It should happen any day now: the publication of the final version of PGS 37-2, the lithium battery storage guideline. You may be thinking: should my company comply with this right away? The answer is no; the new directive would not be effective immediately. But at some point, PGS 37-2 will be included in the Environment Act (Omgevingswet). It’s nice when you’re ready then. Special Cargo supports you in this, with information, advice, training and in logistics operations.
The PGS 37-2 is one of the guidelines of the Hazardous Substances Publication Series (Publicatiereeks Gevaarlijke Stoffen, PGS). Unfortunately, it is not yet clear when this directive “for the safe storage of lithium-containing energy carriers,” or lithium batteries, will officially take effect. Therefore, we inquired with the PGS management organization. She informed us that she expects to publish the final version of the guideline in early November. However, this does not mean that it will then take effect immediately. What does this development mean for you as a company that stores lithium batteries?
Environment Act (omgevingswet)
In March 2022, the draft version of the PGS 37-2 of the Hazardous Substances Publication Series was made public, to which interested parties could comment on its content. This has been done frequently. The PGS organization now says it will publish the final version in early November – so that could be any time. However, the directive does not yet have a legal status at that time, because it has not yet been included in the Decree on Activities in the Living Environment (Besluit activiteiten leefomgeving, Bal) and is therefore not yet linked to the Environment Act. Thus, the PGS 37-2 will certainly not take effect right along with the Environment Act – which will take effect on Jan. 1, 2024. When it will be, the PGS organization is not yet commenting on that.
Sharing already mandatory
But note that the competent authority can already impose (parts of) the PGS 37-2 on companies now. For example, in the form of customization requirements, when submitting an activity report or a new permit application. This makes it all the more important to have the activity notification or permit in place for current storage facilities. In fact, transitional periods will apply to existing situations, but not to new ones. An existing situation is a storage facility that already has an activity notification or permit for the activity “storage of lithium energy carriers.
The competent authority can already now impose (parts of) the PGS 37-2 on companies
New Style
The final directive will be in the so-called “New Style. This New Style includes a risk approach with clear(er) scenarios, measures and goals. This should make it clearer to businesses exactly what they need to comply with. The equivalence principle can also be applied to any New Style PGS. This means that companies are allowed to use alternative measures as long as they are equivalent to those in the PHS.
What will Special Cargo do?
As soon as the final PGS 37-2 is publicly available, Special Cargo will start working immediately to incorporate the new guideline into its products and services. That is, in the logistics operations at Schiphol and Rotterdam, and of course in our training courses. With this, we hope to have our courses and teaching materials compliant with PGS 37-2 as soon as possible. Naturally, we will keep you, the customer, as well informed as possible of developments and changes in the guideline. How, we will let you know in the coming period through our website and social media. If you want to stay fully informed, subscribe to our newsletter.
Good preparation
Want to be well prepared for the final arrival of the PGS 37-2 New Style? We hope to welcome you as soon as possible to one of our new trainings, at various locations around the country, or in-company at your company. Take a look at our training offerings! And if you have any questions, please contact us!
