Consultation on modernising environmental permitting for industry

The battery manufacturing industry is a growing sector in the UK that is important for the government’s commitments on decarbonisation and growth. However, it has the potential to cause significant environmental and health impacts if not effectively regulated. Most notably through the use of toxic chemicals such as NMP (N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone). 

Currently, the manufacturing of batteries is regulated for its use of organic solvents under the EPRs. Depending on size and the type of the emissions, it is regulated as either a Part B or part A2 activity and can be captured by Chapter V of the IED. However, there is not a specific activity in the EPRs for battery manufacturing which means that permitting only covers solvent use and not wider aspects of the manufacturing process and appropriate and integrated standards have not been developed covering all emissions and environmental impacts. The lack of bespoke regulation could also impact industry certainty for investment. 

We are minded to consult on proposals to define battery manufacturing as a Part A1 activity under the EPRs, which would allow appropriate standards to be set and would transfer permitting from local authorities to the EA. The EA would in our view be the more appropriate regulator due to the scale of the relevant installations and their capacity and expertise in regulating the relevant impacts. Overall, this change could provide consistency, transparency and predictability for industry. 

We are seeking feedback on the costs and benefits of this regulatory approach. further policy development is also required on potential thresholds for permitting and we would appreciate feedback on this point. The EU’s revised IED 2.0 only covers battery manufacturing with “a production capacity of 15,000 tonnes of battery cells (cathode, anode, electrolyte, separator, capsule) or more per year." However, this would only cover very large battery manufacturers, so we would like to consider a lower threshold to ensure consistency across different sizes of site. In addition, we could consider defining thresholds in terms of the chemicals used rather than the weight of batteries, as that would be a more accurate proxy for environmental impact.