European Commission opens consultation on delegated act to expand exemptions from portable battery removability/replaceability requirements

The European Commission opened a stakeholder consultation on a draft delegated act under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 to add additional product categories to the list of exemptions from the general requirement that portable batteries be removable and replaceable by consumers. The draft would allow certain exempted products (e.g., some wearables, electric toys, and certain ATEX-related products) to require removability/replaceability by independent professionals instead. The consultation signals a potential future change to product design/compliance strategy for manufacturers placing covered products on the EU market and may be accompanied by updates to existing Commission guidelines on removability/replaceability.