Anyone who places batteries on the market or manufactures batteries in Germany has been required to register such batteries with the Stiftung Elektro-Altgeräte Register (EAR Foundation = German WEEE and battery registration board) since 1 January 2021. It makes no difference whether it is a small battery inside a hearing aid or a heavy-duty starter battery for motor vehicles; this is because industrial, vehicle and portable batteries are affected.
Please note: Batteries contained in your electrical appliances must likewise be registered.
Only those battery manufacturers who were already correctly registered with the German Federal Environment Agency by 31 December 2020 have a one-year transitional period to register with the EAR Foundation; this period expires on 31 December 2021.
take-e-way has learnt from circles involved that it may make sense for distributors of batteries who can make use of this transitional period to register their batteries with the EAR Foundation already now, because the public authority is expected to face a substantial registration rush at the end of the year. If you want to ensure that you can seamlessly continue to legally sell batteries after the transition period without being slowed down by processing times for your registration, you are advised not to wait until the end of the year to do so.
Unless you wish to change the battery take-back system, it makes no difference in terms of the fees payable whether you register now or later, as the one-off fees are due in any case.
In the event of any uncertainties or questions on the Batteries Act, please do not hesitate to contact the take-e-way consultants by calling +49/40/750687-0 or sending an e-mail message to beratung@take-e-way.de.
