Recycling and end-of-life

This page answers one question: when a battery module leaves your site, who is legally responsible for it and where does it actually go?

Most owners meet this question for the first time at the first module failure, years after commissioning, when it is too late to have arranged anything. The obligations were set at the point of purchase; the practical chain has to be built before it is needed.

A note on scope. This page describes obligations and the current state of the reverse chain. Where we can act, we say so. Where the market has no answer yet, we say that too, because a service page that pretends otherwise is worth less than one that doesn’t.

1. Who is the producer — and it is probably not who you think

Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, a producer is the manufacturer, importer, distributor or distance seller who, on a professional basis, first makes a battery available on the market of a Member State. That entity carries extended producer responsibility (EPR).

Apply that to a containerised system bought from a Chinese manufacturer:

The consequence is worth stating plainly: if you bought a containerised system from outside the EU, you may be the producer. Not the manufacturer whose name is on the container.

It is a question your supply contract can answer in an afternoon, and it is considerably cheaper to answer now than after a regulator asks.

One distinction that causes confusion: the EPR authorised representative (registration, reporting, collection, treatment, recycling) is a different appointment from the product-compliance authorised representative (technical documentation, communication with authorities). Having one does not give you the other.

Key dates

2. Belgium: the 16 MWh line

Belgium runs producer responsibility by waste stream and by region — OVAM in Flanders, SPW in Wallonia, Bruxelles Environnement in Brussels. Bebat is the collective scheme for batteries and registers participants across all three regions.

For stationary storage, Bebat draws a line at 16 MWh:

The 16 MWh is assessed by summing all modules on one site — the environmental-technical unit under an environmental permit, or the company site where there is none — and later expansions count towards it.

Which means a two-site portfolio of 25 MWh per site sits above the line on each site, and a site built at 12 MWh that is later expanded may cross it.

Separately, for batteries above 25 kg — industrial, EV, data centre — Bebat charges an administrative contribution that does not cover end-of-life costs. The producer must provide a financial guarantee under Article 58(7): a pledged account, an on-demand bank guarantee, or insurance.

Netherlands. Producers register and report annually to Rijkswaterstaat. Stichting OPEN is the collective organisation, having absorbed Stibat’s operating organisation on 1 January 2024. Collective arrangements exist for portable, LMT, SLI and EV batteries; for industrial batteries, no collective solution exists yet and the sector is building one.

Luxembourg. Ecobatterien ASBL is the approved collective scheme, overseen by the Administration de l’environnement. Producers join it or apply for individual approval.

3. Transport: the point where most plans stop

Battery modules in transport are dangerous goods, and the classification turns entirely on the condition of the module.

Air transport of damaged or defective lithium cells is forbidden under IATA Special Provision A154. There is no exception worth planning around.

Which authority approves P911/LP906 packaging:

• Belgium — regional, not federal. Road transport under ADR is the competence of the regions: the Departement Mobiliteit en Openbare Werken (Cel ADR) in Flanders, SPW (Cellule ADR/ADN) in Wallonia, and Bruxelles Mobilité in Brussels. The federal FPS Mobility is competent for rail, maritime and air — not road ADR. This catches people out.
• Netherlands — the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Environmental Safety and Risks Directorate. ILT is the inspection and enforcement body, not the approving authority.

Every consignment must carry the marking “DAMAGED/DEFECTIVE LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES”, a transport document stating “Transport in accordance with special provision 376”, and — for P911/LP906 — a copy of the competent authority approval.

4. Storage: where the chain is genuinely broken

This is the part of the picture that no amount of contract drafting fixes.

A module removed from a container has to go somewhere before it reaches a processor. In practice that means storage, and storage of damaged lithium batteries is where the market currently has the least to offer.

The regulatory position:

• Netherlands. A draft decision — the Wijzigingsbesluit energieopslagsystemen voor elektrische energie en opslag van energiedragers voor elektrische energie — was published in March 2026 and was open for consultation until 28 April 2026. It is a draft, not law. As drafted, it designates operating a storage system above 20 kWh as an environmentally burdensome activity requiring notification; requires a permit for storage systems above 50 MWh (or technically connected combinations totalling 400 MWh, or any non-lithium system); and requires a permit for energy carrier storage above 10,000 kg or on sites above 2,500 m². It would also anchor PGS 37-1 (operating an ESS) and PGS 37-2 (storing lithium energy carriers, including damaged ones) in law, with entry into force expected in 2027 and a two-year transition. Treat the thresholds as indicative until the final text is published.
• Flanders. VLAREMA governs hazardous waste, registration and transport conditions. Collectors, traders and brokers of hazardous waste require OVAM registration and an audited internal quality-assurance system. We could not locate a published maximum on-site holding period for a waste producer holding damaged batteries before transfer to a licensed processor — VLAREMA sets registration, quality-assurance and transport conditions rather than a single headline time limit. Any specific number should be checked against the site’s own environmental permit rather than assumed.
• Fire safety guidance. Germany’s VdS 3103 — an insurer loss-prevention leaflet which states on its face that it “has no binding force” — recommends that damaged or defective batteries be removed from storage and production areas immediately to a safe distance or a fire-separated area, with a minimum 2.5 m separation from other combustible materials where there is no automatic extinguishing system. German property insurers treat these recommendations as effectively binding in practice. The Dutch PGS 37-2 is advisory today and becomes binding when anchored.

And the practical position, which is harder:

Insurance appetite for lithium storage risk has tightened. The European Electronics Recyclers Association records that operators face rising premiums or find they cannot agree insurance terms at all — with knock-on effects where an operating permit itself imposes insurance conditions. Meanwhile the Belgian waste sector federation reported battery fires at Belgian recycling companies tripling over three years, from 20 to 60 incidents annually.

Those two facts together explain why compliant storage capacity for damaged modules is scarce in the Benelux: the constraint is not permits or warehouse space. It is that the risk is difficult to insure.

5. Where material can actually go

One capacity fact worth knowing. The Benelux is strong on collection and pre-treatment and weak on final recovery. Dutch research body TNO noted in 2026 that an industrial-scale black mass refining facility requires roughly 10,000 tonnes of input per year, while the Netherlands collected around 430 tonnes of EV batteries in 2025. The national vehicle recycling organisation states plainly that there are no end-processors in the Netherlands — material is processed in Germany, Belgium or France.

Practically: your modules will cross a border, and the number of destinations is small.

Illustrative scenario

A Flemish owner operates two 25 MWh sites with equipment bought from Chinese manufacturers through a European entity. Three years in, a module fails and is removed under RMA.

Two questions arise that were never asked at procurement. First, who is the producer? The supply contract shows a European buyer of record — so producer responsibility sits with the owner’s own group, not with the manufacturer. Second, which Bebat route applies? Each site is above 16 MWh, so the collective scheme is not available; an individual plan with a financial guarantee is required.

Neither answer is a crisis. Both would have taken an afternoon to establish at contract stage, and both are more expensive to establish retrospectively — particularly the financial guarantee, which is a negotiation with a bank or an insurer rather than a form.

The removed module itself is assessed on site against SP 376. It shows no thermal event and is classified as stable defective, packed under P908, and routed to a collector that accepts damaged units. Had it shown signs of thermal stress, the packaging would have moved to P911 — requiring competent-authority-approved packaging, with the approval travelling with the consignment.

Illustrative scenario based on typical Benelux configurations — not a client reference.

What we do, and what we do not

We are honest about the boundary here because the market is young and over-claiming would be easy.

What we do:

• Assess and classify removed modules on site against ADR SP 376 — the judgement that determines everything downstream
• Document condition, serial numbers and chain of custody to the standard a warranty claim, an insurer or a regulator would require
• Arrange the reverse leg with carriers and collectors equipped for the classification, including the P911 route where the assessment requires it
• Read your supply contract with you to establish who carries producer responsibility, which scheme route applies, and whether a financial guarantee is required

What we do not do:

• We do not take title to your batteries and we do not take custody of the risk. Removed modules remain your property throughout; we arrange the movement and the documentation. We recommend the same wording in any contract you sign with anyone — the party that takes custody of a damaged lithium battery takes on a risk that is currently difficult to insure
• We do not operate a recycling facility. We work with permitted collectors and processors
• We do not give legal advice. The regulatory picture above is sourced and dated, but your obligations depend on your contracts and your permits, and those need to be read

Frequently asked questions

Am I the producer, or is the manufacturer? If there is an EU importer or buyer of record — the entity that first placed the system on the market — that entity carries extended producer responsibility. In most B2B containerised sales that is the buyer. If a non-EU manufacturer sold to you directly with no EU importer, the manufacturer is the producer and must appoint an EPR authorised representative in your Member State. Your supply contract will tell you which case you are in.

What is the 16 MWh threshold and does it apply to me? In Belgium, ESS installations up to and including 16 MWh can use Bebat’s collective scheme. Above that, an individual plan with a financial guarantee is required with the regions. The threshold sums all modules on one site and later expansions count towards it.

What happens to a module that has had a thermal event? It falls into the critical category under ADR SP 376, requiring P911 or LP906 packaging with competent-authority-approved performance, and a copy of the approval travelling with the consignment. Air transport is forbidden. Not every processor accepts such units — this should be confirmed in writing before it is needed, not after.

How long can I keep a damaged module on site? There is no single published time limit we could locate for Flanders. VLAREMA sets registration, quality-assurance and transport conditions rather than a headline holding period. Your own environmental permit may impose one, and insurer conditions often do. Fire safety guidance recommends removing damaged units from storage and production areas immediately.

Does the EU Battery Regulation require a battery passport for my system? From 18 February 2027, for industrial batteries above 2 kWh. What that means in practice for a containerised system depends on how the system is classified and who the producer is.

Can you handle the whole end-of-life chain for us? We assess, document, and arrange the movement to a permitted party. We do not take title, do not operate a facility, and do not give legal advice. Where the market has no answer — and for critically damaged units in the Benelux it currently has very few — we will tell you that rather than promise around it.

Regulatory position stated as at August 2026, with sources. The Dutch storage decision described in section 4 is a draft in consultation and its thresholds may change. This page is not legal advice.

Talk to our team about end-of-life obligations for your assets — info@bess.re.

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