The European Commission opened a four-week public feedback window on September 29, 2026 for draft delegated regulation Ares(2026)9188325, which sets the first minimum electrochemical performance and durability values for rechargeable industrial batteries placed on the EU market. The draft, published under Article 10(5) of the Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, is open for comment on the Commission's Have Your Say portal until October 27, 2026 at midnight Brussels time.
EU manufacturers and importers of rechargeable industrial batteries above 2 kWh, producers of stationary storage and motive-power equipment that incorporate them, and notified bodies assessing industrial-battery conformity under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 must review the draft thresholds and file feedback by October 27, 2026, or their input falls outside the formal window and, once the delegated act applies, industrial batteries that miss the minimum values cannot be placed on the EU market.
What does the draft set for industrial batteries?
Article 10(5) of the Batteries Regulation empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts fixing minimum electrochemical performance and durability parameters for rechargeable industrial batteries with a capacity above 2 kWh. Draft delegated regulation Ares(2026)9188325, published with a 12-page technical annex, turns that empowerment into concrete minimum values that industrial batteries will have to meet when sold in the Union. The Commission plans to adopt the act in the third quarter of 2026.
The values cover the performance and durability parameters the Regulation already lists, and they complement the carbon-footprint declaration regime that applied to industrial batteries from February 18, 2026. They do not touch the separate battery passport, due-diligence or recycled-content obligations, which follow their own later timelines.
Who has to engage, and by when?
Four groups carry direct exposure. EU manufacturers of rechargeable industrial batteries above 2 kWh must align their cell and pack test programmes with the proposed minima. EU importers placing those batteries on the Union market inherit the same conformity duty. Producers of stationary battery storage and motive-power equipment that incorporate industrial batteries must verify that their chosen cells meet the thresholds. Notified bodies assessing conformity under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 will test against these values once the act applies.
The Have Your Say window opened on September 29, 2026 and closes on October 27, 2026. Feedback is published on the portal and taken into account when the Commission finalises the text; submissions after the deadline carry no formal weight in this round.
What should you file before October 27, 2026?
Two comments filed on September 30, 2026 signal the issues the Commission will weigh. A battery-compliance practitioner asked for a 24 to 36 month transition period, arguing that new testing, technical-documentation updates and notified-body capacity cannot be stood up instantly. A second contributor asked for relative humidity to be added alongside temperature in the durability test conditions. EUROBAT, the EU battery industry association, filed a November 2025 position on the working document asking for technology-specific thresholds and harmonised standards under mandate M/579.
- Map your current test programmes and technical files against the proposed values in the annex, and flag where a parameter or test condition does not fit your cell chemistry.
- State a defensible transition period if your testing, documentation or notified-body capacity needs one, with the lead times you can evidence.
- Comment on the test conditions, including temperature and humidity, where your field data shows a gap.
- Request technology-specific thresholds or harmonised standards if your battery chemistry warrants distinct minima.
What happens after the feedback window?
Once the window closes, the Commission is scheduled to adopt the delegated regulation in the third quarter of 2026. Under Article 290 TFEU, the European Parliament and the Council then have a default two-month objection period, extendable by two months, during which they may block the act; if no objection is raised, the act enters into force on the date it sets.
After application, industrial batteries above 2 kWh that fail the minimum electrochemical performance and durability values cannot be placed on the EU market, with conformity verified through the Regulation's conformity-assessment and CE-marking regime. The values sit alongside the wider Batteries Regulation timeline below.
| Obligation under the Batteries Regulation | Date |
|---|---|
| Carbon-footprint declaration for industrial batteries | February 18, 2026 |
| Draft performance and durability values (this consultation) | Feedback to October 27, 2026; adoption Q3 2026 |
| Digital battery passport mandatory above 2 kWh | February 18, 2027 |
| Supply-chain due diligence obligations | August 18, 2027 |
| Minimum recycled-content thresholds | August 18, 2028 |
Continuous, per-jurisdiction regulatory monitoring surfaces a delegated act like this the moment the Commission publishes it for feedback.
Before October 27, 2026, confirm whether your industrial batteries above 2 kWh fall in scope, benchmark your test data against the annex, brief your regulatory and testing teams, and file a substantiated position on the portal.
