All electronic devices will be able to be charged with a single type of charger.

The Directive on the use of a Common Charging Cable ("Directive"), which has been on the agenda of the European Parliament several times over the last decade, was approved on 04.10.2022. With the law, which was passed by 602 votes in favor, 13 against and 8 abstentions, all electronic devices can now be charged with a single type of charger.

What’s Changed With The New Regulation?

Under the new Directive, all electronic devices sold in the European Union will be required to have a USB Type-C charging port by the end of 2024. These devices include all cell phones, tablets, headphones and headset sets, digital cameras, handheld video game consoles and portable speakers, e-readers, mouse, keyboards, portable navigation systems and, of course, laptops that can be charged via a wired cable and provide up to 100 watts of power, regardless of the manufacturer. However, changes for laptop charging are expected to take longer, with a deadline of 2026.

With the new regulation, all devices that support fast charging will now have the same charging speed and can be charged at the same speed as any device.

The Directive, which has been approved by the EU Parliament but not yet fully enacted, requires final approval by the EU Council. After the Council's approval, the Directive, published in the Official Gazette of the EU, will enter into force 20 days after its publication and Member States will have until the end of 2024 to transpose and implement it.

Products placed on the European Union market before the date of entry into force of the Directive will not be covered by the law. After that date, 2024, all electronic devices will be able to be charged with a USB Type-C charger.

Purpose

Discarded and unused chargers generate around 11,000 tons of e-waste per year in the European Union. With this law, the Parliament aims for a more sustainable and cleaner environment and a circular economy. When a new device is purchased, a different charger will no longer be needed and chargers will last longer. This will not only reduce e-waste, but also raw material extraction and CO2 emissions from the production and transportation of chargers. This is expected to significantly reduce e-waste and save around 250 million euros a year on unnecessary charger purchases.

Who Is To Be Affected And How?

This new regulation affects manufacturers first. Manufacturers, including brands such as Apple, Samsung and Huawei, will have to use USB-C ports on all their devices within these two years. Especially Apple, the iPhone manufacturer, needs to make a radical change for the devices it will sell in European Union countries. Apple, which uses a proprietary charging interface called the Lightning cable, will no longer be able to use its own proprietary port on its devices sold in these countries. Considered the technical and environmental advantages provided by the introduction of the USB-C interface, Apple's proprietary solutions are no longer justified or sustainable.

Consumers are also directly affected by this law. There will no longer be a need to buy and carry a different charger for each electronic device; a single charger will be available for all electronic devices.