In case you’ve been ready to purchase your self a Nintendo Change or Steam Deck, it’s possible you’ll need to wait a bit longer. The subsequent technology of handheld gaming consoles might all include batteries which you could change your self, due to a brand new regulation within the European Union.
The rule, adopted by the European Council on July 10, as reported earlier by Eurogamer, is designed to enhance sustainability and cut back battery waste.
“Batteries are key to the decarbonisation course of,” Teresa Ribera, Spanish minister for the ecological transition, stated in a press release. “Finish-of-life batteries include many beneficial assets, and we should have the ability to reuse these essential uncooked supplies.”
The regulation “will apply to all batteries together with all waste transportable batteries, electrical automobile batteries, industrial batteries, beginning, lightning and ignition (SLI) batteries (used principally for autos and equipment) and batteries for gentle technique of transport (e.g. electrical bikes, e-mopeds, e-scooters),” the European Council stated final week.
This is able to additionally embrace transportable handheld gaming consoles, like these from Nintendo and Valve.
What does the regulation require?
The brand new rule means you’d have the ability to take away and change your individual gaming console battery by 2027 within the EU. Transportable batteries have to be “readily detachable and replaceable by the end-user at any time through the lifetime of the product.”
Corporations may even be required to supply data on the carbon footprint of their batteries, together with the battery’s elements and recycled content material, a QR code with extra data and a “battery passport.” Labeling necessities will kick in throughout 2026, and QR code necessities by 2027.
Whereas this new regulation will solely apply within the EU, it might lead to console makers making certain replaceable batteries worldwide quite than making a separate gadget for the European market. Nintendo and Valve did not reply to a request for remark.
The EU’s crackdown on e-waste has additionally seen it make the USB-C charging cable normal throughout all gadgets from 2024. Apple must swap the iPhone from its proprietary Lightning cable to USB-C to conform.
