment and mitigation in the supply chain, and both draw on the OECD framework and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

The difference is the focus:

  • The Battery Regulation targets specifically the four materials in Annex X (cobalt, graphite, lithium, nickel) and the risks associated with battery supply chains.
  • The CSDDD is broader and covers all sectors.

For battery companies covered by both, harmonisation between the two sets of rules becomes crucial, and that is precisely one of the purposes of the current postponement.

The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation (2017/821) has a similar focus on responsible sourcing, but covers other materials (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold) and is therefore complementary, not overlapping, for the battery industry.

The link to the battery passport

Due diligence is a mandatory data point in the digital battery passport (Article 77), which becomes mandatory from February 2027 for EV, LMT and industrial batteries over 2 kWh.

The battery passport must contain a summary of the company's due diligence verification reports and information on the origin of the materials. This makes due diligence data available to the whole value chain: from authorities and market surveillance bodies to recyclers and end customers.

There is also a direct link to the requirements for recycled content (Article 8). From 2031, industrial and EV batteries must contain set minimum shares of recycled cobalt, lithium, nickel and lead.

Secondary raw materials from recycling are also subject to due diligence: the recycling facility itself must comply with environmental and labour standards.

Summary

The due diligence requirements in the Battery Regulation have been postponed to August 2027, but the complexity of the requirements makes it risky to wait. Companies above the turnover threshold of EUR 40 million (consolidated) should already now:

The Commission's guidelines were scheduled for July 2026. Once they are available, that is the natural time to finalise policy and processes, but the foundation must be in place before then.

Syntakk is built to structure and maintain product data in line with the requirements of the Battery Regulation, including due diligence data as part of the digital battery passport.