Europe has built ambitious rules for circular batteries, but regulation alone does not create functioning markets. As growing volumes of EV batteries leave vehicles with useful life remaining, fragmented diagnostics, valuation, regulation, logistics and cross-border processes risk leaving valuable capacity stranded or prematurely recycled. 

Rebattex estimates that up to 180 GWh could become accessible by 2035. This paper argues that Europe must develop the “missing middle”: trusted market infrastructure connecting manufacturing and recycling through repair, reuse, remanufacturing and repurposing, supported by common standards, traceability, regulatory clarity and digital transaction infrastructure.