Europe’s growing fleet of electric vehicles is creating a valuable new resource: used batteries that may still have years of productive life remaining. REBATTEX aims to make those batteries easier to assess, trade and reuse across Europe, helping dismantlers unlock greater value while supporting repair, remanufacturing, second-life applications and recycling.
Brussels, 3 September 2026 – European Aluminium and the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) jointly call on the European Parliament and the Council to ensure that European aluminium is eligible alongside steel under the material-credit mechanism proposed in the revision of Regulation (EU) 2019/631, proposal 2025/0420 (COD).
Both materials should be eligible within a single, technology-neutral compensation mechanism and subject to robust, harmonised carbon-intensity thresholds and verification rules. These criteria should be consistent with the methodologies being developed for both steel and aluminium under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA).
This approach would give car manufacturers greater flexibility in meeting their regulatory obligations, support European lead markets for low-carbon materials and preserve the ability of automotive engineers to select the most appropriate material for each application
The Irish Presidency Steering Note of 30 July confirms broad support among Member States for recognising low-carbon steel through the proposed credit mechanism. The note presents the mechanism both as a flexibility for vehicle manufacturers and as a means of creating demand for low-carbon materials produced in Europe. Importantly, it also invites delegations to consider including low-carbon aluminium within credit system.
Including aluminium would be consistent with the wider objectives of the Industrial Accelerator Act. As recalled in the Steering Note, the IAA identifies both steel and aluminium as strategic sectors of Europe’s industrial base and recognises the need for stronger demand-side measures to support their decarbonisation.
Our recommendations
We call on the co-legislators to amend Article 5b so that low-carbon steel and low-carbon aluminium are both eligible under the proposed material-credit mechanism.
A well-designed mechanism should:
- provide flexibility for car manufacturers;
- create demand for verified low-carbon aluminium and steel produced in Europe;
- maintain fair competition and technology neutrality between materials;
- support lightweighting and vehicle energy efficiency;
- rely on robust, harmonised and transparent carbon-accounting rules; and
- strengthen the competitiveness and decarbonisation of Europe’s automotive and aluminium and steel value chains.
The objective should be to reward the use of low-carbon European materials and accelerate industrial decarbonisation, not to create a regulatory preference for one material over another. By recognising both steel and aluminium, the EU can establish a more balanced, effective and future-proof mechanism that supports car manufacturers, European material producers and the Union’s broader climate and industrial objectives.
“European Aluminium and the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) jointly call on the European Parliament and the Council to ensure that European aluminium is eligible alongside steel under the material-credit mechanism proposed in the revision of Regulation (EU) 2019/631, proposal 2025/0420 (COD).”
Source www.acea.auto/press-release
Further Reading on Auto Recycling World
-
Autocirc launches Europe’s first established solution for circular management of EVs and batteries
-
China Eyes Second-life EV Batteries As Grid-storage Resource
-
Stena Recycling expands major investment in electric vehicle batteries, invests over SEK half a billion
-
BLC puts battery value before recycling
