householders, and
A
bill
to
Make provision regarding the safe storage, use and disposal of lithium-ion batteries; and for connected purposes.
B e it enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
The first purpose of this Act is to better protect—
householders, and
communities
from the dangers of lithium-ion batteries.
The second purpose of this Act is to increase public confidence in, and
acceptance of, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
Any person discharging any function under this Act must have regard to
those purposes.
Before approving a planning application for stand-alone Battery Energy Storage
Systems (BESS) that consist partly or wholly of lithium-ion batteries, a planning
authority must consult—
the Environment Agency,
the Health and Safety Executive, and
the local fire and rescue service for the relevant area.
The Secretary of State may within 12 months of the passing of this Act, by
regulation, make provision regarding the granting of environmental permits
for stand-alone BESS facilities that consist partly or wholly of lithium-ion
batteries.
The Secretary of State must, within one year of the passing of this Act, make
regulations requiring the operator of any online marketplace to take reasonable
steps to ensure that—
all goods containing lithium-ion batteries offered for sale in their online
marketplace comply with—
the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/1803)
(“the 2005 Regulations”),
such other safety requirements as the Secretary of State may
by regulations specify, and
no goods containing lithium-ion batteries offered for sale in the online
marketplace have been the subject of a notification—
to an enforcement authority under Regulation 9 of the 2005
Regulations, or
served by an enforcement authority under Regulations 15 or
39 of the 2005 Regulations, or
under Article 19 of Regulation No 765/2008 of the European
Parliament and of the Council on Accreditation and Market
Surveillance.
Regulations under
subsection (1)
may make different provision in respect of
different types of goods containing lithium-ion batteries.
Regulations under subsection (1) may include provision—
creating criminal offences punishable with a fine in respect of failures
to comply with the regulations,
about such offences, and
for, about, or connected with, the imposition of civil sanctions.
A person must not, after three months of the day on which the Secretary of
State has published a list under
subsection (2)
, place on the UK market any
electric-powered micromobility vehicle powered by a lithium-ion battery or
a lithium-ion battery used to power electric-powered micromobility vehicles
unless—
conformity assessment procedures have been carried out by a
conformity assessment body (“CAB”) authorised by the Secretary of
State to carry out such assessments,
the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation and
declaration of conformity, and
the electric-powered micromobility vehicle powered by a lithium-ion
battery and the battery used to power such vehicles bear the CE or
UKCA mark to demonstrate conformity with designated or harmonised
standards.
The Secretary of State must, within six months of the passing of this Act,
publish a list of CABs that can carry out conformity assessment procedures
under
subsection (1)
.
Where, in the opinion of a CAB, a product covered by this Act has met the
essential safety requirements of applicable regulations, the CAB must issue
a certificate of conformity to the manufacturer.
Where a certificate of conformity has been issued under
subsection (3)
, a
manufacturer must display a CE or a UKCA mark on any relevant product
before it is placed on the UK market.
A person must not display a CE or a UKCA mark on any product covered
by this Act unless a certificate of conformity has been issued for the product
given in accordance with this Act.
The Secretary of State may, by regulations, make provision—
creating criminal offences punishable with a fine in respect of failures
to comply with the obligations in this section,
about such offences, and
for, about, or connected with, the imposition of civil sanctions.
The Secretary of State must, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, make
regulations regarding safety standards for—
the conversion kits of micromobility-vehicles that run on lithium-ion
batteries, and
the use of proprietary or non-proprietary charging systems of
micromobility vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries.
The Secretary of State must, within six months of the passing of this Act,
consult such persons as they consider appropriate about whether to implement
a measure prohibiting the sale of universal chargers for electric-powered
micromobility vehicles until regulations under subsection (1)
(a)
or
(b)
have
come into force.
The Secretary of State must, within six months of the passing of this Act, by
regulations make provision regarding the disposal of lithium-ion batteries.
Regulations under
subsection (1)
must include a requirement for sellers of
such batteries to—
display a prominent warning about the dangers of improper disposal
of such batteries not in accordance with those regulations, and
attach as part of the sale—
information regarding the cell chemistry of lithium-ion batteries,
and
information regarding the safe disposal of such batteries.
Regulations under
subsection (1)
may not include any provision that would
impose additional financial burdens on local authorities.
Before making regulations under this Act the Secretary of State must consult
representatives of such persons that they consider to have an interest in this
matter.
In this Act, the following terms have the following meanings—
“
conversion kit” is the electrical drive train, battery and charging system,
that is fitted to a pedal bicycle to convert it to an electric bike;
“
electric micromobility vehicle” means electric scooters or electric bicycles
powered by secondary lithium-ion batteries;
“
lithium-ion battery” means a secondary (rechargeable) battery with an
organic solvent electrolyte and positive and negative electrodes which
utilize an intercalation compound in which lithium is stored;
“
proprietary charging system” comprises of a manufacturer specified
plug and socket system designed only to operate in combination with
each other;
“
non-proprietary charging system” comprises of a
non-manufacturer-specified plug and socket system consisting of a
standardised plug and socket and a communications protocol;
“
communications protocol” is a formal description of digital message
formats and rules for communicating between devices;
“
stand-alone Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)” is a grid scale energy
storage system, consisting wholly or partly of lithium-ion batteries to
store energy.
Regulations under this Act are to be made by statutory instrument.
A statutory instrument containing regulations under this Act is subject to
annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
This Act extends to the whole of the UK, but does not apply in Scotland,
Wales or Northern Ireland until a resolution agreeing to the provisions of
this Act is passed by—
in the case of Scotland, The Scottish Parliament;
in the case of Wales, Senedd Cymru;
in the case of Northern Ireland, The Northern Ireland Assembly.
This Act comes into force on the day on which it is passed.
This Act may be cited as the Lithium-ion Battery Safety Act 2024.
A
bill
to
Make provision regarding the safe storage, use and disposal of lithium-ion batteries; and for connected purposes.
Ordered to be Printed, .
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