End-of-Life Battery Regulation in India: Need for a Mandatory Battery Passport Framework for Future Climate Protection

Introduction-

The electric mobility in India is growing at a high rate due to policy incentives, decreasing battery prices and local production. Nevertheless, the increase in the number of lithium-ion batteries poses a grave environmental and safety risk at the end-of-life, especially when there is no efficient traceability and enforcement. Despite the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility in the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022, there are still important gaps, such as ineffective monitoring, informal recycling and absence of lifecycle transparency. Conversely, the Battery Regulation 2023 by the European Union uses a digital battery passport that allows complete lifecycle traceability. The Article claims that a similar framework is necessary to make India transition to EVs in a sustainable, circular and climate-responsible way.

The rise of electric mobility in India-

Electric mobility in India has ceased to be a far off dream and is becoming a fast-growing reality. Electric two wheelers, three wheelers and passenger vehicles are on a steep increase in the country, with government incentives, declining costs of lithium-ion batteries and an increasingly developed domestic manufacturing ecosystem. With the increased adoption of EVs, lithium-ion batteries have flooded the market. These batteries are the key to decarbonising transport but they pose a severe environmental problem when they become obsolete. Lithium-ion batteries have dangerous chemicals and inflammable electrolytes, when carelessly dismantled or discarded, the materials may spill into soil and groundwater and fires may easily break out. By 2030, India will have a number of hundreds of thousands of end-of-life EV batteries, which will require organised collection and safe recycling. The country will be doomed to repeat the same errors in e-waste management, where informal and unsafe recycling prevails unless a proper system is in place to monitor the life cycle of batteries. This increasing flow of lithium battery waste requires a thorough legal framework that is not only a regulation of waste on paper but also a verification of compliance and environmental responsibility in action.

Present Policy Gaps-

In response to this, the government had announced the Battery Waste Management Rules in 2022 under the Environment Protection Act. These Rules introduced various types of batteries into one framework and held producers, importers and recyclers accountable. Extended Producer Responsibility is the most significant aspect of the Rules. Under EPR, manufacturers, sellers, or importers of batteries are required to make sure that used batteries are collected, refurbished or recycled in approved plants. The Rules also prohibit landfilling and burning of batteries and demand that recyclers meet certain environmental and safety standards. On the surface, the framework seems contemporary and in line with international ideals of circular economy. Nevertheless, there are significant loopholes in this system that undermine the law to a great extent.

The Rules lack any system to trace individual batteries between sale and disposal. EPR certificates are not created with trusted verification, and this allows misreporting and paper compliance. In the informal recycling sector, a significant portion of battery waste is recycled through unsafe dismantling and crude smelting methods due to the absence of powerful incentives to force waste into the formal sector. The Rules do not also mandate disclosure of the carbon footprint of battery manufacturing or the sourcing of the essential minerals such as cobalt and nickel. Although India is the main importer of these minerals, the legislation does not oversee ethical or sustainable supply chains. These loopholes demonstrate that India has a framework, but is not yet in a position to provide traceability, safety or accountability in the battery lifecycle.

The EU’s Digital Turn in Battery Regulation-

The European Union, by contrast, has been much more detailed and forward-looking. The EU Battery Regulation of 2023 supersedes the older Battery Directive and introduces the idea of a digital Battery Passport. Each industrial and EV battery, which will be offered on the European market, will have its own QR code, which will be connected to a digital file with a lot of information about the battery. This covers the source of raw materials, the carbon footprint of the manufacturing process, the chemical composition, maintenance and repair history, safety tests, recycled content, performance information and end-of-life treatment. The passport establishes full traceability between mining and production to consumption and recycling. It eliminates the possibility of batteries becoming untraceable when they change ownership or cross boundaries. It also enables regulators to verify the achievement of recycling objectives and the adherence of manufacturers to sustainability standards.

More to the point, the passport contributes directly to the shift of the EU towards a circular economy. Recyclers are aware of the materials they are handling, waste handlers can correctly sort batteries and consumers can confirm safety and authenticity. The EU has sealed key enforcement loopholes by demanding detailed digital reporting. The system mitigates the threat of illegal dumping and unsafe recycling and enhances the ability of governments to track the environmental impact of the EV transition. The EU example demonstrates that the management of lithium-ion batteries cannot be based on general requirements only. It needs technology-based traceability and open data that track the battery throughout its life.

Need for Change in the Present Policy Model-

The adoption of a similar model can be of great benefit to India. The EV market in the country is growing at a rate that is far outpacing the regulatory ability to handle the waste that accompanies it. Unless India implements a trace system, much of battery waste at the end of life will still find its way to the informal sector where unsafe dismantling, burning, and acid leaching are prevalent practises. This causes severe environmental damage and wastage of valuable materials that would have been salvaged through proper recycling. This problem can be directly tackled using a battery passport framework. QR based identification and a central digital registry allows tracking of each battery since the time it entered the market. Manufacturers could no longer boast of conformity without real collection and recycling. Recyclers would be informed correctly of the type and composition of the battery and recycling would be safer and more efficient. Audits and enforcement would have verifiable data by the government.

This kind of system also brings India into line with the emerging international standards. With large markets such as the EU starting to insist on battery passports, Indian manufacturers who wish to export EVs or battery packs will need to meet these requirements. The implementation of a similar system would make Indian industry more competitive and would seamlessly integrate the country into global supply chains.

Urgency of Climate Protection-

There is also a climate dimension to this need. Manufacturing lithium-ion batteries is energy intensive and involves mining critical minerals that have environmental and human rights concerns. India cannot build a large EV ecosystem without ensuring responsible sourcing and transparent reporting. A battery passport would require companies to disclose the carbon footprint of manufacturing and the origin of minerals, which could encourage cleaner production practices and reduce dependence on ethically questionable supply chains. Finally, adopting this system would support India's commitments towards circular economy and sustainable development. Recovering lithium, cobalt and nickel from used batteries reduces the pressure on mining and lowers the cost of future battery production. For all these reasons, India must look beyond its existing Battery Waste Management Rules and move towards a future ready framework built on digital traceability, lifecycle accountability and transparent reporting. A battery passport system is not just a regulatory tool. It is an essential step to make the transition to electric mobility safe, sustainable and environmentally responsible.

This blog has been authored by Shubhayu Chakraborty, a III-Year B.A., LL.B.(Hons.) student at School of Law, Christ University.