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Information | EU Revised RoHS Annex III Exemption Clause on Cadmium

Time：

2024-06-12

Information | EU Revised RoHS Annex III Exemption Clause on Cadmium

On May 21, 2024, the European Union issued Directive (EU) 2024/1416 in the official gazette, updating the exemption provisions on cadmium in Annex III of the EU RoHS Directive (2011/65/EU), extending the exemption period for Article 39 (a), and adding an exemption for Article 39 (b).

This directive will come into effect 20 days after its publication, and member states should convert it into their own regulations by December 31, 2024. The exemption regulation will officially come into effect on January 1, 2025.

The specific list of exemption clauses is as follows:

escape clause

Scope and Term of Use

Cadmium selenide for reducing cadmium based semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots in display lighting equipment (display screen area less than 0.2ug/mm2)

All types as of November 21, 2025

Cadmium directly deposited on LED semiconductor chips for display and projection applications in frequency reduced semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (less than 5ug of cadmium per square millimeter of LED chip surface), with a maximum content of 1mg per device

All types up to

December 31, 2027

Background of terms

Cadmium is a restricted substance listed in Annex II of Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS Directive). The RoHS directive requires a maximum allowable concentration of 0.01% (by weight) of cadmium in homogeneous materials.
According to the Authorization Directive (EU) 2017/1975, the European Commission approved an exemption for the use of cadmium selenide in reducing cadmium based semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots for display lighting applications, as listed in Annex III, Article 39 (a) of Directive 2011/65/EU. Exemption from expiration on October 31, 2019.

On September 29, 2017, April 29, 2018, and April 30, 2018, the European Commission received applications to amend the current exemption within the time limit specified in Article 5 (5) of Directive 2011/65/EU. According to Article 5 (5), paragraph 2 of Directive 2011/65/EU, exemptions remain valid until the decision to renew the application is made.

The evaluation of the application takes into account the availability of alternatives and their socio-economic impacts, including technical and scientific evaluation research and subsequent research. The evaluation also includes stakeholder consultations conducted in accordance with Article 5 (7) of Directive 2011/65/EU.

The evaluation further concludes that the current alternative solutions to "on chip" technology that can be used for lighting applications are reliable and achieve similar performance levels. The conclusion of the evaluation for these applications is that the benefits of exemptions will not exceed their negative impacts on the environment, health, and consumer safety. Therefore, the "chip" technology applicable to lighting applications does not meet the conditions specified in point (a) of Article 5 (1) of Directive 2011/65/EU.

The evaluation further concludes that there are currently many alternative "chip" technologies available for display applications, but there is currently no reliable alternative for certain specific technologies, such as micro displays. For specific display applications, even if substitutes are under development and meet the conditions specified in point (a) of Article 5 (1) of Directive 2011/65/EU, the reliability of substitutes cannot be guaranteed.

Compared to the "surface" configuration, the "chip" configuration can also reduce the cadmium content of each device, especially for LCD displays. In homogeneous materials, the "surface" configuration uses less than 0.01% cadmium by weight. Due to the improvement of energy efficiency and the reduction of total cadmium usage, environmental benefits outweigh the overall negative impact of cadmium substitutes on the environment, health, and consumer safety. The scope of exemption sought in the application is limited, and in the form of the maximum concentration of cadmium per device, it will ensure that the amount of cadmium placed on the market is less than the current exemption.

Therefore, it is appropriate to grant cadmium exemption in frequency reduced semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots directly deposited on LED semiconductor chips for display and projection applications. It is expected that by the end of 2027, substitutes for these cadmium quantum dot applications may emerge. The positive impact on innovation (such as miniaturization) and the negative impact on innovation (such as reduced incentives for developing cadmium free alternatives) are both considered here. Therefore, according to Article 5 (2) of Directive 2011/65/EU, it is appropriate to limit the exemption period to that date.

The expiration date of the current exemption should be set in accordance with Article 5 (6) of Directive 2011/65/EU. Considering the global supply chain of such products, it is appropriate to set the longest possible validity period after the current exemption decision to 18 months in order to leave enough time for the industry.