PRBA

What PRBA does

PRBA (Portable Rechargeable Battery Association) is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit trade association founded in the early 1990s that represents more than 70 member companies across the global rechargeable battery value chain. Its members include major cell manufacturers, consumer electronics OEMs (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Motorola), automotive OEMs (Toyota, GM, Ford, BMW, Honda, Nissan), and battery recycling firms (Redwood Materials, Cirba Solutions); member companies are reported to produce roughly 70% of the world's lithium-ion cells. PRBA has held formal NGO participant status at the UN Subcommittee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods for more than 33 years and coordinates internationally with BAJ (Japan), KBIA (Korea), RECHARGE, and Eurobat.

The association's core activities are regulatory advocacy and standards development rather than product commercialization. It drafts model legislation for U.S. states, files regulatory comments before agencies including the EPA, DOE, DOT/PHMSA, FAA, USTR, NHTSA, the CPSC, and NFPA, and submits proposals to international forums (UN, ICAO, IMO). It also convenes the annual International Conference on Battery Recycling (ICBR). Recent milestones include three PRBA-sponsored proposals approved by the UN Sub-Committee in December 2024, model battery stewardship legislation enacted in Colorado (SB 163) and Nebraska (LB 36) in 2025, and a favorable U.S. Department of Commerce antidumping/countervailing duty determination on Chinese battery-grade graphite in February 2026.

PRBA's business model is a tiered membership dues structure with eight tiers ranging from $8,925 (companies under $1M revenue) to $56,300 (Category A, companies over $75M revenue), supplemented by event revenue from ICBR and ancillary fees. Operations are small-scale, with reported staff in the 1-10 range. Leadership transitioned from long-tenured executive George Kerchner to Marc Boolish as Executive Director.

Name

PRBA

Legal name

PRBA - The Rechargeable Battery Association

Website

https://prba.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PRBA is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit trade association representing 70+ rechargeable battery industry members that produce roughly 70% of global lithium-ion cells. It conducts regulatory advocacy, drafts model legislation, and participates in UN and U.S. agency rulemakings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: PRBA generates revenue through annual membership dues assessed based on member company annual sales or gross revenue. Dues are prorated for new members joining after January 1 of any calendar year. Multiple membership tiers exist based on company type (manufacturers, distributors, assemblers, suppliers, vehicle manufacturers) and annual revenue levels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

PRBA is a nonprofit trade association representing the rechargeable battery industry before legislative, regulatory, and standards bodies at the state, federal, and international level. It delivers membership services including regulatory monitoring, formal rulemaking participation, weekly news updates, monthly legislative updates, and position papers, alongside coordination with counterpart associations in Europe, Japan, and Korea.

Product overview

PRBA (The Portable Rechargeable Battery Association) is a trade association serving as the voice of the rechargeable power industry. The organization does not offer a commercial product; it provides membership-based services including regulatory advocacy, legislative representation, and industry coordination. PRBA represents its members on legislative, regulatory, and standards issues at state, federal, and international levels, focusing on battery safety, transportation regulations, fire codes, and environmental compliance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PRBA Membership Services Membership in PRBA provides enterprises in the rechargeable battery industry with access to regulatory information on U.S. and international hazardous materials transportation regulations, hazardous waste regulations, state battery collection requirements, CPSC regulations, and fire codes. Members receive weekly news updates and monthly regulatory/legislative updates.
• Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy PRBA actively participates in formal rulemaking proceedings and informal stakeholder discussions on behalf of its members at EPA, DOE, DOC, DOT, PHMSA, FAA, USTR, NHTSA, UN Subcommittee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, ICAO, and IMO, representing industry positions on battery safety, transportation, recycling, and fire codes.
• International Coordination with Sister Trade Associations PRBA coordinates with battery trade associations including Battery Association of Japan (BAJ), Korea Battery Industry Association (KBIA), RECHARGE, Eurobat, European Portable Battery Association, and European Battery Recycling Association to align industry positions on international regulatory and standards issues.

Quantifiable outcome

• PRBA members produce approximately 70 percent of the world's lithium ion cells
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Battery Association of Japan (BAJ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRBA has a long-standing and successful working relationship with the Battery Association of Japan (BAJ). The organizations coordinate on international regulatory matters affecting the battery industry, sharing information and aligning positions on standards development and policy issues.
• Korea Battery Industry Association (KBIA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRBA coordinates efforts with the Korea Battery Industry Association on regulatory and standards issues affecting the rechargeable battery industry in both markets.
• RECHARGEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRBA works closely with RECHARGE, its European counterpart. The organizations have jointly filed proposals with the UN Subcommittee on issues including packaging requirements for large format lithium ion batteries, shipment of damaged or defective lithium batteries, and waste lithium batteries.
• EurobatsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRBA coordinates with Eurobat, the European Association for Automotive and Industrial Battery Manufacturing, on regulatory and policy matters affecting the battery industry.
• European Portable Battery AssociationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRBA coordinates with the European Portable Battery Association on battery regulatory and standards issues affecting portable battery products.
• European Battery Recycling AssociationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRBA coordinates with the European Battery Recycling Association on battery recycling regulations and extended producer responsibility policies.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• RECHARGE: European counterpart trade association for the rechargeable battery industry. PRBA explicitly coordinates with RECHARGE on UN proposals, packaging requirements, and damaged/defective battery transport, making it the closest direct peer.
• Eurobat: European Association for Automotive and Industrial Battery Manufacturing. PRBA coordinates with Eurobat on regulatory and policy matters affecting the broader battery industry across automotive and industrial applications.
• Battery Association of Japan (BAJ): Japan's primary battery industry trade association. PRBA has a long-standing working relationship with BAJ, coordinating on international regulatory matters, standards development, and policy alignment.
• European Battery Recycling Association: European trade association focused on battery recycling. PRBA coordinates with EBRA on battery recycling regulations and extended producer responsibility policies, overlapping with PRBA's recycling and EPR advocacy work.
• Korea Battery Industry Association (KBIA): South Korea's battery industry trade association. PRBA coordinates with KBIA on regulatory and standards issues affecting the rechargeable battery industry in both the U.S. and Korean markets.
• European Portable Battery Association: European association representing the portable battery sector. PRBA coordinates with EPBA on battery regulatory and standards issues affecting portable battery products, paralleling PRBA's portable battery focus.

Broad incumbents

• Consumer Technology Association (CTA): U.S. trade association representing the consumer technology industry, with member overlap including Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. CTA addresses adjacent regulatory issues for battery-powered consumer products but from a broader technology-industry perspective.
• Battery Council International (BCI): North American trade association for the lead-acid battery industry. BCI overlaps with PRBA in battery recycling and transportation advocacy but focuses on lead-acid chemistries, making it a broader-incumbent peer in the same advocacy space.

Others

• Alliance for Automotive Innovation: U.S. trade association representing major automakers including GM, Ford, and Toyota. While not focused on batteries per se, it engages on EV-related regulation that intersects with PRBA's advocacy agenda, making it an adjacent ecosystem peer.

Regional players

• International Lead Association (ILA): Global trade association focused on lead and lead-acid battery sustainability. ILA parallels PRBA's regulatory and recycling advocacy but concentrates on lead chemistries rather than the rechargeable lithium-ion/Ni-MH/Ni-Cd systems that anchor PRBA's mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/prba_battery
• Facebookfacebook.com/rechargeablebatteryassociation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/prba-the-rechargeable-battery-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PRBA