LIGNex1 GLOBAL REPORT

Wisconsin, Kentucky governors latest to approve battery EPR laws

Both plans cover certain medium-format and rechargeable batteries, including some lithium-ion types, but Kentucky’s is unique because the program is voluntary.

Adoption of battery stewardship laws has gained momentum in recent years, partly as a way to help prevent fires at waste and recycling facilities. Oregon’s governor signed a similar battery EPR bill on April 7. 

The federal government also has an interest in battery EPR to help recover more critical minerals from domestic sources, which the Trump administration sees as a way to reduce reliance on imports and create U.S.-based jobs. The U.S. EPA is focusing on battery EPR by developing a voluntary battery EPR framework meant to guide states working on such programs. The agency expects to publish it sometime in the summer.  

Wisconsin’s new law, which goes into effect in January 2027, calls for battery producers to join a stewardship organization and create a collection and management plan to be approved by the state’s Department of Natural Resources. 

The stewardship organization will be responsible for collecting covered batteries “on a free, continuous, convenient, visible, and accessible basis” and use fees collected from battery producers to reimburse local governmental units for collection activities.

Certain medical device batteries and lead-acid batteries are not covered under the law.

The law also requires the organization to set up staffed collection points specifically for medium-format batteries, such as household hazardous waste facilities, and the program must also have a plan for how to safely collect and store damaged or defective batteries at designated locations.

The stewardship organization will also need to conduct education and outreach efforts to the public, such as launching a website, distributing info at collection sites and providing collection site operators and retailers with safety training, according to the law. The law also calls for the program to achieve recycling rate targets of at least 60% for rechargeable batteries and 70% for primary batteries.

In Wisconsin, supporters including WM’s local division and several state solid waste departments helped push the bill forward. 

In written testimony, WM officials noted that battery-related fires are “putting our workers at risk and destroying millions of dollars in investments that we’ve made to collect and process waste and recyclable materials.” Such fires are also leading to an uptick in insurance rates, WM said. 

WM spent $39 million to upgrade its MRF in Germantown, Wisconsin, in 2024, including a $250,000 fire detection system. Battery stewardship is necessary to help divert more batteries from facilities like this one, the company said. “If the Germantown MRF were to burn to the ground, 25% of the state’s recyclable material would have to be processed at other facilities, most likely out of state,” the company said.

Meanwhile, Marathon County Solid Waste Department said it has faced several facility fires caused by batteries, and advocated for a producer-funded collection program that would ease the financial burden for local community waste departments struggling with limited budgets. 

“Every day that passes without this legislation is another day our workers face unnecessary dangers. We have been fortunate so far that no worker has lost their life in a battery fire at our facilities, but our luck will not hold indefinitely without action,” wrote the department and county waste board in joint testimony during a bill hearing in December.

A previous version of the bill would have exempted alkaline batteries, but the Rechargeable Battery Association voiced concerns about that proposal, saying it would be out of step with other states’ programs and would lead to producers having to collect the batteries under the program even if they’re not explicitly accepted, and “the cost to manage them will be borne by producers of the batteries covered in the bill,” the organization said.

The Battery Network, formerly called Call2Recycle, does not advocate for or against legislation but sometimes offers best practice guidance. It noted in written testimony that consumers generally cannot tell the difference between different battery chemistries, and that alkaline batteries would have ended up in collection systems anyway, even if they were not included in the stewardship program.

In Kentucky, the new law will establish a voluntary Covered Battery Stewardship program by March 31, 2027. Like Wisconsin’s program, it will cover certain rechargeable batteries under 11 pounds, non-rechargeable batteries under 4.4 pounds, and medium format batteries under 25 pounds.

The bill also prohibits residents from disposing of covered batteries in curbside collection bins or commercial front-load or rolloff containers.

The new voluntary stewardship organization will operate similarly to other battery EPR organizations around the country. It will submit a plan to the state for approval that includes a strategy for collecting covered batteries and providing consumer education and collection site training, according to the law. It will also oversee a voluntary take-back program for recovery of rechargeable covered batteries “in an efficient and safe manner” and investigate the feasibility of creating a voluntary program for embedded batteries, according to the bill. 

The plan will also need to offer details on how to fund the voluntary program “without adding a point-of-sale cost or fee to the consumer,” the bill states.

Other states are considering similar battery stewardship programs this year. New Hampshire’s HB 1602 is expected to go through a hearing process on April 15. Iowa is also considering a bill, SF 2477 that would update its battery EPR program.

Governor Braun to Break Ground on Hanjung America Manufacturing Center in Huntington

INDIANAPOLIS (April 13, 2026) – Indiana Governor Mike Braun will join Huntington Mayor Richard Strick and executives of Hanjung America tomorrow at 3 p.m. in Huntington to break ground on the company’s first U.S.-based manufacturing facility. 

In February, the company announced plans to establish operations on 133 acres at the Riverfork West Industrial Park to manufacture Energy Storage Systems (ESS). Once operational, Hanjung America will supply solutions to support the supply chain of Stellantis and Samsung SDI’s StarPlus Energy electric vehicle battery manufacturing operations in Kokomo and the broader renewable energy ecosystem across Indiana. 

The company, which is a subsidiary of South Korea-based Hanjung NCS, plans to begin operating in June 2027 and expects full employment in Huntington to reach more than 440 jobs in the coming years.  

Location:

2018 Progress Drive

Huntington, Indiana

The event will take place in a tent outdoors. Parking is available on site.

CATL Is Said to Consider Up to $5 Billion Share Sale After Rally

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is considering a share sale to raise up to $5 billion in Hong Kong following a stock rally, according to people familiar with the matter.

CATL, the world’s largest maker of electric-vehicle batteries, has held preliminary talks with banks about the placement, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private.

CATL has also been considering selling convertible bonds to meet some of its funding needs, two of the people said. Considerations are ongoing and no final decisions have been made, the people said.

A representative for CATL didn’t respond to a request seeking comment.

CATL last month reported full-year profit for 2025 that beat estimates after it weathered a brutal price war in China by boosting overseas sales and leveraging its dominance in the energy-storage industry.

CATL shares have surged about 160% since they started trading in Hong Kong in May last year, following a second listing in the Asian financial hub. The company also trades in Shenzhen and has a market value of about $289 billion.

Other media including Dealreporter and IFR reported on CATL’s share sale considerations earlier.