The letters “CE” are the abbreviation of the French phrase “Conformité Européene” which literally means European Conformity. CE marking is a mandatory conformity marking for certain products sold within the European Economic Area since 1985. The CE marking is also found on products sold outside the EEA that are manufactured in, or designed to be sold in, the EEA. This makes the CE marking recognizable worldwide even to people who are not familiar with the European Economic Area. It is in that sense similar to the FCC Declaration of Conformity used on certain electronic devices sold in the United States. The CE marking is the manufacturer’s declaration that the product meets the requirements of the applicable EU Directives (legal acts which require member states to achieve a particular result without regulating the means of attaining such result).
The Official Journal of the European Parliament and of the European Council lists which Directives require CE marking and which do not. Currently there are no applicable Directives specific to batteries that exist dictating the need to CE mark batteries. There is a Directive which exists that relates to the disposal of batteries in the EEA, titled the Battery Directive (2006/66/EC) which dictates that batteries are exempt from RoHS requirements, identifies specific hazardous materials that must be limited within batteries, establishes the limit level for each of those hazardous materials and mandates the use of a specific separate collector symbol on the battery.
Ultralife waits for legislation to be introduced by the EU that would make the mandatory CE marking of batteries more apparently obvious
