WRITTEN QUESTION E-3124/02

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(30 October 2002)

Subject: Lack of standardisation of batteries and adapters for the supply of electric power for portable equipment

A report in the Netherlands edition of the free daily newspaper Metro on Monday 21 October 2002 comments that people can now take with them on journeys all of the equipment which at one time could only be used at home, such as phones, digital video cameras, computers and printers, and that this weighs no more than the old portable typewriters. However, the report also points out that each of these types of equipment has its own combination of batteries and adapters for charging and for converting power from the grid, and that this means that it is necessary to also carry a large number of relatively heavy devices in order to operate such electrical equipment on journeys.

The author, Jack Nouws, expresses his surprise at the fact that standardisation has not yet been carried out at EU level, asking how much money could be saved by laying down legal requirements for all mobile phones to have the same type of adapter socket and for this same adapter socket also to be used for all portable equipment, so that one charger is sufficient for all makes of equipment. He comments that Members of the European Parliament travel a great deal, not just between Brussels and Strasbourg, and that it is surprising that a proposal has not long since been put forward by a zealous official.

Aware of this,

1. Why, when the market for portable electrical equipment began to take off in the 1980s, was standardisation of charging devices not carried out, not even between the different types and makes of mobile phone?

2. What are the additional annual costs borne by individual consumers, organisations and companies in the EU Member States for replacing, continuing to use simultaneously and carrying different devices for charging and for converting electric power?

3. What steps have been taken to date to achieve standardisation, as compared with connectivity for fixed equipment, and what has delayed or prevented the establishment of standardisation?

4. What further steps is the Commission considering adopting in order, finally, to swiftly introduce standardisation at least at the EU level and, if possible, at world level, and to discourage the production, import and sale within the EU of equipment deviating from the standard? When can these measures be expected to lead to results?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(8 January 2003)

The Honourable Member notes that batteries and chargers for state of the art portable equipment are not always interchangeable. Users therefore carry a variety of chargers with them when travelling with portable devices.

Although it would be convenient for a user to be able to charge all portable devices with a single charger, there are a number of technical reasons as to why this has not yet been achieved.

Firstly, portable devices have different power requirements. Laptop computers for instance require a large battery pack as they consume far more power than Personal Digital Assistants, GSMs or other hand-held devices. They also operate on higher voltages. Therefore, in practice batteries for portable devices differ in capacity, size and voltage.

Secondly, the technology for batteries and chargers is continuously developing. Since the 80's the first usable technology (Nickel Cadmium) has been replaced, firstly, by the nickel-metal-hydride battery, and subsequently by the more powerful Lithium Ion technology. Users wish their batteries to be charged quickly. The optimal method for doing so, however, differs between these technologies.

For these reasons the manufacturers provided their portable equipment with different plugs, sockets and charging devices in order to ensure good operation.

Therefore, the Commission believes, at this point in time, that the current speed of technological innovation very often prevents the creation of widely accepted European standards in this sector.

It is also important to remind to the Honourable Member that standards are voluntary and even if in general standardisation has a positive effect on the economy, public authorities should leave the setting of standards to the market and encourage the process when there is a clear need. For the time being the Commission doesn't feel that the lack of standardisation for battery chargers had a negative economic effect on the rechargeable tools market.

Nevertheless, the Commission shares the concerns on the lack of standardisation of chargers for mobile phones. A first investigation has demonstrated, that connectors of mobile phones of the various manufacturers differ, whereas some manufacturers even regularly change the interfaces between versions of their own products. These interfaces are also used for connecting other peripheral devices, which in principle could justify changes. However, such changes do not always seem to be technically justified. As a result chargers technically suited for charging the batteries of certain mobile phones, are not used as they have a wrong connector. This also applies to other add-ons (hands free sets, keyboards, etc.).

The Commission intends to raise this matter with industry so as to assess, why industry has not harmonised these interfaces on a voluntary basis and to investigate what can be done to improve the situation e.g. through standardisation. It, however, remains reluctant to mandate the use of standards for the reasons mentioned before.