USB-C becomes universal charging standard in the EU

By the end of 2024, the proliferation of chargers for small electronic devices will come to an end. The EU is making USB-C connectors and the USB Power Delivery standard mandatory.

From 28 December 2024, all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU must have a USB-C charging port. This will also apply to laptops from spring 2026. The EU wants to reduce electronic waste and make electrical appliances more sustainable.

The European Parliament had already adopted this in October 2023 as an amendment to the Radio Equipment Directive and then passed it on to the member states for implementation into national law.

In the future, all manufacturers must equip their new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, portable video game consoles and speakers, e-readers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems, earphones and laptops with a power consumption of up to 100 watts that can be charged with a cable with a USB-C connection.

This means that consumers will not need a new charger every time they buy a new mobile device. A single charger will then be sufficient for a large number of small and medium-sized portable electronic devices.

The Directive also now mandates a common baseline charging protocol for all USB-C devices.

Unbundling and more choice

This new directive makes it also impossible to sell the power supply unit of the charger with the device. This will allow consumers to make an informed decision as to whether it is necessary to buy a new charger with a new device. Special labels are intended to provide information about the charging properties of new devices. This will make it easier to determine whether existing chargers are compatible with them. These new obligations ensure that chargers can be reused more frequently. They should help to save up to 250 million euros per year on unnecessary chargers. Disposed and unused chargers generate around 11,000 tons of electronic waste in the EU every year.

The new regulations do not apply to products that were placed on the market before the date of application. Nevertheless, market heavyweight Apple has already started the changeover: The iPhone 15 generation and the second generation of AirPods Pro are already equipped with USB-C.