EU has recently stated that upcoming new handheld game consoles will be required to have replaceable batteries by 2027.
The Council of the European Union has recently announced this new requirement for the gaming companies that manufacture such gaming consoles like Nintendo and Valve. According to the group, this will be part of the new regulation that aims to regulate the entire life cycle of batteries. They want that these items are safe, sustainable, and competitive.
Since batteries are easier to replace and recycle, it would be a breeze for owners of these devices. It should also come with a guarantee that “portable batteries incorporated into appliances should be removable and replaceable by the end-user” within new devices starting in 2027 onwards.
There is a reason for giving manufacturers more time before the requirement is implemented. It says that it will give them “sufficient time for operators to adapt the design of their products to this requirement.” They call it an “important provision for consumers.”
The documentation did not specifically mention gaming consoles, but it was confirmed later by an EU representative to Overkill that “the batteries of gaming handhelds are covered by the batteries and waste batteries regulation.”
The documentation also said that “a portable battery shall be considered readily removable by the end-user where it can be removed from a product with the use of commercially available tools, without requiring the use of specialized tools, unless provided free of charge with the product”.
“Batteries are key to the decarbonisation process and the EU’s shift towards zero-emission modes of transport. At the same time end-of-life batteries contain many valuable resources and we must be able to reuse those critical raw materials instead of relying on third countries for supplies,” Teresa Ribera, Spanish minister for the ecological transition, said of this new regulation.
“The new rules will promote the competitiveness of European industry and ensure new batteries are sustainable and contribute to the green transition.”
