Battery Due Diligence: What the Postponement to 18 August 2027 Changes

Battery due diligence under the Batteries Regulation applies from 18 August 2027, not 18 August 2025 as originally planned: Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 of 18 July 2025 postponed Article 48(1) by two years. It is also the only data set aside from the battery passport in February 2027 whose return date is known — six months after the passport takes effect.

What the postponement changed exactly

The consolidated text of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 carries the amendment marker: "From 18 August 2027, economic operators that place batteries on the market or put them into service shall fulfil the due diligence obligations laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, and in Articles 49, 50 and 52 and shall, to that end, set up and implement battery due diligence policies."

The postponement was enacted by Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2025, published in Official Journal L 1561 of 30 July 2025. Neither the scope nor the substance of the obligations changed: only the start date moved.

Who is in scope, and who is not

Article 47 bounds the chapter with a financial threshold, which is unusual in this Regulation.

The EUR 40 million exemption is a company exemption, not a product one: it grants no relief from any other obligation in the Regulation, neither the battery passport nor the QR code.

What the due diligence policy must contain

Three articles structure the obligation.

Article 49 — management system. The operator must adopt and clearly communicate to suppliers and the public a due diligence policy covering the raw materials in Annex X point 1 and the risk categories in point 2; incorporate standards consistent with the internationally recognised instruments in Annex X point 4; assign oversight to top management; keep records of the system for at least ten years; and operate a system of controls and transparency over the supply chain.

Article 50 — risk management. The operator identifies and assesses the risk of adverse impacts associated with the Annex X risk categories, then designs and implements a response strategy — prevention, mitigation, and reporting findings to top management.

Article 52 — disclosure. The operator makes the verification report, approval decision and audit reports available to authorities on request; makes relevant information available to immediate downstream purchasers, with due regard for business confidentiality; and annually reviews and publicly releases a report on its due diligence policy.

The raw materials covered, in Annex X point 1, are four: cobalt, natural graphite, lithium, nickel — plus the chemical compounds based on them that are necessary to manufacture active materials.

Verification by a notified body

Unlike other due diligence regimes, this one is not self-declared. Article 48(2) requires third-party verification: the policy is verified by a notified body under Article 51, then periodically audited by that same body, which issues an audit report.

Article 48(3) sets the retention period: ten years after the last battery manufactured under the relevant policy has been placed on the market. That is an archiving constraint, not only a compliance one.

The link with the battery passport

The Commission guidance of 15 August 2026 makes the link explicit. Passport data point 19 reads "Information on responsible sourcing as indicated in the report on battery due diligence policy referred to in Article 52(3)", legal source Annex XIII 1(d).

Its status on 18 February 2027: "not to be filled/displayed — as provided in Article 48(1), required from August 2027", across all three battery categories.

Two consequences follow directly:

1. 01.The field already exists in the passport schema. It is simply empty in February 2027. An infrastructure that does not plan for it will need changing six months after going live.
2. 02.It is a public data point. Annex XIII point 1 maps to the general public access tier. The annual report under Article 52(3) is meant to be public anyway: the passport adds no exposure, it adds an access point.

The 2027 sequencing to keep in mind

Six months separate the two deadlines. A due diligence policy verified by a notified body cannot be built in six months: the programme has to run alongside the passport project, not after it.

In short

Battery due diligence applies from 18 August 2027, after a two-year postponement enacted by Regulation (EU) 2025/1561. It covers cobalt, natural graphite, lithium and nickel, requires a documented policy that is verified by a notified body and published annually, and exempts operators below EUR 40 million in net turnover. Inside the battery passport it occupies one identified public field — data point 19 — empty in February 2027 and filled six months later.

Arianee structures the passport with its dormant fields, responsible sourcing included, to avoid a schema rework in August 2027. See our Battery Pass page, the full Batteries Regulation timeline, or request a demo.

Sources: Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Articles 47 to 52 and Annex X — consolidated text of 31 July 2025 (EUR-Lex) · Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 of 18 July 2025, OJ L 1561, 30 July 2025 · Guidance Document: Digital Batteries Passport – data points by category, v2.0, 15 August 2026 (European Commission).