Europe Wants to Ban Glued Cell Phone Batteries

Glued cellphone batteries are dangerous, as they can cause serious injuries when the battery explodes and shatters. EU is considering an outright ban on glued batteries so people will no longer have to worry about them.

Tyler Lastovich is the author of this image (Pexels)

Do you recall being able to purchase a smartphone with a detachable battery? We may be returning to that handy period, as European politicians are working on a bill to make it illegal for manufacturers to build smartphones and other electronic gadgets with sealed and/or bonded batteries, making them very difficult to fix or remove for the common user. The reason for this, as one might expect, has a lot to do with reducing e-waste and improving sustainability, but the legislation should also be music to the ears of critics who still believe that sealing batteries was a clever way for manufacturers to ensure planned obsolescence after all these years.

The European Parliament wants to make glued mobile phone batteries illegal (Frankfurter Allgemeine)

Parliament wants to prohibit the permanent installation or gluing of batteries in telephones, computers, headphones, household robots, electric toothbrushes, as well as e-bikes and scooters, in order to prevent the entire product from having to be thrown away when batteries reach the end of their service life. Users should be able to use commercially accessible tools to trade them. For the intended lifespan of a device, the producer must guarantee that new batteries are available. In addition, if a user does not trust themselves, independent repair businesses should be authorized to complete the swap. On the other side, industry is enraged. She claims that this puts the batteries’ longevity and safety at jeopardy.

Manufacturers must offer information to customers on battery energy and performance capabilities, as well as shelf life and charging times. Users should be encouraged to purchase high-quality, long-lasting batteries as a result of this. This, according to Parliament, minimizes pollutants emitted during the battery manufacturing process.

Furthermore, makers of automobile and other forms of transportation batteries, as well as industrial batteries, must calculate and publish the CO 2 footprint throughout the product cycle. A QR code should be able to read this information. The Commission will study if this may be extended to all batteries by the end of 2025. “Consumers now have the option of choosing clean, durable, and repairable products,” said Anna Cavazzini, a Green MEP. From 2027 onwards, a CO 2 footprint upper limit will apply, thereby prohibiting the construction of batteries using fossil fuels. The MEPs hope that by doing so, they can guarantee that the new gigafactories being constructed in the EU for battery manufacture are powered entirely by renewable energy.

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