Mapping EEE Material Classification to SCIP Material Categories

Authored by Walter Jager, Principal Consultant at ECD Compliance, a Knowledge Partner of Compliance & Risks.

SCIP database submission of products with SVHCs are a challenge for manufacturers, importers, and distributers on several levels.

One of those challenges is identifying the SCIP material category of the material containing the SVHC. ECHA’s SCIP material categories are sometimes not well aligned with material naming conventions used in supply chains and some of the categories overlap making it difficult to select the appropriate category.

To help EEE manufacturers identify the material categories for their SCIP declarations based on materials that are commonly used in electrical/electronic products, a supplement to the IEC 62474 material classification list (MCL) that maps the material classes to SCIP material categories was published on February 10, 2022.

REACH Candidate List SVHCs are still needed for many electronic products to meet technical requirements. This need combined with ECHA’s requirement to declare the type of material containing the SVHC in SCIP submissions has posed challenges for many manufacturers.

The IEC 62474 MCL

The IEC 62474 MCL provides an internationally harmonized classification system of materials. Suppliers use the material classes in a material declaration to describe the type of the materials in their products and parts. The information may be used to identify recycling streams, conduct recyclability rate assessment, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and other eco-design and circular economy initiatives.

The IEC 62474 MCL was developed to ensure that material classes are clearly and uniquely identified, to avoid overlap, and so that they can be effectively used for the purposes mentioned above. First published in 2012, the IEC 62474 MCL underwent a major revision in 2019 to improve the granularity of the material classes for LCA and recycling.

The MCL was also updated on February 10^th, 2022 by adding 30 new material classes including one additional precious metal (Palladium), eleven unfilled and filled thermoplastic resins, one duromer, and six elastomers.

Material class mapping table to SCIP material categories

Figure 1 below illustrates the first few rows of the mapping table. The IEC 62474 material classes appear on the left side of the table (level 2 and level 3 IDs and names). The corresponding SCIP material categories (identifier and phrase text) are shown on the right side of the table.

**Excerpt from IEC 62474 Material Class to SCIP Mapping Table**

For most material classes, a single SCIP material category is suggested. But for a few of the material classes, there may be multiple SCIP material categories that are good matches based on materials that are commonly used in EEE.

When multiple matches have been identified, a default material category and one or more alternate material categories are provided. If a manufacturer has information about the material or application suggesting that one of the alternate material categories is most appropriate, they may select it or otherwise they can select the default material category. The middle column titled “Default Mapping” indicates whether the mapping is to the default material category (“Default”) or to an alternate material category (“Alternate”).

For example, the material class M121 Copper and its alloys appears in three rows in Figure 1. The default mapping is to “metal > copper (and alloys of, except bronze and brass)” with alternate mappings for “metal > bronze” and “metal > brass”.

ECHA feedback on the IEC 62474 MCL-SCIP Mapping Table
The IEC 62474 MCL mapping table was submitted to ECHA for their review and to provide feedback on material mappings to the SCIP material categories – no concerns or technical changes were identified by ECHA.

The VT62474 will also continue to monitor input from manufacturers and other stakeholders worldwide for potential improvements.

Interest emerging in a cross-sector Material Classification List
With growing interest from regulators and product manufacturers to declare materials in products, suppliers from different sectors and regions are now asking about opportunities to create an internationally harmonized cross-sector material classification list.

In response, the joint ISO/IEC working group that is developing the dual logo ISO/IEC 82474-1 material declaration standard is investigating the opportunity to create such a cross- sector MCL applicable to multiple industries.

Additional Information

The IEC 62474 database is available online at http://std.iec.ch/iec62474 . To access the MCL-SCIP mapping table, press the enter button on the top right; then from the menu on the left side of the page select “Supplementary Lists and Information” and then select the entry with ID=”MCL-SCIP-MAP”. The IEC 62474 standards document, which specifies the material declaration rules, may be purchased in the same manner as any other IEC standard — from the IEC webstore or a reseller.

Additional information and guidance are also available on the IEC 62474 blog.