The future of battery-powered products in the home

In our homes we have many products that are powered by rechargeable batteries. In some of them it is easy to change the battery yourself, while in others it is basically impossible. However, this will change in the future, with the EU's new battery directive.

Robot vacuum cleaners, stick vacuum cleaners and electric toothbrushes are examples of battery-powered products in our homes. Electric shavers and hand blenders are also examples – although most products in these two categories are still corded.

If you search for hand blenders on Pricerunner or Prisjakt, more than 500 products will appear on the screen, but if you check the box "cordless" you will get about a dozen hits. In other words, new products with a cord continue to be launched, such as the Bosch ErgoMaster Series 6, the first hand blender with an air-cooled motor, which reduces the risk of overheating and a ceramic connection between the motor and the blender foot for better durability. An innovative product, but not cordless.

If you think that a hand blender with a cord is anything but innovative, you have a number of cordless models to choose from, for example from KitchenAid, Bamix and Severin.

In March 2020, launched KitchenAid a cordless series consisting of an electric whisk, hand blender and chopper, each sold separately.

KitchenAid's cordless hand blender is fully charged in two hours, which is enough to make 25 bowls of soup, according to the company's own calculations. If you're in a hurry, you can also quick-charge the battery for 20 minutes. Whether or not the battery is easily replaceable is not clear from the information on the website.

However, it does so on Bamix website, which states that the company's cordless hand blender is equipped with a lithium-ion battery without memory function that is easy to remove and replace.

The Bamix cordless hand blender was launched in May 2022, and in the picture above, Håkan Persson, F&H Group, demonstrates the product at Elon Expo 2022, where he said that the Bamix Cordless is as powerful as the traditional, corded model, and that it can be used for 20 minutes before the battery needs to be charged - something that takes an hour and is done via the included charging station, which can be attached to the wall.

Severin cordless hand blender Fully charges in two hours and can be used for up to 40 minutes, quick charging for 15 minutes gives 8 minutes of use but according to the instructions you should not change the battery yourself.

New battery directive

On December 9th of last year, a provisional agreement was reached on the EU's new battery directive. The directive will regulate the entire life cycle of batteries and will, among other things, mean that all batteries must be replaceable in products sold on the European market.

The idea is that in the future it will be easy to change the batteries in all consumer products yourself – including mobile phones, electric toothbrushes and hand blenders.

The Battery Directive will enter into force 42 months after the agreement, which means in June 2026, and before then many details regarding the directive will have to be determined.

Text: Ola Larsson

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