TCO Certified is a certification of IT products promoted by the Swedish Association of Professional Employees. The certification standards include environmental and social responsibility throughout the IT product life cycle, mainly covering product performance, product long life, reduction of hazardous substances, material recycling, user health and safety, and environmentally friendly manufacturing requirements. TCO certification takes the form of voluntary application by enterprises, testing and verification by accredited verification institutions. Currently, TCO certification applies to 12 products including monitors, laptops, tablets, smartphones, desktop computers, all-in-ones, projectors, headphones, network equipment, data storage, servers, and imaging equipment.

• Battery performance requirements

TCO certification currently adopts TCO Gen9 (TCO 9th generation) standard for product certification, and TCO is currently revising TCO Gen10.

The differences in battery requirements for IT products between TCO Gen9 and TCO Gen10 are as below:

• Battery life

1. The battery is tested according to IEC 61960-3:2017, and the minimum capacity requirement after 300 cycles is raised from 80% to 90%.

2. Cancel the calculation of the best battery performance for office users in a few years.

3. Cancel the durability cycle test and the AC/DC internal resistance measurement.

4. The scope of application is changed from notebooks, headphones, tablets, smart phones to battery products.

• Battery replacement

1. Scope of application: Change from laptops, headphones, smartphones and tablets to battery products.

1. Additional requirements:

(1) The battery must be replaced by the end user using a commercially available tool or a tool provided free of charge with the product, rather than a dedicated tool.

(2) Batteies must be available for purchase by anyone.

• Battery information and protection

The brand must provide battery protection software that can reduce the maximum charge level of the battery from at least 80% modified to 80% or less.

• Standardized external power supply compatibility

1. Scope of application: All products with rechargeable batteries and external power supply less than or equal to 240W, laptops, smartphones and headphones with the alternative external power supply greater than 100W .

1. Standard update: Substitute EN/IEC 63002：2021 for EN/IEC 63002：2017.

Certification requirements

At present, TCO has published the second draft of TCO Gen10, and the final standard is expected to be released in June 2024, at which time enterprises can apply for product certification of the new standard.

Conclusion

With the acceleration of the replacement of electronic products, the energy saving and environmental protection performance of electronic information products have become more and more important for manufacturers to consider in the design, production and sales, and how to evaluate “green” has increasingly become the focus of discussion in the industry. Countries have developed corresponding environmental/sustainability regulations and standards. In addition to the EPEAT and TCO introduced in this journal, there are also US Energy STAR standards , EU ECO regulations, France’s electrical equipment repairability index, etc. More and more countries and regions will evaluate the results of these requirements as the basis for government procurement of green electronic products. However, as an important component of electronic products, the performance and durability of batteries are also important indicators to evaluate whether the product is sustainable. With the global emphasis on sustainable development, the concern and requirements for sustainable electrical and electronic products will gradually increase. In order to better respond to the needs of the market, relevant enterprises also need to timely understand the standard requirements and make adjustments.